Enjoying time outside doesn't need to end with summer vacation. Take your class on a field trip to explore the neighborhood around your school and observe the plants and animals in your local ecosystem. By comparing the plants and animals in their own neighborhoods to what they might find in the rainforest, your class will begin to understand the diversity and complexity of life found in rainforests.

Have your students participate in a BioBlitz of their neighborhood or schoolyard by observing and recording every plant and animal within a designated area. The area should be observed by all separately so everyone can combine their findings and designate objects as rare or common, depending on how many students observe a particular species. The BioBlitz (an activity coined by author Lynne Cherry) should be done three consecutive times over the course of a week, so that any changes can be noted.

Have students record every object observed -- insects, weeds, birds, squirrels, etc. The weather (temperature, wind, humidity) should be recorded as well. All of the information can then be transferred to a large chart or poster that will hang prominently in the classroom as the "Bio Profile for the Schoolyard."

After reading reference books and resources from the Rainforest Alliance Learning Site, students create a similar chart or poster that lists the plants and animals they would observe if they did a similar BioBlitz in the rainforest. Students compare and contrast the two charts, focusing on the one that has the most diversity and complexity. Have students guess at why this diversity can exist in a small area. Discuss the temperature and rainfall and how they impact the range of species that live in the rainforest.

Learn more about the amazing plants and animals that inhabit the rainforests by viewing our species profiles.

Explore our second grade unit to discover what makes the rainforest such a diverse and complex ecosystem.

Go into almost any backpack in your school and you will find empty chocolate wrappers or chocolate treats waiting to be eaten. Chocolate is a favorite candy of children all over the world. Where does all this chocolate come from? Who produces the ingredients for this treat?

Start the school year off on a sweet note by taking your students on a delicious journey that follows the production of a chocolate bar from the bean to your supermarket by downloading our new "Chocolate: The Food of the Gods" slideshow.

Explore more tasty activities that examine the benefits of sustainable cocoa production in our third and fourth grade units.

Read the Chachi Community Profile and Romel's Rainforest Home to share information with your students about the Chachi people, who protect their forest from destruction by sustainably harvesting cocoa.

The Rainforest Alliance is going to participate in the 35th Annual North American Association for Environmental Education Conference. This year's conference, entitled "Gathering at the Headwaters: Building EE in Society," will take place from October 11 - 14 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

We will give a presentation on "The Rainforest Alliance's School Partnerships for Environmental Education." Through school partnerships, the Rainforest Alliance has promoted interdisciplinary planning and project-based learning with our environmental education curricula. Learn about these school partnerships, their positive impacts and the free resources that can be used in your K - 8 classroom.

We hope to see you there!

The National Education Association Foundation is sponsoring Learning and Leading grants for educators to participate in high-quality professional development. Applicants may be individuals or groups and should be public school teachers for grades K - 12, public school education support professionals, or faculty and staff at public higher education institutions. Grant amounts are $2,000 for individuals and $5,000 for groups. Application deadlines are October 15th, February 1st and June 1st.

Youth Service America and the State Farm Companies Foundation are funding grants of up to $1,000 to support youth (ages 5 - 25) and teachers in implementing a service-learning project for the National and Global Youth Service Day, to be held on April 20 - 22, 2007. Service-learning is a teaching method that blends meaningful service and curriculum or program-based learning to help students improve academic skills, foster good citizenship and develop leadership skills. Project themes can vary, and may include the environment, disaster relief, health and education. The deadline for submitting an application is October 16th.

The President's Environmental Youth Awards have been sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since 1971 to recognize young people (grades K - 12) across America who demonstrated a commitment to the environment. Projects submitted in the past have included recycling programs; construction of nature preserves; major tree planting programs; videos, skits and newsletters focused on environmental issues; and environmental science projects. Eligible students must be sponsored by an adult and submit an application with the details of their completed projects to their local EPA regional office by October 31st.

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