Don't forget to get your Backcountry Film Festival tickets! The shows are Tuesday, February 23rd and Wednesday, February 24th. The show is at 7pm and doors open at 6:30 at the Goldtown Nickelodeon. Come and check out some great winter films! Contact the Goldtown Nickelodeon or call our office at 463-1500 for more information and tickets.

February is time for another Discovery Day up at Eaglecrest! On Monday, February 15th, the Juneau school district has the day off from classes and Discovery Southeast would like to welcome everyone to join us on a snowshoe hike! We will be talking about tracking, snow crystals, and avalanche predictions. It will be a fun-filled day and a chance to make the most of your holiday! Snowshoes and snacks will be provided. We will meet at the Eaglecrest lodge at 10am and we will go until about 3pm. To sign your child up, call us at 463-1500. We look forward to seeing everyone there!

The EPA, Generations United, the Dance Exchange, and the Rachel Carson Council, Inc., announce a poetry, essay, photo and dance contest. Entries must be from a team of two or more persons, a young person and an older person. The creative work should express the "Sense of Wonder" that your team feels for the sea, the night sky, forests, birds, wildlife, and all that is beautiful to your eyes. We want you to share this love of nature with a child and others around you. When we teach our eyes and ears and senses to focus on the wonders of nature, we open ourselves to the wonders around us.

Contestants will work across generations to share through one of these distinct mediums their own interactions with and reflections on the wonders of nature.

Dance video entries are not limited to the moving body. You can use live performers and/ or capture movement and change visible in nature: birds landing, trees shaking in a storm, a river flowing...

Experienced and first time dancers and video makers are encouraged to participate.

For more information and how to enter, check out http://www.epa.gov/aging/resources/thesenseofwonder/index.htm.

Environmental Literacy included in Obama's new Education Budget: Historic First

We just logged a major victory for No Child Left Inside, perhaps our most significant.  President Obama’s budget that was released yesterday includes environmental literacy in the U.S. Department of Education budget for the very first time.  We now have the Obama administration officially on our side, and better yet, in their budget.

President Obama and Secretary Duncan have made innovation and student achievement a major platform of the Obama Administration and as a result have included environmental literacy in a new program. The proposed budget includes a new $1.0 billion for Effective Teaching and Learning for a Complete Education program designed to improve instruction to support college- and career readiness standards, in part through the use of technology to deliver high-quality content. The new program includes 3 components:

• Literacy: $450 million, an increase of $36.7 million, to consolidate 7 existing Elementary and Secondary Education Act programs into a new program that would help States and local education authorities improve literacy skills by supporting professional development and improved instructional materials.
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM): $300 million, an increase of $119.5 million, or 66 percent, to expand the Federal investment in improved teaching and learning of STEM disciplines, especially in high-need schools and school systems, and prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers.
• A Well-Rounded Education: $265 million, an increase of $38.9 million, or 17 percent, to consolidate 7 current authorities and expand support for the subjects important to a complete curriculum, including: history, the arts, foreign languages, environmental literacy, and economic and financial literacy.

What does it mean?  In the short term, it means that we can expect President Obama’s education bill (Elementary and Secondary Education Act, formerly known as No Child Left Behind) to include language from the No Child Left Inside Act, which will help force the hand of Congress, where we already have 87 House cosponsors and 17 Senate cosponsors. We still have a great deal of work to do, and we will continue to count on you to take action and stay involved. In the meantime, congratulations to all of you—you made this happen!

While this is a only one step in the process, it is a big one.  Thank YOU!

The Monday holiday was beautiful up at Eaglecrest, which was a nice break from the previous two days of rain. We received a shipment of snowshoes and we spent the day hiking around and trying them out! We had a wide array of people participate and it was a great day to be outside. Richard Carstensen led the morning trip where he talked about tracking, geography, and the various wildlife. In the afternoon, it began to snow and we did a few short hikes for kids and adults. The new snowshoes were a success and they will be used in the winter Discovery Days. We hope to see you all at our next Discovery Days on February 15th!

January is “Learn a Snow Sport Month”! Have you ever wanted to learn to cross-country ski or snowboard? Now is the time to get out and try something new! On Monday January 18^th, Discovery Southeast is teaming up with Eaglecrest Ski Area to provide Juneau residents the opportunity to go snowshoeing. There will be a morning snowshoe for Discovery Southeast members with Richard Carstensen, one of Juneau’s most knowledgeable naturalists. In the afternoon, we will be taking groups on several short snowshoeing hikes and anyone is welcome to attend. We will have some snowshoes on hand, but please bring some if you have them. This event is free to everyone. We look forward to seeing everyone there ready to enjoy the snow!

Monday January 18, 2010: Meet upstairs in the lodge!

9:30am – 12pm: Members only hike with Richard Carstensen

1pm – 3pm: Member and non-member snowshoe hikes

If you would like more information about “Learn a Snow Sport Month” go to:

http://www.winterfeelsgood.com/winterfeelsgood.php?section=sports&page=snowsport_month09

http://www.juneau.org/ecrestftp/WinterFeelsGood.php

Juneau, Alaska was recently listed in Backpacker Magazine as one of the top 10 places in the United States to raise an outdoor kid. Check out the article and see what other places in the country topped the list!

http://www.backpacker.com/august_09_the_best_cities_to_raise_an_outdoor_...

ALERT #2: 1/3/10
As many of you are aware the PFD Division has experienced issues with the Pick.Click.Give donation portion of the PFD application.  They have recently updated its notice about Pick Click Give. The new notice states:

"...The PFD division will ensure that all 2010 PFD applicants who want to participate in the Pick.Click.Give. have the opportunity to do so. We are exploring the options available for those who already submitted a 2010 PFD application, and will announce the solution shortly." See the full notice here: http://www.pfd.alaska.gov/.

 The Juneau Public Market is a three day event after the Thanksgiving holiday. Discovery Southeast will be represented as well as other groups from southeast Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. The event will begin on Friday, November 27 from noon to five and will continue on both the 28th and 29th from 10am to 5pm. We would like to see everyone there to support Discovery Southeast and other community organizations! If you would like more information about this event, please go to http://www.metcomalaska.com/site/Publicmarket.html to learn more.

 Hello Juneau! My name is Piper and I am the current Discovery Southeast AmeriCorps Volunteer. I have been having such a great time with this organization and I have already learned a lot from current and past members. I am currently in the early stages of beginning a composting project in the Juneau school district. I have noticed that there is a great interest in the community in regards to composting, but no program set in place. I would like to start in the schools to create a waste reduction program along with an educational curriculum as to why composting is important. I am currently working with the UAS Cooperative Extension, community members, and Discovery Southeast staff to make this vision a reality. If anyone has any questions, comments, or would like to become involved, please contact me at oceaned@discoverysoutheast.org. I would appreciate any suggestions or input from the community!