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Join EE Week April 15-21, Highlighting Green STEM Innovation!

by
Bill Whorton

Increasing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) knowledge and expanding STEM education and career opportunities for students is a national priority. A projected 2 million STEM-related jobs will be created by 2014, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics. Jobs relating to the environment are among those expected to see the fastest growth this decade. The National Environmental Education Foundation recently developed an infographic (image to the right) that illustrates some of this compelling data.

Recognizing the role of the environment as an impetus for STEM learning, National Environmental Education Week’s 2012 theme is Greening STEM: The Environment as Inspiration for 21st Century Learning. EE Week takes place the week before Earth Day—this year from April 15-21.

The environment is an engaging context for teaching and learning about STEM, providing real-world challenges and hands-on opportunities to apply and reinforce STEM concepts across multiple subject areas. Environmental projects such as designing a rain garden to reduce stormwater runoff or using mobile technology to identify and track invasive plants can inspire students to learn firsthand how STEM skills factor into innovative solutions to local needs.

EE Week, the nation’s largest environmental education event, offers educators environmental resources to build K-12 students’ STEM skills while increasing their knowledge about the environment

Local organizations, like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, plan to participate in EE Week 2012 by connecting area students to the Bay using high-tech water quality testing equipment and collecting data from NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS). You can conduct similar investigations with your class by sampling the water quality of a local stream and using CBIBS data on National Geographic’s Chesapeake Bay FieldScope webtool!

To celebrate Greening STEM, EE Week offers a set of educator planning toolkits featuring STEM activities and resources focused on popular environmental topics and is offering webinars that help educators utilize cutting-edge technology to conduct a local field investigation or bioblitz within their own schoolyard or nearby nature area. EE Week will also be partnering with Earth Gauge to highlight the role STEM plays in the work meteorologists do across the country.

To participate in or learn more about EE Week, please visit www.eeweek.org.