Environmental Education Modules

1. Water/Shoreline Restoration - Five sessions

Protecting NYC’s watershed region is vital to ensuring the continuing health of the city’s drinking water and preserving the natural beauty of the area. Once virgin forest and later farmland, land adjacent to these water bodies is increasingly subject to suburban development; as a result the shorelines of many of the tributaries in the watershed have suffered from deforestation and stream banks have suffered terrible erosion from severe storms in recent years.

For the past decade, CENYC has been educating young people in city schools about the history and ecology of the watershed. Most importantly, we have been giving these future water supply stewards and consumers hands-on opportunities: students link with their upstate classmates and plant thousands of willow fascines, white ash, green ash, white oak, red oak, and river birch each year to ensure the natural integrity of this priceless resource.

Sessions

1) Where does NYC’s drinking water come from? What is the history of the system? Introduction to dissolved oxygen.

2) How does the water supply system work and what does it consist of? Introduction to pH

3) What is shoreline restoration and how does it help water quality? Water conservation assignment; Introduction to phosphate.

4) Review water conservation results; review information above about water supply system, brief description of NY/NJ Harbor Estuary and its relationship to our lives.

5) Restoration project at local park near water body or in NYC’s upstate Watershed.

Cost for A: $1,530 for entire module with one teacher and class, $575 for each additional class, e.g. If 3 teachers choose this module, the cost will be $2,680 (1,530 + 575+ 575); if the module is chosen by other teachers during a different time segment the costs would increase to reflect that.

2. Energy - six sessions (option for 2-3 more)

Reducing energy use by just one kilowatt hour per day can significantly reduce carbon emissions. In the past five years, 3000 teens from schools throughout the city have learned about the link between energy use, global warming and the need to seek alternative energy sources. They have built and displayed solar ovens and solar houses, written newsletters about alternative energy and energy conservation and distributed them to hundreds of schoolmates and community residents and practiced lighting conservation at home.

1) What are the types and sources of energy? Worldwide distribution of energy use; how does an electric power plant work?

2) Classroom and home lighting conservation

3) Review lighting results; global warming map and exercise sheet

4) Trip to energy facility

5) Solar oven review

6) Build solar ovens; Option-2 extra sessions for green design house; 1 extra session for how to educate others.

Cost for B: $1,855 for entire module with one teacher and class; $688.50 for each additional class.

3. Environmental Monitoring - four or five sessions;
   

CENYC continues to create concerned student citizens who want to make environmental improvements in their neighborhoods. Armed with decibel meters, drager tubes and the eagle eyes of teenagers, they search for evidence of leaking fire hydrants, clogged catch basins, noisy subways, exposed street lamp wiring, poor air quality and other hazardous conditions. These field observations are then reported to the appropriate city agencies. Success rate: nearly half of the 750 problems have been fixed.

Choose one or more issues - Check the ones you want.

___ noise

___ birds

___ traffic

___ water (fire hydrants, catch basin)

___ street conditions (potholes, cracked sidewalks, street lamp baseplates)

___ itter

___ trees

If Choose One Issue:

1- Review issue

2-Complete issue review and review how to do monitoring

3-Monitoring

4-Review results and write letter

If Choose two or more-2 sessions on issue review, then other three as above-5 sessions

Cost for C: $1,235 for one teacher and class; $470 for each extra class.

Intro to Environmental Issues - four sessions

CENYC’s youth-based environmental education program couldn’t be more relevant: global warming is upon us yet sales of SUV’s make up half of all new vehicles sold. Potable water supplies are dwindling worldwide while 45 million Americans think that the ocean is a fresh water source. 120 million don’t know that consumer packaging not disposable diapers accounts for 50% of landfill mass. CENYC’s Environmental Education Program encourages inquiry based learning. Faced with relevant issues, students start to ask questions – and create solutions. We help create thoughtful environmental stewards.

One session on each of four different issues

1. Water, water testing and water conservation

2. Solar Ovens

3. Environmental Monitoring Inventory

4. Tree Planting

Cost of D: $1,235 and $470 for additional classes.