SunWise

With one in five Americans developing skin cancer in their lifetime, education about sun safety is a vital step toward reducing risk and enjoying the outdoors safely. Children are of particular concern, since unprotected exposure to the sun during youth puts them at increased lifetime risk for skin cancer, and overexposure to the sun is an important health issue for all skin types. The good news is that UV-related health effects are largely preventable by instituting sun-protection practices early and consistently.

Educators, parents, and caregivers can play a major role in protecting children by teaching and modeling sun safe behaviors, and the SunWise program can help. The SunWise program is a free environmental and health education program to teach K-8 children about sun safety, UV radiation, and stratospheric ozone. Educators, parents, caregivers, and others who join the SunWise program receive a FREE tool kit with over 50 cross-curricular, standards-based activities that encourage young people to explore, assess, and understand their natural environment and those factors that affect their health. They also encourage students to be physically active, while protecting themselves from UV radiation at the same time.

Register for SunWise