The Green Strides Webinar Series:
For All Schools Moving Toward the Pillars

The schedule, with registration links, features experts from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of the Interior (DOI), Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and other federal programs. Sign up for Green Strides Webinar Series email updates to receive registration information on future webinars. All times are given as Eastern Standard.

Oct. 17, 2012, 2-3 p.m.: Why Environmental Health in School Matters (EPA)

Register here! Healthy school environments play an important role in the health and academic success of children. Children spend 90 percent of their time indoors, and much of that time is spent in school. Unhealthy school environments can affect attendance, concentration, and performance, as well as lead to expensive, time-consuming cleanup and remediation activities. Learn more about what schools can do to better address environmental health and EPA’s new voluntary School Environmental Health: Development and Implementation Guidelines for States.

Oct. 24, 2012, 4-5 p.m.: Investigating the Climate System (NASA)

This webinar will introduce participants to the five problem-based learning educator guides in the NASA Investigating the Climate System series. Topics addressed will include wind, precipitation, energy, clouds and extreme weather.

Nov. 1, 2012, 3-4 p.m.: Chesapeake Exploration: Accessing and Using NOAA Data in the Classroom (NOAA)

Register here!
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has collected and made available vast amounts of environmental data. Learn how to access this data, use innovative on-line tools, and integrate this data into your educational programming.

Nov. 7, 2012, 2-3 p.m. Integrated School Health Tools for Districts (EPA)

Register here! Learn how your school or district can implement a sustainable and comprehensive environmental health program that addresses cleaning practices, mold, chemical management, ventilation, and pest control. The webinar will also feature highlights, tips, and strategies from established state programs. Also, learn more about what resources are available to assist with establishing a school environmental health program.

Nov. 14, 2012, 2-3 p.m. Train Like an Astronaut (NASA)

Train Like an Astronaut activities are a physical and inquiry based approach to human health and fitness on Earth and in space. Students can participate in physical activities modeled after the real-life physical requirements of humans traveling in space.

Nov. 28, 2012, 2-3 p.m. Hands on the Land (DOI)

Register here! America’s national forests, national parks, national wildlife refuges, waterways, and other public and private lands offer unique teaching and learning opportunities. They comprise nearly one-third of the area of the United States. Hands on the Land, a national network of field classrooms, connects students, teachers, families, and volunteers to these special places all across America. Within the communities of Hands on the Lands sites, public, non-profit, and private partners customize hands-on experiences, using local natural, historical, and archaeological settings to bring classroom learning to life and to promote educational excellence and stewardship.

Dec. 5, 2012, 2-3 p.m. President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition Programs (PCFSN)

Physically active children make for happier, more attentive, and more productive students. Research shows that children with better health are in school more days, are better able to learn, have higher self-esteem and are at lower risk for developing chronic diseases. The President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition will present on a new opportunity to help schools make strides in the areas of physical activity and fitness.

Dec. 12, 2012, 4-5 p.m. Solar Energy: Power for Earth, the ISS, and Exploring Other Worlds! (NASA)

This webinar will introduce participants to a Problem-based Learning Activity (PBL) that requires students to propose and defend a design to provide power to a lunar or Martian research habitat for six explorers. To prepare, students will investigate the variables that affect the operation of solar panels, learn about energy, power, and circuits, design a solar energy system to meet the power requirements for their own homes, and learn about the solar panels and energy use on the ISS.

Dec. 19, 2012, 4-6 p.m. Chipmunk Cheeks and Chicken Legs: Body Systems and Life in Space (NASA)

Discover life as an astronaut as you learn about the effects of microgravity on various body systems. Explore the circulatory, nervous, vestibular, and musculoskeletal systems with hands-on activities and demonstrations. This webinar will include a full downloadable educator guide with background materials, readings, activities, and student challenges.

Jan. 9, 2013, 3-4 p.m.: Using Remote Sensing to Quantify Changes over Time (NASA)

For more than 30 years, satellites have been scanning the globe collecting data on everything from weather and seasonal greening to changes in snow and ice coverage or CO2 levels in the atmosphere. This webinar session will look at simplified means of quantifying these changes in sets of images taken across weeks, years or decades of study.

Jan. 16, 2013, 4-5 p.m.: Food for Thought: Space Food and Nutrition (NASA)

Space food, MMMMM good! “Food for Thought” is a NASA resource designed to explore space food and the nutritional needs of the astronauts. It includes a menu of classroom activities and other resources to address this exciting topic.

Jan. 23, 2013, 2-3 p.m. Farm to School Program (USDA)

Jan. 30, 2013, 3-4 p.m. Eyes on the Earth- Global Climate Change (NASA)

Fly along with NASA's Satellites to explore earth's vital signs and find spectacular views of Earth from Space.

Feb. 6, 2013, 2-3 p.m. Tools to Reduce Waste in Schools (EPA)

Feb. 13, 2013, 4-5 p.m. Emerging ʺGreenʺ Technologies: OMEGA: Offshore Membrane Enclosure for Growing Algae (NASA)

NASA scientists have proposed an ingenious and remarkably resourceful process to produce ʺclean energyʺ biofuels, that cleans waste water, removes carbon dioxide from the air, retains important nutrients, and does not compete with agriculture for land or freshwater.

Feb. 20, 2013, 4-5 p.m. Climate Time Machine (NASA)

Get to know NASA's website to find resources for teaching or learning about what we know and how we know about what's happening to Earth.

Feb. 27, 2013, 3-4 p.m. Authentic Student Voice & Leadership in GreenSchools! (USFS)

An overview of USDA’s GreenSchools! program, told through stories from students and their teachers. Green Teams will describe their experiences of how they investigated their school’s energy and water use, waste and recycling, school site, and environmental quality to get baseline data on the environmental footprint of their school.

Mar. 6, 2013, 2-3 p.m. Integrated Pest Management in Schools (EPA)

Pests and pesticides pose risks to the nearly 60 million children and staff who spend considerable periods of time in our nation's schools. EPA recommends that schools use an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to reduce the economic and health related issues caused by pests and pesticides. This webinar will describe basics of school IPM, the potential health, environmental and economic benefits, and what it takes to put IPM into practice.

Mar. 13, 2013, 4-5 p.m. Food and Fitness (NASA)

Many factors can impact an astronaut’s ability to live and work well in space or on another planetary surface. Study the efforts on improving nutrition and keeping crew-members healthy. Learn about the relationship between nutrition and fitness. The activities examine techniques to make life long healthy meal and activity choices, such as determining the proper serving size, understanding food labels, and assessing proper nutritional and exercise choices.

Mar. 20, 2013, 4-5 p.m. Radiation Exposure on Earth (NASA)

This webinar features the first activity of NASA's Radiation Challenge guide designed for middle school classroom - "Radiation Exposure on Earth." As we climb a high mountain, take a plane flight, or go to the International Space Station (ISS) or beyond, we rapidly lose the protection of the atmosphere and Earth's magnetic field. Discover how NASA is using radiation studies to help design long-duration spaceflight vehicles and how NASA's space experiences are helping us here on Earth. Explore the use of sunscreen and SPF levels designed to protect us from the effects of solar UV radiation.

Mar. 27, 2013, 3-4 p.m. Pathways to Green Jobs and Careers in Natural Resources (USDA)

Explore how school greening efforts can be connected with exploration of green jobs and careers in natural resources and environmental sciences.

Apr. 3, 2013, 2-3 p.m. The Three T’s of Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools (EPA)

Apr. 10, 2013, 2-3 p.m. Chemical Safety in Schools (EPA)

Apr. 17, 2013, 4-5 p.m. Water, Exploration and the Future (NASA)

Discover all the ways NASA is learning about water here on earth and in Space.

Apr. 24, 2013, 3-4 p.m. STEM Connections (USDA)

Students and teachers will demonstrate how their programs have connected to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) studies.

May 1, 2013, 3-4 p.m.: What Can We Learn From Schoolyard Trees? (USFS/ Smithsonian)

Several of USFS’s GreenSchools! will describe how they used their schoolyard or local trees for learning. Students and teachers will relate how they studied their trees through making observations, taking measurements, and recording data to track tree growth and to calculate the value of trees.

May 22, 2013, 3-4 p.m. Teacher Ranger Teacher (NPS)

May 29, 2013, 3-4 p.m. Bringing Climate Change Closer to Home (USDA)

An overview of USDA climate change educational resources.

All times are given as Eastern Standard

Please note:
U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools is a federal recognition award and should not be confused with any green schools program conducted by non-governmental entities.

Archvied Webinar