Eastern Idaho Environmental Education Association

EIEEA in Action

To accomplish our mission, EIEEA works with local schools, businesses, and government agencies to support educational programs, and community awareness events and activities that focus on environmental conservation.

Green Your Classroom Grant Program

Thanks to a grant from the Eastern Idaho Environmental Education Association (EIEEA), the Idaho National Laboratory, and iStem, three local schools were chosen to show how they can make a difference in taking care of the Earth.

The goal of the Green Your Classroom Challenge is to demonstrate how students in eastern Idaho can perform actions that will have a positive effect on the environment. After submitting proposals to EIEEA, Rimrock Elementary, Iona Elementary, and Clair E. Gale Junior High were chosen to each receive a $250 grant to complete their Green Your Classroom project. Students in Mrs. Abbott’s fourth grade classroom at Rimrock will plant a small apple orchard, learn how to care for it, and eventually will be able to harvest the fruit as healthy snacks for their fellow students. A fifth grade class at Iona Elementary will purchase recycling bins for each classroom as well as develop teaching modules about the importance of recycling. The National Junior Honor Society from Clair E. Gale Junior High will also use the grant money to purchase plastic recycling bins, allowing them to replace the worn-out cardboard boxes they are currently using to collect recyclables, as well as provide bins in more locations throughout the school.

The classes will present the status of their projects at the Idaho Falls Earth Day Celebration in April 2012.

Idaho Falls Earth Day Celebration
Idaho Falls’ annual Earth Day Celebration is held at the Tautphaus Park Hockey Shelter and Zoo on the fourth Saturday in April. The event features educational exhibits and informational displays on earth-friendly products, recycling and alternative transportation, children’s arts and crafts projects using recycled materials, entertainment, raffles, and classroom projects from area school children. www.ifearthday.com

Idaho Falls Water Festival
In conjunction with the State of Idaho’s Water Awareness Week, the Idaho Falls Water Festival is held annually at Tautphaus Park and at Gem Lake Dam on the second Thursday in May. The event engages sixth-grade students and educators in demonstrations, activities, and educational materials designed to teach water ecology, conservation, and the importance water plays in the health of every living thing.

Ask a Scientist/Meet a Scientist
EIEEA, Stoller ESER Program, and Post Register Newspaper in Education Program have partnered with Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Idaho National Laboratory and Idaho Fish and Game to create a weekly column in the Post Register called Ask a Scientist, calling on the experience and knowledge of a panel of about 50 scientists representing businesses, organizations, and agencies in southeastern Idaho to answer questions from local students and adults. The column features a question from students or adults in the community and an answer to the question by a featured scientist. The column also provides an in-depth article related to the question and an activity to reinforce the subject matter. A website at www.stoller-eser.com/nie supports the column. This project provides a way for students, teachers, and families to communicate with local scientists about local issues.

A second part of the program is a monthly Meet a Scientist forum held at the Museum of Idaho. This program is free to the public and features area scientists. The program, which began in September 2007, has welcomed about 100 children and their parents at each event.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event
Bonneville County’s first organized Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event was held in Idaho Falls on May 12, 2007. Many local and federal agencies, along with members of the current EIEEA board, came together to help make this event possible. It provided small businesses and county residents the opportunity to dispose of hazardous household items that might otherwise end up improperly discarded in our landfills. Nearly 1,200 gallons of used motor oil, 1,200 lbs of electronic equipment, 500 gallons of antifreeze, and 500 automobile batteries were collected and processed for proper disposal.