School Programs, Events, Competitions, and Professional Development

Mark your calendars with these grant opportunities, workshops, conferences and more!
December 17 – Application deadline for the 2019 Youth Garden Grant. Any nonprofit organization, public or private school, or youth program planning a new garden program or expanding an established one that serves at least 15 youths between the ages of 3 and 18 is eligible to apply. A total of 25 programs will be awarded a variety of gardening tools and supplies as well as cash awards up to $1000. Awards will be distributed in February 2019.

December 21 – Application deadline for the Mass Audubon’s 2019 Young Leaders for Climate Justice Program. Teams of 3-12 high school students can apply to participate in a semester long environmental leadership training and civic action project. The program initiates with a day-long Climate Learning Intensive to be held at Drumlin Farm on January 26.

January 15 – Application deadline for the Captain Planet Foundation’s ecoSolution Grants. Grants of up to $2,500 are available to help support environment-focused, project-based activities performed by young people.
 

January 31 – The Museum Institute for Teaching Science (MITS) will be offering a Professional Development Seminar Series designed for education staff, volunteers, and other professionals from science, environmental, natural history, technology, art, history, and other cultural institutions in New England. The first full day seminar, Making Connections with Science, is on January 31 and will feature sessions on Carbon, Climate, and Consensus as well as Setting up Seasonal Nature Journals.

February 22 – Submission deadline for World of 7 Billion Student Video Contest. Students must create a short video about human population growth that highlights a global challenge.

February 28 – The Museum Institute for Teaching Science Professional Development Seminar Series second full day seminar,  Learning From our Cities, will feature sessions on Exploring the Ecology of Our Cities and Towns and Enhancing Your Audience Engagement with Local Biodiversity.

March 6 – Massachusetts Environmental Education Society (MEES) 2018 Conference. The MEES conference brings together environmental educators from across the state to network and learn new skills.

March 21 –  The Museum Institute for Teaching Science Professional Development Seminar Series third full day seminar, Science Story Tellers, will feature sessions on New England: the Origins of American Environmentalism and Integrating STEM and the Humanities: A Role Playing Game.

March 26 – MassRecycle R3 Conference. The R3 Conference is the biggest annual recycling and organics conference in Massachusetts, and one of the biggest state conferences in the nation. At R3, MassRecycle fosters discussion on issues that affect recycling, reuse, and waste reduction, and provides a venue to convene individuals from all sectors.

April 25 – The Museum Institute for Teaching Science Professional Development Seminar Series fourth full day seminar, Science on the Brain, will feature a full day session entitled Mind on Brains: Making the Connection.