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November 2003
Recent Events Learning Site in the News Outreach Funding |
| What's New on the Learning Site | |||
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This Thanksgiving season, bring the rainforest into your classroom! The ocellated turkey, endemic to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala and Belize, is the world's only turkey besides the North American wild turkey. The Rainforest Alliance Web site now features a species profile of the ocellated turkey to supplement our first grade curriculum.
--Teach your students about the many Thanksgiving foods that grow in the rainforests -- tangerines, nutmeg and sweet potatoes, to name a few. Kids can begin to understand the connection between the rainforest and familiar Thanksgiving foods, while learning about conservation projects in the Maya Mountain Marine Reserve of Belize. --Show your gratitude this holiday by having your class write a letter to the Toledo Institute for Development and the Environment (TIDE), thanking them for their work in protecting Belize's coastal water habitats. Check out our first grade curriculum for additional ways of connecting your kids to conservation. |
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| Seven Year Old Celebrates Birthday with the Rainforest | |||
| A seven year-old second grader named Keegan spent his birthday with his friends, but instead of asking for presents, he asked that his birthday guests make a donation to help save the rainforests of Ecuador through the Rainforest Alliance's Adopt-A-Rainforest program. At the party, games, crafts and a visit from some rainforest animals taught Keegan and his friends about the rainforest and its creatures. On October 14th, Keegan visited the Rainforest Alliance's New York office to hand-deliver his generous donation, take an office tour and meet with Rainforest Alliance staff members. Keegan specifically chose to donate the money he raised to the Chachi cocoa farmers in Ecuador. His mother will soon be presenting a Rainforest lesson to his class using materials from the Rainforest Alliance Learning Site. |
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| Learning Site in the News | |||
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Newsday, New York
The launch of the Rainforest Alliance Learning Site was featured in the September 23rd edition of Newsday New York's "On the Web" section. The article highlights the Learning Site's third and fourth grade units, as well as the resources available through the site that teach students about the indigenous Chachi of Ecuador and how they are using cocoa farms to protect Ecuador's rainforests. NRDC Pick of the Week Just over a month since its launch, the Rainforest Alliance Learning Site was featured in "Picks of the Week" on the Natural Resource Defense Council's (NRDC) Web site. The Learning Site met the NRDC's standards by offering "the best the web has to offer students and the rest of us on issues of environment, sustainability and related politics." |
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| Barnes & Noble Engages Kids and Teachers in Rainforest Activities | |||
Norwalk, CT
The Rainforest Alliance, along with innovative KIDS and Stepping Stones Museum for Children partnered with Barnes & Noble of Norwalk, Conn. to share educational materials with local educators. On October 17th, teachers visited the bookstore to learn more about conservation in the classroom and Barnes & Noble's upcoming Rainforest Adventure Day. The event stemmed from the launch of the Rainforest Adventure exhibit at the Stepping Stones museum in September, which integrated information from the Rainforest Alliance's Learning Site curriculum into its exhibits. The museum is sponsoring a "What the Rainforest Means to Me" contest. Prizes include a free family membership to the museum. On November 8th, teachers, parents and students are invited to Barnes & Noble in Norwalk, Conn. for a Rainforest Adventure storytime, book signing and the drawing, as well as a chance to learn more about the Rainforest Alliance's curriculum.
Spreading the Word 
Ann Street School, Newark, NJ --Conducted a workshop with teachers and administrators to incorporate the Learning Site curriculum into November lesson plans school-wide. Stay tuned for more...
Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment, Brooklyn, NY --Began collaboration with staff at the Center to disseminate the RA curriculum to help connect New York students to conservation from Brooklyn to Belize. Antioch New England Graduate School, Keene, New Hampshire -- Led two workshops for New England educators at a conference sponsored by the college's Center for Tropical Ecology & Conservation. New Grant We want to give special thanks for a recent grant from the RBC Dain Rauscher Foundation, which will allow us to increase our outreach to New York schools interested in environmental education. |
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