Eco Experience
with Eco Chick
In this issue:
-->4J/EWEB Education Partnership Program Message
-->Eco News
- Introducing 4J's Five Year Climate Action Plan!
- Recognize 4J Eco Champions
-->Monthly Matters
- Earth Day 2025 Our Planet, Our Power
- Local Power
- Earth Week Actions
- Meatless Monday
- Transportation Tuesday
- Waste not, Want Not Wednesday
- Thrifty Thursday
- Forest Friday
- Water Weekend
- Get Your building involved-create a Drawdown Eco Challenge for your people!
- Food Waste Awareness Season
-->Events and Opportunities
- Take Action, Take the Earth Week Pledge!
- Jane Goodall Livestream 4/10
- Reimagine Earth Day Eugene 4/13
- Trans Wild Forest Frolic 4/19
- Mt. Pisgah Arboretum's Earth Day work party 4/26
- Sign up for the Summer (Climate) Institute
- Join Oregon Climate Thought Leaders Committee
--> Resources
- Subject to Climate's Earth Month
- K-12 Earth Month Calendar
- Let's Go Eco! with Mr. Eco (for elementary)
- Garden Season is beginning!
- Green Schools National Network "Greenprint"
-->Eco Experience Archive
-->Sites: SPLASH!, 4J/EEP, The Salmon Spot
Happy Spring, People!
It's the 55th anniversary of Earth Day this year! It's that time of year to honor our Mother Earth, marvel in her beauty and check in with our actions to help her. With so much change in 4J, it has been decided to scale our month long plans to a condensed one week version for individual actions that can be shared with your students, team mates, departments, or as a soloist. Utilize this newsletter and the 4J Celebrate's Earth Day website for resources. We will aim for a big Earth month district wide challenge for 2026!
I know there is a lot going on in the world and adding climate action into the big picture can feel daunting and overwhelming. I have been leaning into Elizabeth Johnson's messaging in her book, "What if we get it right?". I find it inspiring to imagine outcomes where climate solutions win and humans rally to make a collective change. I continue to believe there is time and we can regenerate the planet within this generation...if we adapt and mitigate now. This newsletter provides some ways to begin to dig into your personal practices and join together with others across 4J collectively to change the culture of our district toward a greener workplace. (See the Green Print under the resources section.)
I encourage you read Elizabeth Johnson's book, "What if we get it right? "(along with All We Can Save), to watch her short TED talk (below) and work on your own venn diagram...it's a helpful, hopeful exercise. It takes all of us identify climate action that brings us joy, highlights what we are good at and ways to take action for the things we care about. There is much to do and still time to act.
Let's rally, People!
In solidarity,
Tana aka Eco Chick
Atmos: A Glimpse At The Future If We Get Climate Action Right
Do you know a 4J Eco Champion?
Every building in Eugene 4J has Eco Champions and we want to highlight and celebrate their efforts!
Use this form to nominate Eco Champions in your buildings to be highlighted in a special Eco Experience edition later this spring featuring colleagues that go above and beyond to make sustainable practices a priority. It may be your custodian, nutrition services staff, teachers, EA's, admin, students...ANYONE and everyone....even yourself! Nothing wrong with a little self-promotion.
Earth Day 2025-Our Planet, Our Power
EARTH DAY, EVERY DAY!
This year is the 55th anniversary of Earth day. The theme for Earth Day 2025 is OUR POWER, OUR PLANET, inviting everyone around the globe to unite behind renewable energy, and to triple the global generation of clean electricity by 2030.
How? By joining in Earth Action Day, encouraging all to take action—educate, advocate, and mobilize. Pledge an Earth Action on social media. Attend/plan/register a local event. Integrate Earth Day lessons into your curricula. There are so many ways to play! EARTH DAY 2025
And few other resources:
Local Power info
EWEB Where Our Power Comes From
Earth Day Resources
2025 Subject to Climate Earth Day Resource Guide
Earth Reminder: Earth Day Activities
Nat Geo Kids: History of Earth Day
ACT now Climate Action Super Heroes
-->Check out the Eugene 4J Celebrate's Earth Day page and Earth Action Week for resources.
Meatless Monday
Save Water and Land!
Plan a meatless meal.
Figure out your food footprint.
Explore Plant-based alternatives.
Adopt a new vegan/vegetarian recipe.
Take the pledge and commit to a new green habit! ---> Take the Pledge!
Transportation Tuesday
Reduce Your Carbon Footprint!
- Walk!
- Ride your bike.
- Get a bus pass.
- Travel by bus.
- Carpool.
- Bike Caravan.
- Skate, roll, scoot to school/work.
Take the pledge and commit to a new green habit! ---> Take the Pledge!
Waste not, want not Wednesday
Reduce Your Waste!
- Reduce what you need.
- Choose reusable over single use items.
- Love Food Not Waste-start curbside composting at home!
- Always bring a reusable water bottle or cup!
- Eat your leftovers!
- Eat Smart. Waste Less.
- Recycle Right.
Take the pledge and commit to a new green habit! ---> Take the Pledge!
Thrifty Thursday
Save Money & the Planet!
- Buy second hand items.
- Hang clothes to dry.
- Choose recyclable items.
- Repair instead of replace.
- Eat your leftovers!
- Shower less.
- Say "no" to things you don't need.
Take the pledge and commit to a new green habit! ---> Take the Pledge!
Forest Friday
Get Outside & Love Our Planet!
- Walk instead of drive.
- Make friends with a tree.
- Take a hike.
- Smell the flowers.
- Sit by a river.
- Climb the butte.
- Ride a bike.
- Plant a tree.
- Watch an insect.
- Listen to the birds sing.
Take the pledge and commit to a new green habit! ---> Take the Pledge!
Water Weekend
Conserve and Protect Water!
- Always use cold water unless you need it hot.
- Don't leave the tap running.
- Take shorter showers.
- Run full loads of laundry/dishes.
- Water outdoors only when needed.
- Pick up litter to keep waterways clean.
Take the pledge and commit to a new green habit! ---> Take the Pledge!
Create a Drawdown Eco Challenge for your site!
Connect the dots between climate solutions and climate actions to help reverse climate change with Drawdown Ecochallenge!
Drawdown Ecochallenge is offered in partnership by Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown. Together, we're taking action on the most substantive solutions to climate change. Stretch your limits, earn points, and see your positive impact grow. Take the challenge, and see how a few weeks of action add up to a lifetime of change for you and the planet.
Ecochallenge.org's social change platform + curriculum connect a global community of advocates and changemakers, each doing what we can, in ways that are most relevant to us, to make this great spinning dot we call home a healthier, more equitable, more sustainable place.
Welcome to the Drawdown Eco Challenge
Food Waste Prevention Week April 7-13
Did you know...each year Eugene puts 40 million pounds of food waste into our local landfill?
Thankfully there are many ways to prevent food waste.
In our fast paced way of living with all things conveniently at our fingertips, we have lost sight of what an important and valuable resource food is and where our food comes from. With K-12 food waste collection happening in our cafeterias across the district, the time is ripe to teach and promote food waste prevention.
Food waste is wasted resources-water, land, cash. Preventing food waste and addressing food waste properly is one of the EASIEST things we can all do to help reduce carbon emissions immediately. Believe it or not, composting falls pretty low on EPA's food waste hierarchy, so understanding how food is wasted, why food is wasted and strategies to prevent such waste will help us all understand how we can do our part.
Stop Food Waste Day April 30th
And, yet another day to recognize the importance of food waste prevention. the STOP food waste site has stories, recipes, a campaign tool kit and more. I especially like the page: Why Stop Food Waste?
Prevent, Inspire and Repurpose
- Prevent food waste at source by storing food optimally, making use of every edible part of the ingredient and planning meals ahead of time
- Inspire others to waste less, and repurpose more
- Repurpose food by redistributing any surplus to your local community, or giving a second life to ingredients that most commonly go to waste
Jane Goodall Livestream
Livestream with Jane Goodall
April 10, 2025 07:00 PM -April 10, 2025 09:00 PM
Visiting SAGE Jane Goodall on the Future of Hope
Conservation icon, Dr. Jane Goodall will take the stage for one night in Oregon to share personal reflections on her remarkable life, her trailblazing work and her inspirational message of hope for our planet.
This event will take place live on April 10, 2025 at the Elsinore Theatre in Salem. Tickets to the event are sold out. You can view the event with the purchase of a livestream ticket (also known as a simulcast).
Your purchase helps to offset the cost of offering the livestream. You can purchase a single livestream ticket and attend the livestream with other people in your household. If you are a teacher, you can also purchase a single livestream ticket and share the livestream with students in your classroom.
After the event, livestream ticket holders can view the livestream for up to two weeks.
Reimagine Earth Day
Re-Imagine Earth Day
"A coalition of organizations and agencies dedicated to sustainability is proud to announce Re-Imagine Earth Day, an inspiring, action-oriented community event designed to empower individuals and communities to live more sustainably. Learn about everything from reuse to food waste prevention.
Time & Location
Apr 13, 2025, 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM PDT
Farmers Market Pavilion, 85 E 8th Ave, Eugene, OR 97401, USA
About the event
This dynamic indoor/outdoor event, hosted by MECCA, BRING, Shift Community Cycles, City of Eugene Waste Prevention, and Waste Wise Lane County–a part of Lane County Waste Management–will foster tangible behavior change and provide opportunities to engage, learn, and take meaningful steps toward a healthier planet.
The event is free and open to all.
Sign up: Climate Generation's Summer Institute
Calling Oregon K-12 Educators:
Join a community of educational professionals and mentors who can support your climate change knowledge and teaching strategies!
Our Summer Institute network is full of educators and climate change practitioners doing just that! Discover best practices, hands-on activities, lesson plans, and tools that will help you strengthen your climate curriculum and better support your learners.
Whether you’re a formal classroom teacher or a non-formal educator, this is the perfect opportunity to grow your climate change education skills and connect with like-minded professionals. Plus, scholarships are available.
- When: July 14 – 17, 2025
- Where: Virtual July 14-15 (national) and in person (Oregon Cohort) July 16-17, South Slough Reserve, Coos Bay
- Who: Educators passionate about climate teaching
- Cost: $250 Registration (some scholarships available) + travel
- Graduate Credits Available
- Questions? Email: jaime.c.belanger@dsl.oregon.gov
- Register here: https://climategen.org/summer-institute/
Join the Oregon Climate Thought Leaders Committee
Join us on the third Tuesday of each month!
You are invited to join the Oregon Climate Education Thought Leaders Committee to:
Build a community that empowers educators to teach and learn about climate change
Help shape and grow the Oregon Climate Education Hub by sharing resources and providing feedback so that it remains relevant to Oregon educators
Identify ways to collaborate to spread awareness of these resources in a way that grows all stakeholders’ work
Register in advance for this meeting by filling out this Google Form.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting (a Zoom link and Google Calendar Invite).
About the Advisory Committee
Our aim is to create a community of practice toward the goal of making it easier for Oregon educators of all grade levels and subjects to integrate climate change education into their existing lessons and teaching practices so their students will have access to powerful climate education throughout their lives.
Garden Season is Beginning!
Here are a couple of helpful resources to get you going with native plants:
Oregon Department of Forestry Native Trees and Plants of Oregon booklet
Green Schools National Network "Greenprint"
The National Green School Network's Green Print model had changed and is more encompassing of the whole school culture. I really appreciate the rethink after all these years-centering on equity, sustainability and health, then branching out beyond to all the elements that make schools schools from leadership to facilities to curriculum and instruction, as well as culture and climate. All things that affect students, staff, faculty and our community. This is a big shift from just doing a recycling program and having a green team. The movement is toward inclusion of all concerned parties.
Click the link below to learn more.
SPLASH! Stormwater Pollution Learn and Share site
4J/EWEB Education Partnership Program site
Salmon Education-The Salmon Spot
4J/EWEB Education Partnership
TOSA-Climate. Energy. Conservation
Email: shepard_t@4j.lane.edu
Website: https://bit.ly/4J-eep
Phone: 541.790.5533