Staples Urban Environment Challenge, Call for Entries

Sustainable Seattle is coordinating the Seattle regional chapter of the Staples Urban Environment Challenge. The challenge is a competition open to organizations that serve 5th through 9th graders in an environmental educational type of capacity. The following is the website that contains the requirements and rules. For further information contact nathan(at)sustainableseattle.org.

Staples Urban Environment Challenge

Earth Force and Staples Foundation for Learning share a mutual commitment to the environment, education and youth. Both help to inspire a national movement of young people who will become the leaders of their communities and to secure a healthy environmental future.

Our Project – THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT CHALLENGE

Together, Earth Force and Staples will develop the next generation of environmental problem-solvers by engaging urban youth in addressing issues related to climate change. THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT CHALLENGE encourages young people in urban communities to take action on pressing local issues created by global climate change. Entries to the UEC from each region have a chance to win a $1,000 custom technology & supplies package or one of two $500 packages..

Do I qualify?

Criteria for participation in the Staples Urban Environment Challenge:

• Groups of 10 or more young people engaged in youth-led projects, such as service learning, in one of the ten metro areas listed below
• Groups of 5th - 9th grade students from schools where 60% or more of students qualify for free/reduced lunch
• Commitment to completing an action project that addresses issues related to climate change

Already doing service learning on your own or with another partner organization? You're invited to participate! Click on the registration button to let us know you're in!

How It Works

Young people doing service learning in groups of 10 to 30 are invited to address a environmental concern related to global climate change that impacts their urban community and submit their project to the UEC by Earth Day - April 22, 2011. They will work with local businesses, government agencies and climate change experts to develop the understanding they need in order to address the root cause. Through their research contestants will develop a solution to the problem and implement an action plan to improve their community.

Young people will use their project results to develop a written and web based entry into THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT CHALLENGE. Entries will be posted on the internet and Staples employees and other partners will be invited to review the entries and vote for those projects they believe should win each of five regional competitions. One winner in each region will receive a $1,000 technology & supplies package. Two runners up in each region will receive $500 packages.

Film Festival Success: How to put on a great event.

The former school for wayward girls is an imposing building with narrow east facing windows and a campus of manicured lawns and driving lanes. The Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford did bring one’s thoughts to shepherding those lost sheep back into the fold of the flock, as well as stop any signs of social shenanigans. It was also the location of the first annual Environmental Film Festival brought to fruition by Sustainable Seattle on Thursday February 11, 2010.

Driving up to the venue you pass the neighborhood of Wallingford on your north and south and pass commercial districts, restaurants and gas stations before entering a purely residential area where homes are pulled back from the two way, park on both sides of the street, area.

People began filing in past the table manned by Marketing Director Gabriel Tevrizian to collect the last minute donations and suggested price for entrance. Gabe was welcoming and excited as more and more people came, filling the venue to its capacity.

The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly with Taylor Shellfish Farms providing organically grown oysters and other shellfish with the only requirement of the participants to enjoy their fair.

Also there were pastries from Trophy Cupcakes and the gathering was dotted with staff members from Sustainable Seattle ready and willing to engage with the participants.

Before the film festival began there was an informal session of chatting and networking as participants and staff shared their passion for the environment, sustainability and practical solutions to some of the concerns that brought us to this screening.

The films from filmmaker/consultant Shelly Solomon were beautifully shot around the concept of sustainable community development around shellfish, reclamation projects and natural farming.

The first film was a documentary on the reclamation project to save the Pinto Abalone in the Puget Sound. The film focused on a project spearheaded by the Puget Sound Foundation to bring back a native species that has seen a steady decline in its numbers since the fifties.

In the middle of the film festival there was a panel discussion with a few of the principles of the films with the audience asking questions ranging from sustainability to profitability. The panelists were gracious and informative and they shared in simple, truthful terms the challenges and rewards that their work in sustainability has brought them.

The conclusion of the evening saw people with smiles on their faces, ideas in their hearts and a renewed appreciation for the efforts that are happening right in our backyards to increase the likelihood of future generations to enjoy the beauty and bounty of our blessed region.

Who's Who | Wilderness Awareness School

In a tiny strip of city park somewhere in Beacon hill, pairs of adults (and one kid) huddle around Sword ferns. First they feel the fuzzy stem coming out of the dirt, then they work their way up, noticing the angle of the leaves, the patterns of colors, and finally they scrape the spores from the back of an upper leaf and taste them. This is the type of thing students are asked to do when they come to the Wilderness Awareness School to connect with nature in the Northwest. The school brings out the natural hunter-gatherer within us all by teaching "The Six Shields of Awareness". One set of knowledge, nature observation, is described as learning to "develop the awareness of a wild animal". One of the six "shields" teaches the use of edible and medicinal plants, and another, wilderness survival, has you "practice skills that can save your life"; what could be more useful?

Why it's not just for campers:

The core values of the Wilderness Awareness School are Peacemaking, Vitality, Nature Mentoring, and Community. The fourth, Community, illustrates why their system of education is so valuable and important:

"We nurture an ever-deepening awareness of the vital interdependence of nature, community, and self. With this awareness, we learn to honor and appreciate the richness that a diversity of life experiences, ideas, backgrounds, and gifts bring to the whole community. We encourage genuine relationships, work-life balance, service to community, and living in rhythm with nature."

The school, headquartered in Duvall, teaches children and adults in classes as long as a summer or as short as a day. They also have a preschool program, a homeschool program, and a home study training course. Class descriptions and more information about the school can be found on their website.

Masters in making a difference

Open House Center for Creative Change

If you or someone you know is interested in finding out more about programs offered in the Center for Creative Change at Antioch University Seattle, we invite you to attend our Open House Wed., Jan. 27, 2010, 6 to 8 p.m.

The Center's degree programs grow creative leaders, necessary for addressing the complex challenges we face. Our graduates gain the essential skills for generating sustainable change and propelling our workplaces, communities and our world toward better futures.

Center graduates gain technical and collaboration skills, making them vital leaders in their chosen fields. Our interdisciplinary degree programs, delivered in a supportive group environment, result in adaptive, critical thinkers who know how to build on the strengths of those around them.

Faculty and students will be talking about the Center's five interdisciplinary masters' degrees programs:

• M.A. in Environment & Community
• M.A. in Whole Systems Design
• M.A. in Strategic Communication
• M.A. in Organizational Psychology
• M.S. in Management

We'll also tell you about our Graduate Certificates.

Meet faculty, students and alumni for the program that interests you. Financial aid representatives also answer questions. Light refreshments will be served.

AUS campus, room 200
Antioch University Seattle is located at 2326 Sixth Avenue in Belltown, between Bell and Battery.

For further information, please contact:
Wendy L. Olsen, M.A., Admissions Advisor
Center for Creative Change
206-268-4208
1-888-268-4477 ext. 5208
wolsen@antioch.edu

Global Issues & Perspectives is a free lecture/discussion series sponsored by the Center for Creative Change to address the question: What do we need to know to become effective global citizens?

The series is an enriching opportunity to hear, learn from and be inspired by individuals - many of whom are from other cultures and countries - who are invited to Antioch to share their values and vision. Free and open to the public.

Antioch campus, room 100

Thurs., Jan. 21, 7 p.m.
Transforming the Global Footprint of American Business
A conversation with business leaders who are creating social and
environmental benefits through innovative business practices.

Seattle-based executives describe strategies for transforming their organization's global footprint:

Valerie Bone, Director of Quality/Corporate Social Responsibility, Pacific Market International; David Okrent, Brand Director, Environment and Sustainability, The Boeing Co.; David Basson,

President, Greensource Organic Clothing; and Dennis Gawlik, Faculty, Bainbridge Graduate Institute, and Director of Purchasing Services, University of Washington.

Discussion facilitated by Karl Ostrom, Co-Director of NBIS, Network for Business Innovation and Sustainability.

Thurs., Feb. 18, 7 p.m.
Youth Lead the Way in Global Citizenship

High school and college students discuss experiences with peers in Jordan, Guatemala and Peru through programs with One World Now, Global Visionaries and Bridges to Understanding. One World Now's vision offers new opportunities for young people to increase their tolerance, gain new language and leadership skills and to experience other cultures first-hand. Global Visionaries educates and empowers youth to become active leaders and global citizens who promote social and environmental justice through community service at home and abroad. Bridges to Understanding uses digital technology and the art of storytelling to empower

For more information about the Center for Creative Change at Antioch University Seattle, please visit our website or contact admissions advisor Wendy Olsen at 206-268-4208 or
1-888-268-4477 ext. 5208; wolsen@antioch.edu.

Who's Who | EOS Alliance

Green jobs are becoming more abundant, and working people such as myself would love to have them. The problem is that most of us have the wrong kind of experience or education to actually get hired. The Environmental Outreach and Stewardship Alliance (EOS Alliance), founded by Erick McWayne, solves this problem by providing the technical training for everything environmental, from chemical contamination cleanup to policy issues to home weatherization. Their environmental training course calendar can be found here.

If you're not interested in advanced technical training, EOS hosts many programs for the average citizen, like how to raise chickens in your backyard. The public events calendar is here.

Meanwhile, The EOS Alliance is doing green work now. They provide residential energy audits and weatherization (see the Green Blocks Pilot Project), and organize volunteer work parties to restore the local ecology by replacing invasive species with native ones. Go here to find out more about volunteering.

Entry by Alyssa Ballinger Johnson

Who's Who | The Pacific Science Center

Science education enables communities to make informed decisions about everything, including decisions that affect the environment. That is why the Pacific Science Center does such a great service to our society. The Science Center has interactive displays that hook people on science for life. The Science Center also has a host of education programs that extend beyond the familiar white arches. The Mercer Slough Environmental Education Program lets kids experience natural systems and biodiversity first hand. The Science Center also hosts Camp-Ins, where kids stay overnight and learn in-depth on a topic that varies throughout the year. For those that can’t make it to Seattle Center, the Science on Wheels program brings the Center’s entertaining science education to schools and events all across the state. The Science Center constantly keeps its science displays up to date with currently relevant issues. To see what they’re teaching right now, visit their website here.

Entry by Alyssa Ballinger Johnson