Integrating the environment and education in the classroom through real-world experiences can improve students’ academic performance, self-esteem and appreciation for the environment.

DTSC provides environmental education resources for teachers, students, parents and youth groups. This information focuses on teaching children to be good stewards of the environment. Lessons, workbooks and hands-on activities afford children an understanding of Earth’s processes and how our actions affect those processes. Publications are available on our Web site and by mail. In addition, guest speakers may be available to present information in the classroom. To determine the availability of a guest speaker in your area, or to make a publication request, please contact DTSC’s Office of External Affairs, Education and Outreach Unit, at (916) 324-1826; webcoord@dtsc.ca.gov; or P.O. Box 806, Sacramento, CA 95812-0806.

Publications

Please note: Until further notice, we are out of stock of the “Protecting Our Environment” Activity and Coloring Books. You may download copies at the links below and reproduce as many as you’d like.

• Protecting Our Environment Activity Book, a guide to reducing, reusing and recycling.
• Protecting Our Environment Coloring Book, about oil recycling, stormwater pollution prevention and household hazardous waste recycling.
• Protegiendo Nuestro Medio Ambiente Libro de Colorido, sobre reciclaje de aceite, prevención de la contaminación de aguas lluviales y reciclaje de desechos peligrosos domésticos.

Evaluating and Cleaning up School Sites

DTSC’s School Property Evaluation and Cleanup Division is responsible for assessing, investigating and cleaning up proposed school property sites. The division ensures that selected properties are free of contamination or, if the properties were previously contaminated, that they have been cleaned up to a level that protects the students and faculty who will occupy the new school.

Education Links

• California Environmental Protection Agency Education Programs
• California Environmental Education Interagency Network (CEEIN)
• Jiminy Cricket’s Environmentality Challenge
• California Regional Environmental Education Community (CREEC) Network
• Earth Day Network
• North American Association for Environmental Education
• California Department of Education, Office of Environmental Education
• Earth 911
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Education

Healthy School Environmental Assessment Tool (HealthySEAT)

The U.S. EPA has developed a comprehensive free software tool to help school districts conduct self-assessments of their school facilities to identify deficiencies and track facility improvements. Based on a program originally developed by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the EPA software for the first time allows school facility and risk managers to address all of their environmental, health, and safety issues using one user-friendly tool. HealthySEAT is designed to be completely customizable to reflect state and district policies, programs, and priorities. For more information on HealthySEAT and other school environmental health issues, visit: https://epa.gov/schools.

California HealthySeat in Development

Several California agencies are working together to incorporate California-specific information — including the Williams Facility Inspection Tool (FIT) — into HealthySEAT to make it easier for California school districts to customize and begin using HealthySEAT in their own districts. The California version of HealthySEAT will be available Spring 2008.