Contacts:
Robin Blut / Trina Finley
713-839-8855
E-mail: info@houstonbeautiful.org
Website: www.houstonbeautiful.org
Environmental Education is Just a Mouse Click Away with New
Clean Sweep U.S.A. Program
Web-based program offers a series of six fun learning modules designed to address waste issues
Houston, Texas (December 13, 2004) -- With a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Keep America Beautiful has launched Clean Sweep U.S.A. , a website designed to provide students, teachers and families with information about real-world issues concerning waste. The website, located at www.kab.org/cleansweepusa , contains resources related to garbage, source reduction, composting, recycling, waste–to–energy and landfills.
This program is targeted to reach youth in grades 7-9. The Clean Sweep U.S.A. website is based upon existing, proven Keep America Beautiful curricula and research materials. The online modules are correlated to national educational standards and provide education on how individuals can manage waste to reduce its impact on the environment.
Keep Houston Beautiful is excited about this new program. “We now have an easy, user-friendly tool for teachers to access for their environmental education lessons,” said Robin Blut, Executive Director and Keep America Beautiful Board Member. “We are pleased to support the Clean Sweep U.S.A. website because teachers seek our assistance in obtaining quality resources for their environmental science classes.”
The six lessons use flash animation, gaming, fact-filled downloads and a strong mixture of graphics and waste management resources to provide teacher training and education. Teachers will find specific pages with ideas for Web-directed research and in-class activities. They can download lesson plans and get background information on garbage issues to help prepare for teaching the lesson.
“Students will find the website both fun and interactive,” remarked Trina Finley, Program Manager. Youth in this age group are accustomed to learning using electronic media. “We are certain the Clean Sweep U.S.A. program will both educate and challenge our young people to think about garbage differently.”
The Clean Sweep U.S. A. lessons offered include:
GARBAGE PIZZA – Identify the five options for solid waste management. Understand how these methods can vary in different communities.
WASTE WATCHERS! – Learn about source reduction, the best first option for waste management. Evaluate waste prevention solutions and goals.
COMPOST OFFICE – Find out how composting reduces landfill volume while producing a valuable soil supplement. Study problems that may arise in composting. List ways to use compost.
RECYCLING RULES! – Discover ways recyclable materials can be separated and sorted. See why recycling is worth the extra effort.
ENERGY to BURN – Here's a lesson about how waste-to-energy facilities use trash as a source of energy. Discover how waste materials can be burned to generate electricity.
LANDFILL LOUNGE – Browse through a review of sanitary landfills. Identify the parts of the landfill and explain their function. Accurately construct a model of a sanitary landfill.
Established in 1979, Keep Houston Beautiful is a nationally recognized, award winning affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and is a leading litter reduction, recycling and beautification organization. Keep Houston beautiful partners with community groups, youth organizations, city and state agencies, corporate sponsors and thousands of volunteers annually to organize neighborhood cleanup and beautification activities and community education programs to improve the quality of life and build pride in the Houston community.
Keep America Beautiful, Inc. is a national, nonprofit community improvement and public education organization whose goal is to form community partnerships dedicated to engaging individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments. The Great American Cleanup™ is one of the many programs that encourage people to care for communities through volunteer participation.
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