WELCOME TO the "GREEN GATOR".........

Teachers and Students of Everglades High School in a concerted effort to save and protect their environment have joined together "TO DO THEIR PARTS".

WE ALL NEED TO "THINK GLOBAL AND ACT LOCAL"! The goal of this initiative is to promote a stronger bond between the student and his local environment. Having then feel more a part of the world around them. Giving them understanding about how their daily interactions affect the natural world around them. Download the printable version: EPA'S What You Can Do at School

How Do Gators' Go Green?

Paper and Plastic recycling

The environmental Club leads the school wide recycling imitative where classroom students recycle paper instead of sending it to the landfill. This saves money, trees, and landfill space. Currently paper is the number one filler of landfills with over 40%!!! So the more we can recycle the more we can reduce going into the landfills and the less energy we need to make paper out of recycled paper!

Howstuffworks (http://www.howstuffworks.com/landfill.htm) had this to say about American trash habits,"generate trash at an astonishing rate of 4.6 pounds (2.1 kilograms) per day per person, which translates to 251 million tons (228 million metric tons) per year [source: EPA - http://www.epa.gov/garbage/facts.htm]." So as you can see trash is a BIG problem!

BUT, remember you must purchase "POST-CONSUMER" recycled paper in order to complete the cycle and make a demand for people to create recycled paper!

Plastic bottle recycling, many of you drink from plastic bottles - but what happens to it when you finish???? How long does that bottle last after you drink what's inside of it? Put it this way -- we will all be long gone and somewhere between 4 and 10 generations later will still have to deal with it!

FLIP THAT SWITCH!

Next time you leave the bathroom or your classroom, flip the switch. Everglades High School has reduced their electric consumption more than any other school in Broward County at a incredible yearly cost savings. So next time you walk by and empty classroom remind that teacher to FLIP THAT SWITCH!

Science Department Competitions

Science Thursdays

In order to assist students in reading and vocabulary the Everglade's Science Department has initiated Science Thursdays. On these days students will read and focus on improving their general vocabulary skill sets. Students are given science based stories that deal with real life in hopes that they will see the connections between science and life.

Go Green Initiative

The Go Green Initiative is a simple, comprehensive program designed to create a culture of environmental responsibility on school campuses across the nation. Founded in 2002, the Go Green Initiative unites parents, students, teachers and school administrators in an effort to make real and lasting changes in their campus communities that will protect children and the environment for years to come. Visit them at: http://www.gogreeninitiative.org/

Broward County "Goes Green"

The County has implemented a variety of actions in an effort to reduce energy consumption and move toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions, thereby reducing the County’s carbon footprint. This Web site details many of those actions, and also offers tips on what residents and businesses can do to “go green.” Visit them at: http://www.broward.org/gogreen/

Broward County Schools "Go Green"

Coming soon

This month's READING LIST

The books below are offered to spur your interest in environmental science:

Weisman, Alan. The World Without Us. Picador. 2008.

Louv, Richard. Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Algonquin Books. 2008.

Hartmann, Thom. The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: Revised and Updated: The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It's Too Late. Three Rivers Press. 2004.

Garvey, James. The Ethics of Climate Change: Right and Wrong in a Warming World (Think Now). Athlone Press 2008.

Pearce Fred. When the Rivers Run Dry: Water--The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-first Century. (2007).

Newbold, K. Bruce. Six Billion Plus: World Population in the Twenty-first Century (Human Geography in the New Millennium). 2006.

Visit the Gator Media Center for many more books!

Everglades High School Environmental Club

Want to be a part of the solution? Join the Environmental Club. Meetings are in RM 404 Every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month. See Mr. Pitman for more details.

School wide recycling takes place on Wednesday during A and B lunch. Meet in Mr. P's room within the first 5 minutes of lunch if you would like to participate. Remember this is a great way to get those needed community service hours.

Everglades High School's Envirothon Team Takes 1st in Regional's and 13th at State

The 2009 Everglades Envirothon Team (Gator APES) (L,R) Dawn Gomez, Beth Simon (Team Captain), Ashley Capps, Lauren Friedman, Zyonne Arcena finished 13th in the State Envirothon held at Hillsboro State Park in Thonotosassa, Florida. This was Everglades first trip to states - but will not be their last!

Facts Figures and More

Local Nature Centers

Everglades National Park

EcoAction Days at Broward County Parks

Volunteers are important to parks, especially when it comes to helping our natural areas clear out the garbage and invasive plants that continually plague our environment.  From October through May, volunteers (ages 13 and up) seek out nature at the natural areas or nature centers and get busy between 9 a.m. and noon.

Volunteers bring their own gloves, a hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, and drinking water to tackle the weeds and trash accumulating in different areas of the county

Current schedule:

• First Saturday of each month — Fern Forest Nature Center, 201 Lyons Road South, Coconut Creek.
  Phone:  954-970-0150 or e-mail: FernForest@broward.org.
• Second Saturday of each month — Secret Woods Nature Center, 2701 W. State Road 84, Dania Beach.
  Phone:  954-791-1030 or e-mail SecretWoods@broward.org.
  –OR–
  Long Key Nature Center and Natural Area, 3501 S.W. 130th Ave., Davie.
  Phone: 954-327-8797 or e-mail: LongKey@broward.org.
• Third Saturday of each month — Anne Kolb Nature Center, 751 Sheridan St., Hollywood.
  Phone:  954-926-2480 or e-mail: WestLakePark@broward.org.  

http://www.broward.org/parks/ecoaction.htm
http://www.broward.org/parks/pdf/workday.pdf

Invasive Species

Invasive species are a huge problem in Florida affecting both the environment and economy. These links and sites have important information about these.

• Identification and control of non-native plant species
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission http://www.myfwc.com/WILDLIFEHABITATS/Nonnative_index.htm
• 2007 List of Invasive Plants http://sumter.ifas.ufl.edu/pdfs/2007%20list%20of%20invasive%20plant%20species.pdf
• Everglades Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area http://www.evergladescisma.org/
• Florida Invaders: Under siege by plant and animal invaders, nature and our economy are at risk. http://www.floridainvasives.org/toolbox/FloridaInvaders.pdf
• Florida Invasive Species Partnership http://www.floridainvasives.org/
• Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/

IBM Smarter Planet

Interesting Information from the IBM Smarter Planet web site. Visit them at: http://www.ibm.com/ibm/ideasfromibm/us/smartplanet/index.shtml