SFUSD Earth Day Every Day Challenge 2017-2018

The SFUSD Sustainability Office has created the Earth Day Every Day Challenge to instill a culture of environmental stewardship and encourage action in support of the District's sustainability goals:

• Zero Net Energy
• Water Resilience
• Zero Waste
• Sustainable Transportation
• Connection to Nature

​The Earth Day Every Day Challenge is open to K-12 schools in the San Francisco Unified School District. Schools compete by participating in sustainability-related activities and receive points. Winning schools are recognized as eco-leaders and receive a cash prize!

Teachers, staff, and family members can ALL earn points for their school! Here's how:

1. Register for the competition here.

2. Complete sustainability-related activities such as field trips, lessons, and classroom presentations. Check out the recommended activities for schools and events calendar for families, respectively.
You can also develop your own activity, as long as it relates to a sustainability goal!

3. Snap some pictures of your activity and report them to SFUSD to earn your points.

You can earn points by participating in any of the below.

Free, online, interactive programs:

• 5 points. Grades K-3. Penguins: Wings, Beaks, and Feathers, Oh My! October 13. 9:10am or 11:10am.
  In this free online program, Academy museum educators will bring K-3 students into our African Penguin exhibit! By observing the penguins in our colony, students learn how they are similar to other birds and how any differences help them survive in their environment. Students will have the chance to ask their questions, too!​

• 5 points. Grades 4-8. Food Systems. November 9 - 9:10am or 10:10am
  In this 45 minute program, we will explore the ingenuity of individuals designing ways to support ecosystems and communities. Students will build upon their own ideas on impacts of one of the biggest impacts on Earth’s ecosystems: feeding all humans. Students will be challenged to design simple, personal solutions for minimizing impacts while meeting the needs of people, plants, and animals. At the end, they will create their own Planet Hero Action Plan. ​

• 5 points. Grades 3-5. Spooktacular Skulls. Friday, Oct 27th; Monday, Oct 30th; and Tuesday, Oct 31st. 9:00am or 10:10am
  ​Looking to make Halloween excitement into a fun science experience? Join this free 45 minute online program from the California Academy of Sciences. Come face-to-face with a diversity of spooktacular skulls! Watch a live colony of flesh-eating beetles in action as they devour and clean flesh from bones. Examine eye sockets, teeth, and other features to find out if mystery skulls were predator or prey.

• 5 points. Grades 4-8. Energy Use. April 20 & 23 - 9:10 or 10:10am. 
  Energy is an important part of our everyday lives. We use energy to cook, get around, and send emails. In this 45 minute program, students will build on their own ideas on impacts associated with energy use and fossil fuels. Students will design simple, personal solutions for minimizing those impacts and learn how people are coming up with innovative sustainable energy alternatives for a brighter future. By the end, they create their own Planet Hero Action Plan.

  ​Register here to attend any of these free online programs!
   

Lesson plans:

• 5 points. Grades 3-8. How Much Water Do You Eat?
  At the end of this lesson students will be able to recognize that some foods have lower water footprints than others; plan and create a healthy, balanced meal that has a low water footprint; and understand how each person’s food choices affect the water availability in the environment.
   
• 5 points. Grades 1-12. Reducing San Francisco's Landfill Waste.
  Students will learn to sort waste items into appropriate waste receptacles in San Francisco (Compost, Landfill, and Recycling); understand why it is important to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfills; learn that compostable items decompose to become part of the soil; and help San Francisco meet its waste-free goal!
   
• 20 points. Grades 6-10. Building Better Buses: Transportation Design Challenges.
  ​This lesson is composed of 3 challenges, each addressing a different aspect of how to design an efficient public bus system for a fictitious town while taking into account the benefits and drawbacks of various fuel options. All challenges involve mathematical & computational thinking and modeling that is connected not only to the NGSS, but also to the middle school Common Core math standards.