September News Items

NGA Announcements
Resources For Educators
Conferences
Funding Opportunities

NGA Announcements

Only a Few Weeks Left to Bid with Your Lid!
It's our last chance to ask for your help to increase Stonyfield Farm's donation to NGA's Adopt a School Garden Program! Stonyfield will split $40,000 among three environmental nonprofit groups, and NGA is one of them. Cast votes by mailing in your Stonyfield Farm yogurt lids. How much NGA gets to support school gardens is up to you! For full details, and to learn how you can earn a prize for your participation, visit here. Thanks for your votes!

Join the Kidsgardening.com Advisory Board
Would you like to have a hand in guiding NGA’s educational media activities? NGA is looking for 12 youth garden educators -- one from each of our 12 regional zones -- to serve on a volunteer advisory board for the Kidsgardening.com Web site. Ideally the board will include a representation of educators across grades ranging from pre-K through grade 12. The role of the advisors will be to review the contents of the Web site and provide suggestions for improvement and expansion. They will communicate with NGA staff monthly via e-mail, meet by phone conference twice a year, and write one article per year for the Web site addressing youth gardening news from their region. We request that advisors sign on for a two-year term.

Our goal is to have the board assembled and active by January 2007. If you’re interested, please contact Barbara Richardson or Sarah Pounders for more information and an application. We look forward to hearing from you!
View a map of NGA’s 12 regional zones.

NEW! Wild Oats Gardening with Kids Awards!
Kids eat better and develop positive attitudes towards fruits and veggies and learn important life skills when they grow and prepare these healthful foods themselves. And our new award, sponsored by Wild Oats Markets, Inc., will help children do just that! Award packages include gardening and supplies, kitchen equipment, curricula, and a cooking lesson/demo by a local member of Les Dames d’Escoffier. The award is open to programs in eleven North American cities/regions – please visit here for full details and an application.

Seeking Quotes from Young Gardeners
NGA regularly gets amazing feedback from teachers and parents about how youth respond to learning and growing in the garden. Now we'd like to add quotes from kids to this collection of wonderfully wise words. If you have recorded a child's or teen's expression of wonder or epiphany brought on by their gardening experiences, please send an e-mail to Barbara Richardson. We look forward to sharing these quotes with Kids Garden News readers.

Take a Walk Books Butterfly Drawing Content Winners Announced
NGA and Take a Walk Books say a big "Thank You!" to all the entrants, and "Congratulations!" to contest winners. Great work! View winning artwork here

Free Online Integrated Nutrition Curriculum
CHANGE, developed by Washington State University Extension, integrates nutrition education with reading, writing, math, and science studies, while providing hands-on learning in cooking and gardening for elementary aged children. Through these lessons, students learn how to grow and cook their own food and about the foundations of a healthy diet, key vitamins and minerals essential to good health, the importance of fiber, and the connections between healthy soil and healthy food. Each unit is packed with engaging activities that will get your students eating vegetables and asking for more! Download curriculum here

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Conferences

North American Association for Environmental Education
Annual Conference ~ October 10-13, 2006
Gather with colleagues in St. Paul, Minnesota, for more than 350 presentations, three exceptional keynote speakers, 17 pre-conference workshops, 14 field trips, and an exhibit fair. Special discounted registration rates available for classroom teachers, students, and retirees, and there are a limited number of scholarships available to students, individuals from minority cultures, and K-12 teachers. For full details visit the NAAEE Web site.

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Funding Opportunities (Listed chronologically by deadline date)

Still Time to Apply! NGA's 2006 Hooked on Hydroponics Awards ~ Deadline: September 30
With top-notch hydroponics equipment that easily fits in your classroom, your students can dive into explorations of across the curriculum, from biology to economics. Apply now to be one of twelve educational programs to receive a compact hydroponics package that includes everything required to grow plants successfully indoors. This award is sponsored by the Hydroponic Merchants Association and leading hydroponics equipment suppliers. Learn more here

Captain Planet Foundation ~ Deadline: September 30
Committed to supporting hands-on environmental projects for young people, the foundation provides grants from $250 to $2,500 to school and community groups. The next quarterly deadline is September 30, 2006. Visit the Web site for guidelines and a proposal form.

Still Time to Apply! NGA's Healthy Sprouts Awards ~ Deadline: October 15
Do you use your youth garden to teach nutrition and to discuss the issue of hunger in the United States? We'd like to hear from you! In this grant cycle we will present awards to 25 schools or organizations. Each will receive a $200 gift certificate to Gardener's Supply Company and a curriculum package from NGA. To learn more or download an application, visit here.

Lowe's Toolbox for Education ~ Deadline: October 15
Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation (LCEF) provides grants of up to $5,000 to nonprofit K-12 school or parent groups to support projects that encourage parent involvement and build stronger community spirit. The deadline is October 15, 2006, or when 1,500 applications are received, so get your application in soon! See the Lowe's Web site for details.

2006 Organic School Garden Awards ~ Deadline: October 31
Do you use organic methods in your school garden? If so, you are eligible to enter this contest sponsored by The Rodale Institute. Teams of students and teachers are asked to submit an essay and poster that express how they use their school garden as a learning tool, how they use the produce they grow, and what impact it has for the students and community. Three winning schools will receive cash prizes of $250, $500, and $1,000. The deadline for submissions is October 31, 2006. Visit the Web site for entry forms, guidelines, and information on previous winners.

The Lorrie Otto Seeds for Education Grant ~ Deadline: November 15
This program gives small monetary grants to schools, nature centers, or other nonprofit educational organizations for the purpose of establishing outdoor learning centers. Funds must be used to purchase native plants and seeds. To qualify for a grant, organizations must successfully reflect the Wild Ones mission: To educate and share information about the benefits of using native plants in our landscape, and to promote biodiversity and environmentally sound practices. Visit here for more information.

NEW! Wild Oats Gardening with Kids Awards! ~ Deadline: January 15, 2007
See annoucement above.

Toyota TAPESTRY Grants ~ Deadline: January 18, 2007
Looking for funds to implement an innovative science project? The Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Teachers program awards fifty $10,000 grants and at least 20 mini-grants of $2,500 to K-12 educators of environmental science, physical science, and science and literacy programs. For more information, visit the NSTA Web site.

Grant Wrangler Funding Directory
Grant Wrangler is a free grants listing service that makes it easy for teachers to find funding. To see the full list of funding opportunities, and to subscribe to the monthly e-newsletter, visit the Grant Wrangler Web site.