Earth Week 2021
Every day is Earth Day at AISD! This week especially, we hope that everyone in our school community will take a moment to think about how they can make the earth and our community a better place and perform an action to do so. This year’s website offers fun ways to engage and take action from school and from home. Enjoy!
We’ll be promoting activities all week, feel free to use these themes or make up your own. Show what you’re doing on these days of the week on Twitter @AustinISDGreen, #AISDGreen and Instagram #aisdgreen #austinisdgreen.
- Move it Monday
Use people-powered transportation that is emissions free and cost-free! - Take it outside Tuesday
Activate those schoolyards by heading outside for some hands on learning! Sit under a tree, hike a trail, splash in a creek, plant a seed and discover as nature comes alive! - Wasteless Wednesday
Make your waste magically disappear by reusing, refusing single use items, and reinventing so that old becomes new! - Turn-it-off Thursday
Turn out the lights and watch the Thirst for Power documentary to teach your students about the energy and water nexus and bring them to the LIVE Q&A at 1:30 on Earth Day! - Veggie Viernes
Savor the flavors of plant-forward foods! - Environmental & Social Justice Saturday
Advocate for change so everyone has a fair chance of living the healthiest life possible!
Select specific sustainability activities by category of interest or overall topics.
Be Green Across All Topics Activities
EcoRise
EcoRise provides bilingual K-12 lessons and activities that engages students in learning about sustainability. Parents, caretakers, and students can access activities and resources at http://ecorise.org/parent
The National Wildlife Federation (NWF)
NWF encourages you to safely go outside to learn! The following resources are currently available for indoor and outdoor learning:
- Three months of free access to Ranger Rick digital magazines and activities
- Eco-Schools USA sustainability activities that can be done from school or home
- Weekly Monarch Heroes activities to do from a backyard/porch or on a walk
- Applications are also currently being accepted for your school to join the Monarch Heroes program in the 2020-2021 school year.
- Teachers may register for a free, self-paced virtual climate education course. Upon completion, you will receive free lessons from Project Wet, Project Wild and NWF resources that can be used to (virtually) celebrate Earth Day 50.
Watt Watchers Teacher Training on Earth Day
Join the Watt Watchers Teacher Training on Earth Day, April 22nd at 6 PM to learn how to use the TEKS-aligned, Sustainability focused Watt Watchers curriculum in your classroom. You can find activities based on grade level or topic, and the whole website is available in Spanish. Those who attend the training will receive a certificate for professional development hours.
Keep Austin Beautiful
Keep Austin Beautiful inspires and educates all Austinites to volunteer together, beautify green spaces, clean waterways, and reduce waste every day. Visit the Keep Austin Beautiful At Home collection of free, interactive, TEKS-aligned activities for you to educate, entertain, and empower your special environmental leader!
Learning Lab
Students, parents, grandparents, and teachers can all have fun with the newly launched free resources on Learning Lab to support sustainability awareness and learning while away from school. Organized by grade level, it's easy to find k-12 lessons and activities.
The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital (DCEFF)
DCEFF is the world’s premier showcase of environmentally themed films. Due to the current epidemic, all of this year’s films are available online. This high-quality content seeks to celebrate Earth and inspire understanding and stewardship of the environment through the power of film. Learn more about the fe stival.
Project Learning Tree
Project Learning Tree, an award-winning conservation curriculum, has assembled a list of free family learning activities and Earth Day activities that can be completed at home—both inside and close-by in a safe space outside.Play Earth Day Bingo with these eco-actions at home!
Check out the below ideas for how you can take eco-action from home, your back yard, on a walk, or in other places outside of the school. Please remember to practice physical distancing to stay healthy and to prevent the spread of illness.
Play Earth Day Bingo! Print your bingo card to see how many eco-actions you can do!
Share all your eco-actions and your complete bingo card on Twitter @AustinISDGreen, #AISDGreen and Instagram #aisdgreen #austinisdgreen.
Jardín de Voces: Celebrate your cultural traditions of sustainability!
This Earth Week, celebrate the sustainability-related traditions and cultural practices that have passed from generation to generation in your family or with loved ones. Through storytelling, visual arts, and interviews, plant your seed in the Jardín de Voces and let’s sow more seeds for future generations of voces. Submissions due April 30th. View details in Spanish and English.
Take the Climate Challenge Pledge!
This year, the City of Austin and AISD are launching the Earth Day Youth Climate Challenge. Students, teachers, and staff can pledge to take action all year to make our earth and communities more sustainable. Together, we can make a difference! Post your pledge to Twitter and Instagram @AustinISDGreen, #AISDGreen!
Campus Sustainability Champion
Sign up to become your Campus Sustainability Champion to engage your teachers, staff, and students during these evolving times and in the future when we are back in our schools!