Implementing the Greening STEM Approach at Your School or Organization
The first thing to decide when implementing Greening STEM, is who you want to partner with to collaboratively develop and deliver the STEM learning activities. Setting aside the environmental topic or issue that will be explored, consider the following questions.
- Within your school, district or organization, who can contribute their expertise, skills, and time to help launch an interdisciplinary project-based approach?
- Outside of your coworkers, who in the public lands or waters community can contribute resources, such as staff, to a series of place-based learning activities?
- How will any expenses be covered?
Thoroughly exploring these questions can lead to successful implementation.
Hear from public middle school teachers who have successfully implemented Greening STEM programs in partnership with federal public lands and local nonprofits. Get inspired to start a Greening STEM program at your school and then follow our step-by-step guide to get you started. Greening STEM offers an experiential education program that will stick with your students for a lifetime.
Benjamin Franklin Middle School
NEEF interviewed science teacher, Veronica Lopez, about environmental education and Greening STEM. Watch what Ms. Lopez has to say about the exciting work Teaneck Public Schools are undertaking with their middle school students.
Central High School
NEEF interviewed science teacher, Spencer Powell, about environmental education and Greening STEM. Watch what Mr. Powell has to say about Mesa County Valley School District No. 51’s approach to environmental education.
Pearl City High School
Watch NEEF’s interview with Jessica Stoerger, a natural resource teacher at Pearl City High School in Pearl City, Hawaii. Jessica was the lead teacher for the NEEF USDA Forest Service Greening STEM demonstration project in 2020.
Start by making a list of likely tangible and intangible needs, such as transportation or funding, for the project. Next, add any potential internal or external partners that could provide those resources. Also, consider how decision makers will be integrated into the partnership. Will they be intimately involved or just sign-off when the time comes?
Depending on the topic selected for your program, good places to look for potential partners include:
- Public land or water management agencies (For more guidance on partnering with a federal agency (i.e. BLM, NPS, USFS) check out our recent webinar)
- Natural resource agencies
- Public works departments
- Public utilities
- Non-profit organizations
- Businesses in your community that employ STEM literate workers
Some may already be interested in developing STEM-based learning activities and others may have educational programs that can be incorporated into yours.
Deciding on a topic or issue early will help identify needed partners.
Before contacting potential partners, it is good to have identified the ways these agencies or organizations can potentially help your program.
- Can they provide a field site as an outdoor classroom?
- Can they provide staff with technical expertise as volunteer co-educators?
- Can they provide needed gear or equipment?
- Can they provide transportation or funding?
It is important to develop a checklist of questions for each type of partner.
Before contacting potential partners, you should prepare a “pitch” to hook their attention, spark their curiosity, and suggest how they will benefit from getting involved. It is okay to have a generic inquiry. However, adapting your appeal to include information about the potential partner and ways they can help will show them you are serious about including them in your project.
You may consider asking them if they would recommend anyone else that might be interested in your project. You can ask, “Who else should I be talking to?”
And don’t get discouraged! It may take more than one phone call or email to connect with a potential partner. Remember, you are developing a relationship that is a good fit and long-lasting.
To establish accountability and mutual trust, you should make sure that partner roles and processes are defined and agreed upon. Ideally, partners will truly collaborate to develop a series of Greening STEM education activities that would be unachievable individually.
Internal partners, such as a team of teachers or coworkers, will likely trust and be accountable to one another.
Fundamental first steps when working with external partners include the following:
- Agreeing upon a leadership structure
- Establishing the means and frequency of communications
- Defining the decision-making process
Creating a project timeline that identifies important milestones and who is responsible for achieving them, will help ensure the right partners are involved and mutually committed. If needed, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) or contract can confirm these agreements.
You can use already budgeted field trip funding to pilot a Greening STEM field experience. It’s one way to start small and demonstrate to decision makers and potential partners the value of this approach.
You can apply for a Greening STEM grant to start or expand field-based programming.
Finally, private foundations and government agencies are two additional funding sources that offer a range of grants.
- Congressional appropriations have included funding for states and districts, through the Every Student Succeeds Acts (ESSA) Title IV, Part A Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants program, to support science and STEM education. Title I funding for school-wide programs, 21st Century Learning Centers funding, and Title II Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) grants Supporting Effective Instruction may be available to support large-scale programs.
- Private foundations and government agencies such as NOAA’s B-WET (Bay Watershed Education and Training) grants that provide competitive funding to support meaningful watershed educational experiences for K–12 audiences.