2012 GEF Corporate Overview

2012 Corporate Overview

© 2012 Green Education Foundation (GEF). All rights reserved.
www.GreenEducationFoundation.org

Green Education Foundation (GEF)
Mission
GEF, a non-profit organization, is committed to creating a sustainable future
through education.

GEF provides curriculum and resources to K-12 students and teachers
worldwide with the goal of challenging youth to think holistically and
critically about global environmental concerns and solutions

© 2012 Green Education Foundation (GEF) All rights reserved.

Leading the New
Sustainability Education Movement

Sustainability Education provides educators with the real-world applied learning
models that connect science, technology, and math education with the broader
human concerns of environmental, economic, and social systems.


GEF Community Demographics
• Over 9,000 schools and in the GEF community today
• Over 5 million kids
• All 50 States
• 55 percent elementary schools, 30 percent middle
schools, and 15 percent high schools
• Available to the over 55 million students and
3.8 million teachers in 125,000 plus K-12 schools throughout the U.S.
• Schools are reached through teachers unions, administrator and principals’
organizations, national and local departments of energy, national and local
departments of education, and like-minded non-profits
• GEF devotes resources to connecting with schools in underserved
communities through advocates like the office of environmental affairs in
urban school districts, state and national associations of career and technical
education, etc.


GEF Programs
National Green Week
• GEF’s flagship program mobilized five million students during
National Green Week 2011
• K-12 sustainability education campaign focuses on waste, energy and
water reduction

Green Thumb Challenge
• The largest youth gardening initiative connects new and existing
garden programs nationwide
• 5,000 school and youth group participants signed up for the pilot
year—reaching over 771,000 kids

Green Energy Challenge
• Addresses the science of energy, non-renewable and renewable
sources, and energy and water conservation strategies
• Student projects include school and classroom energy and water audits


GEF Programs Cont.
I Ride Green
• Inspires families and individuals to develop lifelong habits for
sustainable transportation that promote the health of the environment,
the economy, and people
• Students learn the importance of physical and emotional health and
well-being through standards-based curriculum and activities
Green Building Program
• Educate students and administrators on how to reduce energy and water
usage, thereby lowering their schools’ operating costs
• Improve indoor and outdoor environmental quality and to ultimately
provide a healthier, more productive learning environment for school
occupants

Sustainable Water Challenge
• Discover the important role water plays in the survival of our planet
and how our natural systems work together
• Identify and implement conservation methods for the home and
school building
© 2012 Green Education Foundation (GEF). All rights reserved.

National Green Week
• GEF mobilizes millions of children annually
to participate in waste reduction and
sustainability education programs during
National Green Week

• The objective is to empower students to
become environmental stewards within the
context of their own lives

• Schools can choose any week from Feb.6
until Earth Day, April 22, to participate in
GEF curriculum or programs

• Waste-Free Snacks encourages students to
carry their drinks, snacks and home packed
lunches in reusable containers for the week


National Green Week Lessons
For each grade there is a week-long series of Reduce
Your Trash lessons. Charts for data recording,
worksheets for graphs, suggested teacher read aloud
books, and a parent letter explaining the Waste-Free
Snack Challenge are provided.

• Pre K-K: Recycling
• Grade 1: Trees and Land Conservation
• Grade 2: Litter
• Grade 3: The 3 R's- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
• Grade 4: Energy Reduction
• Grade 5: Shopping Green
• Middle School: Landfills


• The Green Energy Challenge introduces simple
habits of energy efficiency and water conservation
into classroom and home routines

• In 2011, over one million students
took on the role of energy auditors
implementing eco-changes that
resulted in thousands of dollars in
energy cost savings, within just a
few months


The Green Energy Challenge program includes:
• Standards-based grade-specific turn-key lessons for teachers spanning
numerous subjects including solar, electricity, conservation, wind, and
biofuel

• GEF's Green Classroom Pledge that features a checklist of behaviors
to green classrooms

• Green Energy Challenge hands-on audits and activities

• Colorful reminder signs and posters to hang
around the classroom and stickers featuring
energy tips that students can color, cut out and
use to decorate their binders


Sustainable Water Challenge
The Sustainable Water Challenge introduces
important and complex topics around water
systems and conservation through lessons,
activities, and more. Students learn that simple
changes in behavior can have a big impact.
The program includes:

• Standards-based, grade-specific lessons for K-12

• Home and school-based hands-on water audits

• Video tutorials and water workshops

• Green team projects and guidelines around water
conservation


GEF 2011 Measurable Results
• 83% of the schools reported that the new
recycling programs instituted during
National Green Week ‘09 were still
successfully deployed

• 90% reported that they utilized the
program as an opportunity to talk with
their children about the environment

• 84% of teachers reported that their
students enjoyed their role as “green
keepers”

“We named our child the family recycle chairman. He is responsible for keeping our family green. He is
in kindergarten and he loves it!”

“This was the best event we have sponsored. Students that normally do not get involved in school
activities participated.”

“Seeing the children in charge of a huge project boosted their self-esteem.”


Sustainability Lesson Clearinghouse
• Largest online database of sustainability focused lessons
for K-12 sorted by grade, subject, eco-area, keyword

• Provides a virtual platform for teachers to upload and
share K-12 sustainability education curricula

• Educators across the nation rate, comment and provide
feedback on curricula, with the goal of designing an online
social network that promotes cross-school best practices
in SE


GEF Institute
GEF Institute was established to meet the increasing global
market demand for sustainability education and training.
The Institute develops state-of-the art online courses in
sustainability concepts for use by K-12 schools, colleges
and universities, corporations and individuals.

The Institute’s robust Certification program currently
offers two distinct certificate levels to distinguish those
with a proven comprehensive understanding of important
sustainability topics. Institute courses are eligible for
continuing education, professional development, or
academic credit.


Certifications in Sustainability
Concepts

• Provides teachers and high school students with the
knowledge, skills, and resources needed to incorporate
sustainability into their current curricula and communities

• Supports a global community of learning towards
sustainability

• Fosters a new generation of innovative teaching strategies
and performance metrics across traditional disciplines


2011 Testimonials
• "This has been a tremendously rich experience. I am impressed and happy with the resources
you have provided." – Course Participant

• "Great course! I learned a lot and was impressed with the quality of the information, expertise
and resources, variety of content, the videos, etc. It was user friendly" – Course Participant

• "This could well be the most engaging sustainability course I have taken (either online or face-
to-face). Nicely presented, well organized and completely pertinent I found it very
worthwhile." – Course Participant

• "I loved the course. It enabled me to feel more confident about moving forward with
sustainability at my school." Course Participant

• "The videos are fabulous and just the right length. The questions and material are thought
provoking and thus effective. I find this course so engrossing that I often do not see time fly by
and suddenly I realize I have been working on it for 3 hours! I also had hesitations about on-
line courses in general, but now I am 'sold.'" – Course Participant

• "I think these units are terrific. I can't wait to incorporate these ideas into my already green
classroom.” – Course Participant

• "I have never seen a course on Moodle as nice as this." - Course Participant


GEF Growth
April 2011
Green Building Program
GEF community Green Energy
GEF Gains
grows to Challenge June 2011
501(c)(3)
GEF is founded, 2000 schools launches Launch Lesson
Status,
February 2008 by end of 2009 September 2010 Clearinghouse
October 2008
250,000 students
uncover energy leaks

GEF is First Inaugural Third Annual
incorporated, National Green Thumb National GEF community reaches over
April 2008 Green Week, Challenge Green Week 8000 schools by 12/2011
Spring 2009 Spring 2010 over February 2011
over 400,000 kids 770,000 kids over 5 MILLION Jan 2012
go green! connect with green stewards Sustainability Concepts
nature! are empowered! Certification


GEF Sponsors and Partners

2

Green Education Foundation (GEF)
For more information, please visit: www.greeneducationfoundation.org
Or, contact:

Leslie Taylor
Director, Partner Relations
ltaylor@greeneducationfoundtaion.org
508-668-2278

Victoria Waters
President & CEO
Green Education Foundation
vwaters@greeneducationfoundation.org
508-668-2278

Molly Hislop
Director, Programs and Marketing
mhislop@greeneducationfoundation.org
508-318-6618

2012 GEF Corporate Overview

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