March 26, 2020

Dear Conference Registrants,

As the emerging public health crisis has heightened dramatically in recent days, we have made the very difficult decision to cancel the March LEEF conference. The situation is hugely disappointing, but unfortunately largely out of our control. This is a year’s worth of valuable work, and in such a unique collaboration, with so many appealing aspects.

Cancelling is a shame, but the good news is that we have secured the same location for a make-up conference to be held November 20 - 22, 2020! (More details on that to come soon.)

For now, we would like to tell you about your options for handling the payments you’ve already made for the March conference:

1.  Registration Fee Refunds

The Board of Directors have approved a one-time exception to the Conference Cancellation and Refund Policy. For those who request a registration refund, LEEF will grant it in full.

2.  Registration Fee Transfers

If you would like to keep your registration fees on hold in our account to use toward the make-up conference in the Fall, we are happy to do that for you.

3.  Registration Fee Donations

In light of the substantial financial impact that this cancellation will have on LEEF, we do ask all to consider converting your registration fee, or a portion of it, to a general charitable tax-deductible donation to help offset unrecoverable costs, for which we are happy to provide a receipt.

To submit your choice of refund, transfer, or donate options, please follow this link to the LEEF Conference Refund Request survey. This survey must be completed by April 30, 2020.

Because of the volume of registrants, please have patience as we process refunds and receipts.

What about your lodging payment?

We have talked with the good people at the Florida Elks Youth Camp, and they have offered refunds on all room deposits. The cancellations were made to all last week, so look for that refund on your credit card.

Obviously we suddenly have a whole new set of tasks, questions, and challenges. And we will work them out. Your understanding and support in this difficult choice is gratefully appreciated. We are still in this together and we wish you and your family health and wellness.

Regards,

Sarah Davis

LEEF President

From University of South Florida's Patel College of Global Sustainability:

Join us for an epic statewide dialog on how to Solve Climate by 2030. The WebEx webinar will take place April 7, 2020 at 6pm EDT. After a brief message from the national Solve Climate by 2030 organizers, we will hear from Yoca Arditi-Rocha, Executive Director, The CLEO Institute; Dr. T.H. Culhane, Director, Climate Change Concentration, Patel College of Global Sustainability, University of South Florida; and Laura Stargel, Florida Field Organizer, Our Climate. Moderator: Dr. Brooke Hansen, Director, Sustainable Tourism Concentration, Patel College of Global Sustainability, University of South Florida, kbhansen@usf.edu; cell 607-280-1147

PLEASE REGISTER HERE under state Power Dialogs http://www.solveclimateby2030.org/ to receive the link for the live webinar, or if you would like to be e-mailed a link to the recording. We will be using WebEx so download to your devices ahead of time. For more info, contact Franklin Dureke at idureke@usf.edu. Join our Facebook group here for discussions both before and after the webinar https://www.facebook.com/groups/923130974805088/ We are also creating a master list of climate change organizations in the state and will make that available to all who register for the webinar. Perfect for teachers, especially high school and college, who want to #makeclimateaclass and take advantage of the many additional curriculum materials developed for specific disciplines on the Solve Climate by 2030 website.

On behalf of Eco-Schools USA, Project WET and Project WILD welcome to this co-created professional development. Thank you for choosing this course to support your professional needs. We want to acknowledge your hard work as you are finding new ways to support student learning and collaborate with the community. Thank you!

As a reminder, the course is free and self-paced. In an effort to meet everyone where they are during this trying and ever changing time, the course will remain open through the end of June. Upon completion of the course you will be emailed the free lessons provided to you by Project WET and Project WILD.

Access the course here. https://wildlifeuniversity.schoolkeep.com/c/e7944bc15b22dc288c05a51f89919f2fe26b7368

The Glades 4-H Club of Broward County has partnered with the Sawgrass Nature Center and Wildlife Hospital of Coral Springs for their Community Pride Project: Feeding South Florida’s Rescued Animals. After discussing a few different needs in the local community, the club then set out a plan to help provide a renewable food source for the rescued animals at the non-profit wildlife hospital. There was an area for a garden at the center, but it was overgrown with weeds and the existing border for the garden consisted of rotting wood. The club was awarded the Florida 4-H Community Pride Grant to build a new raised garden bed and to plant herbs and vegetables to serve as a sustainable food source for the rescued animals. In December 2019, the club met at the Sawgrass Nature Center and dismantled the old garden by removing rotting wood timbers. The club then assembled a new paver retaining wall and filled the garden with organic topsoil. In January, the club met again at the Nature Center to plant lettuce, herbs, peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers. The club donated a watering can and attached a 4-H banner over the garden. Volunteers from the Nature Center helped to water the garden as needed using water collected from existing rain barrels. The club is happy to report that the garden flourished and by early February, some of the vegetables were ready to be harvested. It has been really exciting and rewarding to watch the rescued animals enjoying their organic vegetables! The Glades 4-H club will continue working with the Sawgrass Nature center over the next few months as they finish their Community Pride Grant project.

 

Share your knowledge and expertise of STEAM! We are seeking innovative, dynamic presenters to engage with attendees through lecture style, round table and inquiry-based sessions.

What

2020 Florida STEAMposium

Uniting Florida schools and stakeholders around the common goal of preparing the Florida STEAM Workforce for the future by building strong foundations for each and every Florida child in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math through high quality, engaging standards-based instruction

When & Where

June 15-18, 2020 | Melbourne, FL

Important Deadlines

Session Applications are due Saturday, February 29

Decision and notification sent Friday, March 20

For more information, or to apply, visit: https://www.floridasteamposium.org/apps_to_present/index.php.

Questions, please call 850.245.0078 or email Jennifer.Infinger@fldoe.org.

A fun, engaging teaching resource on waste & consumption issues that supports curriculum standards for Grades 3-5. Fully funded (no cost!) for teachers in Florida, the Zero Heroes resource helps you: * Meet Sunshine State curriculum standards for Grades 3-5 with 6x1hr pre-planned lessons (60-90 min each) - plug and play!

* Include Indigenous knowledge and perspectives, with content developed in collaboration with Elders, culture keepers, and artists. Learn more.

* Engage diverse learners through a fun arts-based and interdisciplinary approach

Sign up your class @ planetprotectoracademy.com/in/florida-zh Want to know more? Check out the two-minute video for a quick overview!

On March 7th, 2020, Will Freund will set out on the climate awareness project, Climate, Kayak, and Conversation. He will be kayaking from Miami, Florida to Norfolk, Virginia along the Intracoastal Waterway. The mission of this project is to record the stories of those in coastal communities on the charges they have witnessed in their lifetime. These will be recorded interviews that will be edited into a documentary format at the conclusion of the project this summer.

Will will be making his way through the Florida region between March 7th and mid-April along with many other boaters in the Intracoastal Waterway community. From January 31st through February 4th, he will be doing a practice run from Tampa to Sarasota.

You can learn more about the project at: www.climatekayakandconversation.org or on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or Twitter. If you are interested in becoming part of the project or want to help in some way, head on over to the project website and fill out the form under the contact tab. Members of LEEF, family, and friends are invited to arrange to meet Will at one of his stops. You can track his progress and/or contact him through his website.

On June 25-26, 2020, Saint Leo University in Saint Leo, Florida will host a Sustainability conference that aims to bring together numerous college and university constituencies – faculty, staff, administrators, students – to share ideas, successes, challenges, and best practices for infusing sustainability-related ideas into the curriculum and incorporating sustainability initiatives into established institutional infrastructures.

The conference committee is interested in panels, papers, and workshops that allow faculty in higher education, K-12, and community education to exchange practical hands-on methods of integrating sustainability lessons into existing courses. For public or private school teachers this conference presents an excellent opportunity to earn CEUs. Student panels and student-faculty papers are also welcome. Administrators, Plant Operation Directors, and Student Services personnel are also invited to share their knowledge and tips, as well as the challenges they face in infusing sustainable practices into their organizations, actions, and events. To read more about the conference, please visit: https://www.saintleo.edu/sustainability-conference

Students are inviting their local communities to "Go Green and Think Blue" by joining them in the annual Students for Zero Waste Week campaign. During this campaign, students focus on reducing land-based waste in order to protect the health of local marine environments. These young leaders are raising awareness of how single-use plastic and other types of litter affect the health of local watersheds, national marine sanctuaries, and the ocean. In addition, some schools are looking at ways to reduce their energy use on campus with hopes of raising awareness of how the burning of fossil fuels also impacts the health of the ocean.

For more info and to register, visit https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education/ocean_guardian/zero-waste-week/

Organizations seeking funding for projects that educate students about the source of their food, fiber, forest, flowers and fuel are in luck. Florida Agriculture in the Classroom will be offering 2020 Volunteer Grants to pay for agriculture-related projects that reach students in pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade in the spring.

Farm Bureaus, Extension Offices, non-profit organizations and governmental agencies are eligible. Grant applications are due Friday, March 13, 2020.

For guidelines and application, visit https://faitc.org/volunteer-grants/