Due to the field trip and classroom visit restrictions in our district, the salmon education component of the 4J/EWEB Education Partnership program will be a VIRTUAL learning experience again this year.

While you won't have your own salmon tanks, in-person visits or field trips, our team has developed an engaging virtual salmon experience for your students.

By registering with the link below, you will receive a link to the unit and further information soon!

Register here for access by Friday, October 8th.

The 4J Climate Justice Team is open to all 4J staff and students.

Our goal is to create learning opportunities regarding climate change for Pre-K through 12th grade students, as well as highlight/establish sustainable practices district wide and support student clubs in actionable projects. There are many ways to be involved with subcommittees-curriculum, student clubs, potential for several subgroups and many ways to be involved that may work for you.

We will meet via zoom the second Tuesday of each month. Our first meeting is Tuesday, September 14 @ 4:00.

Use this link to join the team and tell us how you'd like to be involved in 4J Climate Justice work this year!

Register here.

(Note: Parents and interested community members will be included at a later date).

If you want to...

• include climate change in your teaching
• brainstorm ways to connect students to the climate crisis with hope and solution
• access resources regarding energy, water, climate
• start an Eco Club in your building
• support food waste in your building
• learn more about how to conserve resources
• engage your students in action projects
• access ideas to get your students outside regularly

...it's Eco Chick at your service!

Email me to set up a consultation meeting: shepard_t@4j.lane.edu

Here are some examples:

• Rent or borrow – borrow the items you need for a limited time from a library, service or peer-to-peer network. The ToolBox Project, Eugene Public Library, Eugene Buy Nothing group
• Upcycle – transform a material you already have into the item you are looking for. 185 cool ideas
• Swap – host or attend a clothing swap to help redistribute items locally....and invite me!
• Recycled Materials – take a closer look at the materials used in manufacture of items you need and support makers that create using second hand materials. Not all items themselves can be bought second hand but perhaps those products can be consciously created using repurposed materials. 11 ways to avoid Greenwashing
• Repair – try to mend what you have or have it altered or fixed by someone who can. Fix It
• Consume less – simply buy only what you need and nothing more. Ask yourself, "On a scale of 1 to 500 years, how much do I need this?"

Second Hand September

September is National Preparedness Month (NPM). It is an observance each September to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time.

The 2021 theme is “Prepare to Protect. Preparing for disasters is protecting everyone you love.”

Weekly themes include:

1. Make a plan

2. Build a kit

3. Low-cost/No-cost Preparations

For more info:

https://www.ready.gov/september

Additional resources:

4J/EEP's Aware and Prepared

Check out EWEB's Pledge to Prepare campaign.

Be a ready kid.

Visit the Oregon Office of Emergency Management for more info.

While you may not be able to get your students out to a creek near you to do water quality testing, there are many ways to get students involved in understanding the importance of water quality.

Here are a few resources:

EPA's How's my waterway?

Let's Shift: Water Quality video

4J/EEP's Water is Life page has conservation tips, info about where our local water comes from and more for students.

Earth Echo's site is dedicated to Click here for some Action Guides, lesson plans and resources for teachers.

SPLASH!-Stormwater Learn and Share is a resource provided by the City of Eugene for Stormwater Education K-8, as well as Salmon curriculum for grades 5-12.

EWEB's Water Quality Information

Hi, let's shift our food waste.

Love Food Not Waste and 4J have partnered to provide schools compost bins to make reusing food waste even easier.

Introducing the Shift campaign-ideas to shift our minds and shift our habits to reduce community greenhouse gas emission.

Eugene 4J is a leader in the community for climate action as part of the Eugene Climate Collaborative. 4J staff are invited to make small shifts to make a big difference-at home and in the workplace. Our district has identified four areas for staff to consider shifting-transportation, food waste, consumption and water quality. Small shifts, make a big impact in helping our community work toward collective carbon emissions reduction by 2030.

For more information check out the links below.

Shift-full video

Shift Campaign info

Hi, let's shift what's downstream.

Water gives life to Eugene; our rivers area a source of clean power, delicious water and floating fun.

You can protect our rivers by keeping pollutants like soap, trash, pet waster and chemicals out of the stormwater drains.

Hi, Let's shift how we get around.

Can you replace one trip a week with one of LTD's new electric buses?

Eugene has great public transportation, and it's getting better all the time.

Visit LTD.org today to find your fastest route.

Hi, let's shift how we buy.

Where do you buy school supplies?

Shopping at locally-owned stores helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and supports local neighbors.

When possible, consider making school and personal purchases from local stores instead of online retailers to help protect our environment and support locally owned businesses.