Almost one million Minnesota children and thousands of adults spend a significant portion of their days in K-12 school buildings. Find information about creating an environmentally healthy school and educational resources about environmental issues.
Schools
From kindergarten through high school, a typical child spends up to 15,000 hours in the classroom. By incorporating sustainable practices, school administrators and facilities staff can help reduce operating costs and environmental impacts, while promoting a healthy environment for students and staff.
- Helping schools reduce pollution
- Green building for schools
- School bus retrofits and idle reduction
- Environmentally preferable purchasing
- Waste Reduction Awareness Program — An initiative of the Jeffers Foundation to assist elementary schools in reducing lunchroom waste
Digging Deep through School Trash - A waste composition analysis
Educators
The goal for environmental education is to develop an environmentally literate citizenry. Find resources for both formal and nonformal educators.
- SEEK: Sharing Environmental Education Knowledge - Minnesota's interactive directory of environmental education resources.
- Psychology of Sustainable Behavior. Research-based tips from psychology that will help empower people in making choices and change behaviors, making environmental improvements a reality.
- Minnesota Report Card on Environmental Literacy (p-ee5-05)
The first statewide survey of adult environmental knowledge, attitudes and behavior.
- Minnesota Report Card on Environmental Literacy, second edition (p-ee5-06)
The second statewide survey of adult environmental knowledge, attitudes and behavior.
- Minnesota Report Card on Environmental Literacy, third edition (p-ee5-07)
The third statewide survey of adult environmental knowledge, attitudes and behavior.
- Environmental Literacy Scope and Sequence (p-ee5-03)
Provides a framework for developing successful environmental education in working towards environmentally literate individuals and societies.
- Natural Wonders: A guide to early childhood for environmental educators (p-ee5-04)
A tool to aid environmental educators in designing developmentally appropriate programs and activities for early childhood.
- Multi-cultural educational resources
Environmental education is for people of all cultures, including those for whom English is not the native language. These workbooks are intended for students in English as a second language (ESL) and limited English proficiency (LEP) classes.
Students
Learn how you can help prevent pollution and conserve resources.
Resources
- What's in My Neighborhood: Access data about sites and activities in your community.
- Citizen water monitoring: Become a citizen lake or stream volunteer and help gather vital information about the health of our water resources.
- Financial assistance: Grants and loans
- Current air quality: Air pollutants can have serious impacts on human health. Stay informed about current air quality in Minnesota.