Environmental Grants, Awards & Contests

Trash to Treasure Competition
(resource for PLT’s PreK-8 activities “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” “Renewable or Not,” “Make Your Own Paper,” “A Look at Aluminum,” and PLT’s Municipal Solid Waste secondary module)
PBS's Design Squad invites kids ages 5-19 to turn their trash into treasure by recycling, reusing, and re-engineering everyday materials into an out-of-the box invention.  The deadline for submission is September 5, 2010.  Three winners will be chosen to see their ideas become a reality. Visit the PBS Kids website for more details and information.

How Green is My Town?
(resource for PLT’s GreenSchools! program)
"How Green is My Town?" is a grassroots effort to empower citizens and local decision makers to address the issues of climate change, sustainability, and environmental health at the local level. The website functions as a national clearinghouse of programs, ideas, and policies for exploring solutions. Learn how you can be part of that change by reviewing a list of actions any school or town can take.

Melinda Gray Ardia Environmental Foundation Grants
Deadline: September 20, 2010
K-12 teachers are invited to apply for grants up to $1,500 to implement environmental curricula, such as PLT, that integrate hands-on ecology exercises into the classroom.  To facilitate learning and student empowerment, environmental curricula should be holistic and strive to synthesize multiple levels of learning (facts, concepts, and principles), including experiential integrated learning and problem solving.  Visit the Melinda Gray Ardia Environmental Foundation website for more information and proposal submission details.   

Earth Science Week Contests
Deadline: October 15, 2010
The American Geological Institute (AGI) is sponsoring three national contests in conjunction with Earth Science Week 2010, celebrating the theme of "Exploring Energy," October 10-16, 2010. Visit www.earthsciweek.org/contests for additional information.
Photography Contest, "We Depend on Energy" - Entrants should submit images that capture the way energy is used in their communities.
Visual Arts Contest, "Energy on Earth" - Students in grades K-5 should submit two-dimensional original pieces of art illustrating, in creative and engaging ways, where energy comes from and how it is used.
Essay Contest, "How Energy Powers the Planet" - Students in grades 6-9 should submit one-page essays focusing on how Earth system processes develop energy resources, how human use of energy affects the Earth system, and how people can be responsible stewards of Earth's energy resources.

PollinatorLIVE: GreenWorks! Grants and Ecoregional Pollinator Guides
Deadline: December 1, 2010
To support the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, PLT is providing GreenWorks! grants of up to $500 in conjunction with PollinatorLIVE, a free distance learning adventure featuring live interactive webcasts, web seminars, and satellite field trips for classrooms about pollinators, gardening, and conservation. Students and community members can invite pollinators to their neighborhood by planting a pollinator friendly habitat in a garden, farm, school, park or just about anywhere!  Ecoregional Pollinator Guides, tailored to specific areas of the U.S., provide information about selecting native plants for pollinators.  Visit www.pollinator.org to find out in which ecoregion you reside and download your free guide, and visit www.greenworks.org to apply for a grant!