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!

 The 13th annual Sitka Whalefest was a success! Dave and I set up a table at the public market and got a good response from the community. We met a lot of new people and talked a great deal about Discovery Southeast. The local kids enjoyed our display of various animal skulls and furs. As for the rest of Whalefest, there were a variety of speakers from around the country. The topics ranged from Arctic mammals to the influenza virus in the marine environment. The symposium was attended by the public and many UAS students. There was even a group of students from the university in Hilo, Hawaii! My favorite lecture of the weekend was given by Eric Regehr of Fish and Wildlife in Anchorage. He has been actively involved in Polar Bear research and what climate change will do to the species. He talked a lot about the bears in the Chukchi region although he did know a lot about other populations around the world. I learned a lot from the symposium at Whalefest and was updated on the current research that is being done in the marine environments of Alaska. The weekend concluded with a beautiful ferry ride on Sunday afternoon. There was blue sky and the mountains were an amazing sight. We really are lucky to live in such a unique place!

 The annual Sitka Whalefest is this weekend November 6-8. Piper Bartlett, the Discovery Southeast AmeriCorps volunteer will be heading up to the event with the new Events Coordinator, Dave Troup. They will be promoting Discovery Southeast and participating in the educational events planned for the festival in order to strengthen the Ocean Outreach program here in Juneau. Sitka Whalefest is a gathering of scientists and educators to promote ocean conservation and research. There will be speakers, presentations, and whale watches throughout the 3-day event. We hope to gain valuable resources and connections at the festival that will help Discovery Southeast better serve the Juneau community. If you would like to learn more about Whalefest and what is has to offer, visit their website at http://www.sitkawhalefest.org/. Whales rock!