We're here to kick off the school year right with brand new lesson plans, exciting new animal facts, grant opportunities and much, much more. Be sure to log onto the Rainforest Alliance's Learning Site for all of your environmental education needs, and check in often -- we'll be adding new resources for you and your students all year long.

This school year middle school teachers and students can take advantage of a completely new set of environmental curricula created by the Rainforest Alliance and Project Learning Tree, an award-winning environmental multidisciplinary environmental education program of the American Forest Foundation.

The new middle school curricula use a familiar fruit -- bananas -- to teach students about the people, cultures and environment of Honduras. In fact, each year people around the globe consume over 55 million tons of bananas, making it the world's most popular fruit!

Through the hands-on, interactive lessons created by Project Learning Tree and the Rainforest Alliance, middle school students will better understand the environmental and socio-economic effects of banana production in Honduras, and can explore the origins of the banana as well as the communities and wildlife impacted by banana production.

Seventh Grade
Using the new Rainforest Alliance lessons and activities, seventh graders conduct a survey to understand the many reasons for bananas' popularity, explore a banana's journey from a farm in Honduras to their school lunch in the United States, and then use what they've learned to create a children's book.

Eighth Grade
Eighth graders will delve further into the subject and conduct a banana "scavenger hunt" at a local grocery store to learn more about which countries export bananas to the United States, the costs associated with production and exportation, and the many ways bananas are used.

I am less than five centimeters long and have a furry, white coat and black wings. I sleep upside-down in the leaves of heliconia plants in the lowland rainforests of Eastern Honduras, Northern Nicaragua, Eastern Costa Rica and Western Panama. I prefer to fly at night in search of fruit for food. What am I?

Discover the identity of this tiny animal and download the newest species profile that supplements the free seventh and eighth grade curricula offered by the Rainforest Alliance.

The 34th annual NAAEE conference, "Sustainability and Environmental Education: Focus on the Future," will take place in Albuquerque, New Mexico from October 25th through 29th. This year's theme reflects growing concerns about the sustainability of our society and its natural resource-based economy, and the role environmental educators can play in addressing these issues and bringing us closer to our vision of a sustainable world.

NAAEE is leading the conversation about the ways educators can contribute to a more sustainable world and the role they can play during the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

Julianne Schrader, education program manager of the Rainforest Alliance, will be presenting a hands-on workshop that will introduce K-8 teachers to our free standards-based, multidisciplinary resources. Workshop participants will review the Four-Step Plan for lesson development, sample an activity and tour the lessons, stories and more designed to connect your students to environmental conservation.

You can register for this year's NAAEE conference online, but must do so by October 14th. Be sure to attend the Rainforest Alliance's workshop on Saturday, October 29, from 10 AM to 10:45 AM. We hope to see you there!

Toshiba America Foundation Grants
The Toshiba America Foundation is offering grants to encourage teacher-led, K-12 classroom-based programs, projects and activities that have the potential to improve classroom experiences in science, mathematics and technology.

By investing in projects designed by classroom teachers to improve science and math education for students in grades K through 12, the Toshiba America Foundation strives to contribute to the quality of science and mathematics education in United States communities.

SouthCentral Girls Collaborative Grants
The SouthCentral Girls Collaborative is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. This program provides small grants of up to $1,000 to individuals and groups working together in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico to create a program to support girls in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Many organizations provide valuable, but uncoordinated activities and support services related to motivating girls' interest in STEM activities. These mini-grants are designed to build collaboration between existing efforts to address gaps and overlaps in service, and help existing organizations assess and enhance their programs.

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