Educational Programs for Schools

Don't Mess with Texas

Help the next generations of Texans learn that Don’t mess with Texas® means don’t litter. Lesson plans and an activity book are FREE to download and utilize for teachers and parents with students in Pre-K through high school.
https://www.dontmesswithtexas.org/classroom-materials

Little Texans from Pre-K through high school love following Darrel the Barrel through games, mazes and coloring pages while learning how to keep Texas clean. Download the Activity Book

Urban Runoff Challenge

The City of Houston and Keep Houston Beautiful's Urban Runoff Challenge is a curriculum designed to help educators teach students the challenges of urban runoff and highlight what we can do to keep Houston water clean. The curriculum is targeted at 4th grade students and makes urban runoff understandable, through awareness and engagement. Using a learning cycle of Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate, the website is designed to actively engage students in learning essential science concepts through guided inquiry.

Marine Debris: Explore the Issue of Trash Along the Texas Coast

Texas has a beautiful coastline along the Gulf of Mexico. However, this environment has a BIG problem: trash. This Learning Guide produced by the team at Chasing the Tide, includes a video that highlights the issue of marine debris and the damage caused by the most prominent material - plastics. Learn what we can all do to prevent trash from ending up in our waterways using this resource.

The Litter Free School Zone

The Litter Free School Zone is a program for everyone from students to whole schools. It is a fun way to keep their school zone litter free. Students can work together while learning valuable community leadership and responsibility skills. They will gain a respect for the environment and world around them.

The Zero and One Club

The Zero and One Club challenges students to produce "zero" litter and pick up "one" piece of litter every day. The club is based on individuals making "one small step toward a litter free community." It is designed to show how one small action can have a huge impact on the environment. If a single classroom of 30 students participates in one day they will pick up 30 pieces of litter, in one month they will pick up 930 pieces of litter and in one year they will pick up 11, 160 pieces of litter!

Requirements From Schools

There must be a designated faculty/staff member to be the contact person.
Students group agrees to periodic cleanups of the campus
Recyclable items separated from collected litter and taken to a recycling collection center
Report graffiti to appropriate school officials.
At least one school event must be litter-free-such as a sports events, assemblies, field trips, etc.
Report the results of these activities to Keep Houston Beautiful.