by Kelly Smith

The Green Education Council (GEC) supports the Omaha educational community in the pursuit of greener, more sustainable schools and education programs. Here is a look at our current projects.

The GEC is holding a teacher forum in June to hear more about the current environmental programs taking place in Omaha and to learn what educators hope to develop in their schools. This meeting will be a springboard for the council to develop goals and projects for specific schools.

We also are busy working on a resource guide to be made available to metro area educators. The guide will feature providers in the area who offer field trips, educational materials, service opportunities or other services that would aid teachers in environmental education.

If you would like to join the GEC or know someone who might want to join, please contact Dave Lampe at Dave.Lampe@lra-inc.com.

Our Roundtable Discussion on Green Education was a big success thanks to so many dedicated teachers and school staff. We had representatives from OPS, Bellevue, Creighton Prep, Brownell Talbot, Duchesne Academy and Westside. We asked local school staff how they wanted their schools to go green and got some great responses.

Here are just a few of the many suggestions: Recycling, Educator Workshops, a Green Online Database, Resources for Green Building Maintenance and Grant Information for Green Projects.

We learned so much and are more excited than ever to help schools go green!

The GEC is planning it's first Round Table Discussion on Green Schools and Environmental Education to be held at the UNO Alumni Center on June 3rd from 2-4PM.
We know that there are a number of teachers in the Omaha area dedicated to teaching environmental stewardship to their students. We hope that they will come on Tuesday to meet us! In addition to hearing about what is already happening in schools, we want to know what other projects we can collaborate on and begin a healthy, productive dialogue within Metro School Districts.
To reserve your space at the event, contact Dave Lampe at Dave.Lampe@LRA-INC.com