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.
In 2011, 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 planted a small apple orchard, learned 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 purchased recycling bins for each classroom as well as developed teaching modules about the importance of recycling.
The National Junior Honor Society from Clair E. Gale Junior High used the grant money to purchase plastic recycling bins, allowing them to replace the worn-out cardboard boxes they were using to collect recyclables, as well as provide bins in more locations throughout the school.
The classes presented 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. www.ifearthday.com
WAter Festival
The greater Idaho Falls area Water Festival brings local, state, and federal, as well as private environmental and educational professionals together to offer water education to eastern Idaho schools. Water Festival is a yearly one-day education fair for 5th and 6th graders, and also includes a poetry contest for local schools and water education materials provided to 5th or 6th grade classes throughout the region.
The Greater Idaho Falls Water Festival is sponsored by the Eastern Idaho Environmental Education Association along with local, state, and federal environmental and educational professionals, including the city of Idaho Falls’ water, sewer, power departments, Tautphaus Park Zoo, US Geological Survey, Bureau of Land Management, National Weather Service, Idaho Departments of Environmental Quality, Water Resources, and Fish and Game, Water District 1, local Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Idaho State University Biology Department, Idaho Water Resources Research Institute, Eastern Idaho Public Health District, Gonzales-Stoller ESRF, Idaho National Laboratory, Battelle Energy Alliance and INL Science, Technology, Engineering and Science program, along with many other local businesses who have helped to bring Water Festival to Eastern Idaho!
Water Awareness Week and Water Festival are sponsored across the State by the Idaho Water Education Foundation, and are specifically identified in the Idaho Education Standards for 5th and 6th graders. Water Awareness Week and Water Festivals are planned and completed by local teams organized by regions corresponding to the different water districts and DEQ regions across the State. Idaho Falls Water Festival is planned and carried out by a local committee dedicated to bringing this water education opportunity to local students. The local Idaho Falls Water Festival is sponsored by the Eastern Idaho Environmental Education Association.
Ask a Scientist/Meet a Scientist
EIEEA, Gonzales-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.gsseser.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.
