Join San Antonio area students and staff, elected officials, local organizations, EcoRise, and the National Wildlife Federation to celebrate school sustainability and student innovation at the Third Annual San Antonio Student Sustainability Showcase. The showcase is taking place on Thursday, May 16, 2019, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm at the San Antonio Botanical Garden (555 Funston Pl, San Antonio, TX 78209). It will be National Public Gardens Day, so entry to the Botanical Gardens is free and open to the public.
The third annual Student Sustainability Showcase – hosted in partnership by EcoRise and the National Wildlife Federation – will highlight and celebrate student-driven sustainability projects from districts across the San Antonio region, including San Antonio ISD, Ft. Sam Houston ISD, Harlandale ISD, Northside ISD, and North East ISD. Students will present their ideas and projects, including outdoor classrooms, Monarch Heroes pollinator habitats, water and energy conservation efforts, and plastic waste reduction initiatives. This free, public event celebrates the next generation of green leaders and connects educators with organizations committed to sustainability.
Student projects featured at this year’s showcase have been granted funds from either EcoRise’s Eco-Audit Grant program or National Wildlife Federation’s Texas-based Monarch Heroes Grant program. Both organizations aim to cultivate eco-literacy, encourage project-based learning, and make conservation and ecology a part of academic study and campus culture.
In its third year of partnership, National Wildlife Federation and EcoRise have seen student empowerment and ownership blossom:
“We are so proud of these young leaders and innovators,” EcoRise Texas Program Manager Kristi Hibler-Luton said. “Words cannot describe how amazing it is to hear these students share their ideas and plans with the adults in their community with authority and knowledge! We are grateful to work with such passionate educators who provide the space in their classrooms to make this type of authentic learning happen.”
“The students and teachers here are true Monarch Heroes. After learning about the 90% decline in the monarch butterfly population, they design and create essential native habitat and spread awareness in their community” said Karen Bishop, Education Outreach Coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation. “It is inspiring and gives us hope for wildlife and for our future. Through the school-based Monarch Heroes program, and as a Monarch Champion City through the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge initiative, the San Antonio community has really answered the call to support this species and other pollinators.”
National Wildlife Federation and EcoRise are grateful to the community partners that make programming in San Antonio possible. Funding for EcoRise’s Student Innovation Fund is provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the City of San Antonio, and general EcoRise programming is made possible through the support of HEB, Rackspace, and North East ISD. Funding for the National Wildlife Federation’s Monarch Heroes program in San Antonio is generously provided by HEB Tournament of Champions, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Joan & Herb Kelleher Foundation, and a grant from the Gaynelle and Gene Rankin Endowment Trust of the San Antonio Area Foundation.
About EcoRise: The mission of EcoRise is to inspire a new generation of leaders to design a sustainable future for all. EcoRise’s Eco-Audit Grant Program awards funds to help K–12 students green their school. Over $45,000 has been awarded to more than 100 student projects around the U.S. this year alone.
About The National Wildlife Federation: The National Wildlife Federation works to unite all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in a rapidly changing world. The National Wildlife Federation is the U.S. host for the international Eco-Schools USA program, a network of 50,000 K-12 schools in 62 nations. The Monarch Heroes program was developed in Texas in 2014 to address monarch butterfly population decline and has helped to create pollinator habitat on 114 school campuses in Texas.
Contacts:
Kristi Hibler-Luton, EcoRise
(512) 569-3124
kristi@ecorise.org
Karen Bishop, National Wildlife Federation
512-610-7761
bishopk@nwf.org
