HR: 1340h
AN: ED23A-0958    [Abstracts]
TI: The Davis Junior High Global Warming Project and Bike/Walk to School Challenge
AU: * King, A
EM: apking@ucdavis.edu
AF: University of California Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, United States
AU: Anastasio, C
EM: canastasio@ucdavis.edu
AF: University of California Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, United States
AU: Niemeier, D
EM: dniemeier@ucdavis.edu
AF: University of California Davis John Muir Institute of the Environment, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, United States
AU: Scow, K
EM: kmscow@ucdavis.edu
AF: University of California Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, United States
AB: Junior high school students in Davis, CA, were targeted in an outreach project combining interactive and hands- on information about global warming and carbon footprints with a bike/walk to school challenge. The project was conducted by the Kearney Foundation of Soil Science, the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources and the John Muir Institute of the Environment at the University of California Davis. Approximately 70 undergraduates, graduate students, post-doc researchers, faculty and staff from UCD and the town of Davis were involved. Workshops were held in the 7th, 8th and 9th grade science classes in Davis' 3 junior high schools, reaching a total of 1700 students. Each 50-minute presentation consisted of a Global Warming Jeopardy game, followed by individual calculation of carbon footprints oriented towards a junior high school student. Biking or walking to school, instead commuting by car, was introduced as an important and feasible activity that could reduce one's carbon footprint. Working with staff from each junior high, students were then challenged to increase biking or walking to school during a 2 week Bike/Walk to School Challenge . UCD students and staff monitored automobile commuting (# cars, idle time) and bike use during this time and provided incentives for biking or walking . All schools were recognized for efforts to reduce their carbon footprints, and the concept was reinforced at the start of the following school year by planting a tree at each school.
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
DE: 0815 Informal education
DE: 0825 Teaching methods
DE: 0845 Instructional tools
DE: 1699 General or miscellaneous
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting