
Welcome to the new USEE e-newsletter
	The Utah Society for Environmental Education (USEE) is a 501(c)3 organization providing support to environmental education providers throughout the state of Utah. Our new monthly e-newsletter will allow USEE to provide educators, organizations, and concerned citizens with current information, events and opportunities. Each e-newsletter will include: USEE News Utah News National News Did You Know… information and tips for sustainable living Special Thanks Kudos
If you have suggestions for making our new e-newsletter a better resource for you, or if you have something you would like posted, please contact us at (801) 328-1549 or email info@usee.org.

Teacher Network (T-NET) The May T-NET is now posted at www.usee.org. The T-NET provides educators with resources for incorporating environmental education into the classroom. Resources listed in the T-Net include: education materials, programs and workshops, grants and awards, and websites. The resources featured are easily accessible and inexpensive (sometimes free!). For more information or to submit an item for the list , contact USEE at (801) 328-1549 or t-net@usee.org.

Now Accepting Applications for the Utah Environmental Education Certification Program Deadline to apply: June 15, 2005 The Utah Environmental Education Certification Program establishes high standards for the professional qualifications of environmental educators in Utah. Certification has a variety of benefits for individuals, organizations, and the field of EE. Individual educators often find that the certification process serves as an important step in their professional development. In meeting high standards of the program, candidates more fully master both the theory and practice of EE, making them more effective as professionals. For more information or for an application packet, contact Jennifer at jenv@usee.org or 801-328-1549.

On-Line Directory of Environmental Education (EE) Programs
Check out the Utah On-Line Directory of Environmental Education (EE) Programs and Events at http://www.usee.org/database.html. This on-line searchable database was designed to improve educators’ access to materials, programs, sites, events, and personnel. The database allows you to conduct a keyword search by organization and/or program. You can also search the calendar for events hosted by a variety of organizations.

Call For Proposals!
Deadline to Submit: June 15, 2005
Save the Date! The Utah Annual Environmental Education Conference will be held on September 23- 24, 2005 at the Zion Park Inn in Springdale, UT. We are looking for presenters to submit proposals for the following workshop strands:

Arts & Culture- music, drama, photography, crafts, storytelling, weaving, journaling Behind the Scenes-writing grants, team and community building, managing volunteer programs.EE Trends & Techniques-assessment, state standards, teaching techniquesPeople and the Environment- interconnection of environment, history, people, and culture, focusing on a current issue: Water in the West
Outdoor Education- flora, fauna, earth and sky, outdoor survival skills, orienteering, edible plants, primitive tool making, tracking

If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please visit www.usee.org for a proposal form or contact Sommer, at sommer@usee.org or 801-328-1549.


Help Restore Federal Funding for Environmental Education In the FY 2006 budget, the White House Office of Management and Budget recommended the complete elimination of the only competitive grant programs specified solely for the environmental education (EE) community. For more information or to take action, visit www.FundEE.org.
picture provided by Utah Envirothon

Teaching Environmental Issues: An Environmental Education Approach The Colorado Association for Environmental Education (CAEE) is offering a course through their On-Line Learning Institute for Teachers. The course, entitled “Teaching Environmental Issues: An Environmental Education Approach,” will allow teachers to receive recertification credits in the comfort of their homes in just four weeks. In 14 lessons of personal investigations, activities, readings, and on-line group discussions, teachers will develop new skills to create a student-based, action-oriented community project that will be classroom-ready for fall. The workshop will provide valuable tools to help kids become better students and wise stewards of the environment. The next course will be held July 23 rd through August 19 th. The registration fee for the course is $50, and you may receive 2 re-certification credits from the Colorado School of Mines for an additional $80. The deadline to register is July 15 th. For more information or to register for the course, contact CAEE at (303) 273-9527 or info@caee.org.

GreenWorks! Grant Opportunity Funding from the Bureau of Land Management will allow Project Learning Tree (PLT) to give grants of $500 to $2,000 for wildfire management/education projects. Project ideas include sponsoring a school or wildfire-safety education campaign, neighborhood canvassing, a fire safety education festival, making the school grounds fire safe by removing brush etc. Across the country, PLT trained educators teaching in both formal and non-formal settings are eligible to apply for and receive GreenWorks! Grants. Deadline: September 30, 2005. For more information visit: www.plt.org.

Great Basin Earth Institute
The Great Basin Earth Institute, a project of the Utah Society for Environmental Education -a nonprofit organization - is a grassroots educational organization whose mission is to motivate individuals to examine and transform personal values and habits, to accept responsibility for the earth, and to act on that commitment. GBEI is part of a National Network of Earth Institutes that developed based on the work of the Northwest Earth Institute in Portland, Oregon.

GBEI offers a series of discussion courses for members of the community. Topics include Voluntary Simplicity, Deep Ecology, Choices for Sustainable Living, Discovering a Sense of Place, and Globalization and its Critics. For more information about the program visit our website at www.usee.org/services/GBEI/home.htm or contact Sommer Thorgusen at (801) 328-1549 or sommer@usee.org.


	Saving Energy With Trees Did you know that trees can help you save money on energy bills? Planting trees near your home provides shade and helps to keep your home cooler in the summer, requiring less energy for air conditioning. Evergreen trees will also help keep your home warmer during the winter by serving as a windbreak.

We would like to welcome our newest Institutional Member:

Friends of Great Salt Lake

We thank the following foundations for their recent contributions:

The Corroon Foundation
The Robert I. Wishnick Foundation


Congratulations to the 2005 Envirothon Winners! 1st place: Uintah High School, Tom Elder, Team Leader 2nd place: Logan High School, Jack Greene, Team Leader 3rd place: South Cache 8th & 9th Grade Center, Ron Hellstern, Team Leader

Congratulations to the 2005 Arbor Day Poster Contest Winners!
BEST OF STATE: Grand Prize – and Kindergarten : Kennedy Sweet - Leo J. Muir Elementary 1st Grade –Josh Allen - Meridian School 2nd Grade - Dylan Cole--Springdale Elementary 3rd Grade –Megan Mounteer - Soldier Hollow Charter School 4th Grade –Leah Jensen - Greenville Elementary 5th Grade –Regina Farley - Blessed Sacrament 6th Grade –James Marlette - Leo J. Muir Elementary We are proud of our members, so please feel free to share your successes with us so that we can share them with the rest of the Utah EE Community!