Wrap up your week on a positive note by joining the Kids for Saving Earth Club on Fridays @ 7:15 AM. Come be educated, inspired and empowered to protect the environment. Join hundreds of thousands of kids and grown-ups all over the planet working together to care for the Earth. KSE students learn to create a sustainable Earth through active participation in conservation activities and engagement in instruction and presentations by dynamic and environmentally-conscience speakers.
Meetings are held in the school library, unless otherwise noted. KSE is open to Kindergarten (accompanied by parent or older sibling) through Fifth Grade. Parent volunteers are welcome! For information, contact Becky Luman. You, too, can be a Defender of the Planet!
The 2009-2010 school year served as proof that Briargrove students are committed to saving the Earth. KSE kids were instrumental in implementing recycling at our school, gathering recyclables from the grade pods and hosting 4 curbside recycling events, helping Briargrove collect over 13 tons of recyclables, thus conserving trees, oil, gasoline, water, and electricity. KSE encouraged using ‘FEET NOT FUEL” as they, in conjunction with the Jogging Club, held monthly Walk-Bike-Scoot to School Days.
This school year will be another active one for KSE! Please see the following calendar of events for BG KSE activities posted to date, and check back whenever you get a chance!
Kids for Saving Earth Spring 2012 Calendar of Events (see below for past activities):
May 11: Guest Speaker from Houston’s Green Building Resource Center – Join us in the library as we welcome guest speaker, Mr. Steve Stelzer, LEED® AP, as he explains the importance of LEED® certified buildings to the people who occupy them and to our Earth. In particular, Mr. Stelzer will help us understand how students, parents, faculty, and staff benefit from the healthy environment of schools constructed following USGBC's LEED® Rating System, and show us how our own Grady Middle School will be certified Gold under the LEED® for Schools Rating System. Briargrove and Grady Parents are welcome & encouraged to attend!
May 18: Guest Speaker from Warriors of the Wild - Join us in the library as we go on a journey with The Warriors of the Wild into a world of conservation and sustainability...where we will learn how to make a difference in the world of tomorrow! The Warriors of the Wild will be showing our KSE kids through interactive activities how they can make a difference in the world around them.
May 25: Walk-Bike-Scoot to School Day – KSE to meet at the walkers entrance to greet students and congratulate them for using FEET NOT FUEL! See BG's W-B-S website for tips to make the day a success. KSE kids will also work to keep Briargrove beautiful by picking up trash in our school playground.
**Remember...BG Recycles! Drop off your recyclables in the recycle bin in the back parking lot. Do you part to protect the Earth & help us earn some money for Briargrove by bringing your recyclables to school!**
Kids for Saving Earth (KSE)
KSE is the world's leading children's environmental organization. KSE was founded in 1989 by an 11 year old boy, named Clinton. Clinton was a nature lover, an inventor, and a dreamer, and his biggest dream was for a clean and healthy Earth. As a 6th grade student at Sunny Hollow Elementary in Minnesota, Clinton cared deeply about the environment. He believed children, working together, could help protect the health and beauty of the Earth. So he started a club called "Kids for Saving Earth." Clinton never got to see his dream come true. He died less than a year later, at the age of 11, from a brain tumor.
But Clinton's dream lives on because his family and friends promised to keep his idea alive. They established KSE as a non-profit organization, dedicated to helping children of all ages unite with friends to peacefully help protect Earth's environment. Please visit Clinton's Kids for Saving Earth website to find lots of neat ideas for you to protect your Earth.
KSE Previous Activities 2011-2012
September 9: Kids for Saving Earth Kick-off Meeting - Come be educated, inspired, and empowered to protect the environment. Hear about the background and history of the Kids for Saving Earth Club, recite the KSE Promise, and learn how last year’s KSE activities at Briargrove positively impacted the environment!
September 16: Guest Speaker from Republic Services Recycling – Join KSE as we welcome guest speaker, Ms. Adena Jones of Republic Services, our HISD liaison for recycling education and implementation.
September 23: Guest Speaker from Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition Wildlife Center – Join KSE as we welcome the Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition Wildlife Center. TWRC will introduce us to their Virginia Opossum, “Frodo,” discuss human’s impact on wildlife, and inspire our students in ways to coexist with our wild neighbors.
September 30: Walk/Bike/Scoot to School Day – KSE will team with the Briargrove Jogging Club to hold the first monthly Walk/Bike/Scoot to School Day. KSE to meet at the Walkers entrance to greet students and congratulate them for using FEET NOT FUEL!
October 5: iWalk – KSE will team with the Briargrove Jogging Club to participate with other students from around the U.S. in the 2011 International Walk to School (iWalk) Day. KSE to meet at the Walkers entrance to greet students and congratulate them for using their FEET NOT FUEL! Hike it! Bike It! I like it!
October 7: Guest Speaker from the Rawfully Organic Co-op – Join KSE as we welcome Ms. Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram, founder of the Rawfully Organic Coop, to speak on the human health and environmental benefits of eating raw, organic fruits and vegetables.
October 14: Recycle Art Day. Come be creative and help make signs and crafts to publicize recycling at Briargrove during our Carnival and our Recycle Bowl Competion.
October 15: Briargrove Carnival. Come to the carnival and join other KSE kids and parents to help implement recycling during our school carnival...Boot Camp B*A*S*H!
October 28: Walk/Bike/Scoot to School Day – KSE will team with the Briargrove Jogging Club to hold the monthly Walk/Bike/Scoot to School Day. KSE to meet at the Walkers entrance to greet students and congratulate them for using FEET NOT FUEL!
October 17 to November 12: Recycle Bowl Competition – Briargrove Elementary School is registered to compete in the first ever national Recycle Bowl Competition sponsored by Keep America Beautiful. We are competing against schools from across the nation in the "Community" category...meaning we will happily accept recyclables from school, our students' families, and our neighbors! The competition runs from October 17 - November 12, during which time the KSE Club encourages our students, teachers, staff, and community to make an extra effort to recycle! KSE kids will hold weekly curbside recycling events to accept recyclable materials from students as they arrive at school at the two drop-offs and at the walkers entrances on October 21 & 28 and November 4 & 11. The winners of the Nationwide Community Recycle Bowl Competitions $1,000!
**See the BG Recycles page for more information on recycling at Briargrove & the upcoming curbside recycling events**
November 11: Recycle Bowl Competition/America Recycles Day – KSE will collect recyclables curbside to wrap up our Recycle Bowl Competition and to celebrate America Recycles Day. This week, our recycling emphasis will be on aluminum cans. Please spearate your aluminum cans and place them in a clear plastic bag so that we can turn them in to make money for our school. Students will receive pencils and stickers to commemorate America Recycles Day! See the BG Recycles! website for more tips on recycling at Briargrove. Rememer iCAN Recycle!
November 18: Join KSE as we welcome a Guest Speaker from Keep Houston Beautiful to discuss how human activites contribute to pollution in storm water and provide tips as to what we can do to prevent storm water pollution. KHB will also lead a hands-on demonstration on storm water pollution purification. KHB is our city's leading organization in beautification, litter reduction, and recycling education. For 30 years, KHB reached out to all segments of our community to educate and empower individuals to take greater responsibility for beautifying and enhancing Houston's environment.
November 30: Walk/Bike/Scoot to School Day – KSE and Briargrove Jogging Club team again WEDNESDAY to hold the monthly Walk/Bike/Scoot to School Day. This month, we wrap up our celebration of America Recycles Day (ARD), so join us and pick up your recycling handout when you enter the walkers’ entrance on November 30. KSE/Jogging kids dress warmly and meet at the walkers’ entrance to congratulate students for protecting our Earth by using FEET NOT FUEL! and reminding them that BG Recycles!
December 2: KSE will meet in the library to help our school and the environment by counting & wrapping HEB bags. BG students and their families have been turning in their plastic HEB bags all year to be recycled to make money for our school ($1 per pound). The reprocessed, recycled bags are used to produce new Enviro-Bag trash and tall kitchen garbage bags. Most importantly, though, the old bags do not end up in the environment or in a landfill.
December 9: Join KSE in the library as we welcome guest speaker Bill Goloby from the City of Houston Wastewater Operations Department. Mr. Goloby will show us what happens to the dirty water in our homes that magically disappears down the drain. He will show us how it is treated so that both the dirty stuff and the cleaned water are recycled back into the natural environment. We will be visited by a special mascot and have an interactive discussion with tips on how we can help the process work better by “Corralling the Grease!”
December 16: Join KSE in the library as we welcome guest speaker Jaimie Gonzales, from the Katie Prairie Conservancy for an interactive discussion on our native Texas Prairie lands. Prairies are essential to provide biodivirsity, improve water quality, and absorb floodwaters. Mr. Gonzales will share with us the imporance of prairies, the need to save the remaining open prairie lands, and offer tips and techniques for reversing prairie losses and planting new prairies.
December 23, 30, and January 6: Winter Break! Enjoy your holidays and have a wonderful, healthy, & green time! Here are some quick links to tips for helping you protect yourself & the Earth during the holidays:
**KSE (National) December Conservation Calendar*Wrap Green*Planet Green*Nature Conservancy Green Holidays*Healthy Child Healthy World*Fire Safety Tips**
January 13: Join KSE in the library as we take the KSE Pledge, make individual committments to protect the Earth, discuss our favorite KSE activities during the Fall 2011, and enjoy a slideshow of our KSE activities in 2011 & 2012.
January 20: Join KSE as we welcome our own student Lyda Arnold and her mom, Adriane, as they teach us how to check labels for palm oil: it's in food and cosmetics, and it's destroying orangutan habitats! See what you can do to make a difference!
January 27: Walk/Bike/Scoot to School Day – KSE to meet at the walkers entrance to greet students and congratulate them for using FEET NOT FUEL!
February 3: Human Planet: Oceans (Video) – Join us in the library as we view BBC's video examining the amazing, complex, and challenging relationship between nature and humans.
February 10: Guest Speaker from The Nature Discovery Center – Join us in the library as we welcome Ms. Anne Eisner to present on Scales and Tales...Reptile Awareness. Ms. Eisner will provide an interactive discussion on these cold-blooded creatures, and introduce us to her favorite snake & turtle!
February 17: Guest Speaker from Houston Audubon Society – Join us in the library as we welcome Ms. Bethany Foshee, Coordinator, Docent Programs at the Houston Audubon Society Edith L Moore Nature Sanctuary to present Nature Detectives…Clues to Finding Animal in your own Back Yard. She will introduce us to clues we can use to find animals around our homes, parks, and neighborhoods, and share with us live millipedes & beetles, a tree frog, snake, and turtle.
February 24: Walk/Bike Scoot to School Day – KSE to meet at the walkers entrance to greet students and congratulate them for using FEET NOT FUEL! See BG's W-B-S website for tips to make the day a success.
March 2: Guest Speaker from CenterPoint Energy's Energy Efficiency Program: Join us in the library as we welcome guest speaker Ms. Cheryl Bowman, Program Manager of CenterPoint Energy's Energy Efficiency Program. Ms. Bowman will discuss the importance of conserving energy at school, including best practices and what we can all do to help conserve energy at Briargrove. She will also fill us in on the positive effects that conserving energy has on the environment.
March 9: Guest Speaker from One Green Street. Join us in the library as we welcome guest speaker, Ms. Sherry Eichberger, as she introduces us to DOT and inspires us each to Do One Thing that is good for you and good for the planet! Ms. Eichberger's store, One Green Street, was recently awarded LEED Silver certification, and she was recently honored by City of Houston Mayor Annise Parker and community leaders on March 8 for her accomplishment!
March 23: Bicycle Safety! - Join KSE on the blacktop as we welcome guest speaker Regina Garcia, Bike Texas & Bike Houston, to give us an overview on bicycle safety skills. She will review bicycle rules, safety gear, and tips to make our neighborhood safer for biking and walking. In addition, she'll discuss the benefits of bicycling to improve our health and well-being, as well as the health and safety of our community.
March 30: Walk-Bike-Scoot to School Day – KSE to meet at the walkers entrance to greet students and congratulate them for using FEET NOT FUEL! See BG's Walk-Bike-Scoot website for tips to make the day a success. KSE kids will also paint signs that will be used to promote conservation for The Nature Conservancy's booth at Earth Day Houston at Discovery Green on April 7.
EARTH DAY...A MONTH-LONG CELEBRATION AT BRIARGROVE!!
Participate in a month-long, school-wide Earth Day activities, including the Green School Challenge, planting, curbside recycling, special displays, & guest speakers, The Great BG Book Exchange, and The BG/Nature Conservancy Earth Day 2012 Picnic for the Planet!!
April (Kick-Off!): Briargrove has committed to participating in the Houston Independent School District's Green School Challenge (GSC)! As part of our Earth Day Celebration our Principal, Debi Russell, will introduce our students, teachers, administration, and parents to the GSC, and provide eco-facts to our students on a daily basis to encourage reduction in energy, water, and waste, and an increase in recycling!! Stay posted to the Buzz as to how you can help or participate in the BG GSC team.
April (all month): Green Cup Challenge, sponsored by the Green School Alliance. Use your KSE recycling skills to help Briargrove win his nation-wide challenge! Through April, we will all work together to ensure recycling is implemented correctly at Briargrove. To do this, we will take weekly surveys of our recycling boxes and trash bins to see if trash has been put in recycling bins, or recyclables have been put in the trash. We will submit our information weekly to the Green School Alliance, but we will also compete between classes to see who
April 6: School Holiday! See you next week!
April 13: Guest Speaker from Whole Foods Market – Join KSE as we welcome our friend Lisa Holung from the Woodway Drive Whole Foods Market to teach us about Whole Food's sustainability goals. Learn about the importance of using reusable or paper grocery bags instead of plastic, and what other sustainable measures Whole Foods has implemented to reduce their footprint on the environment!
April 20: Guest Speaker from the Texas Wildlife Association – Join KSE in the Science Room as we welcome guest speaker Mary Pearl Meuth, Education Program Contractor, Texas Wildlife Association, to present on wildlife conservation and natural resource education. She will help us understand the importance of a clean Earth to give wildlife animals a healthy place to live, and will bring animal skins & skulls for us to see and touch.
April 20: The BG/Nature Conservancy Picnic for the Planet. Join us at lunchtime as we team with The Nature Conservancy to hold the Earth Day 2012 Picnic for the Planet at Briargrove Elementary School. The Picnic for the Planet is a celebration of the Earth we live on and the natural gifts it provides. We invite all students, parents, teachers, and administration to join us on the BG grounds to celebrate our Earth through the food we love and the people we enjoy sharing it with!
April 27: Walk-Bike-Scoot to School Day – KSE to meet at the walkers entrance to greet students and congratulate them for using FEET NOT FUEL! See BG's W-B-S website for tips to make the day a success.
May 4: HEB Bag Recycling - KSE will meet in the library to help our school and the environment by counting & wrapping HEB bags. BG students and their families have been turning in their plastic HEB bags all year to be recycled to make money for our school ($1 per pound). The reprocessed, recycled bags are used to produce new Enviro-Bag trash and tall kitchen garbage bags. Most importantly, though, the old bags do not end up in the environment or in a landfill.