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A Letter from the President

I’m proud to announce that the MNA board recently endorsed the No Child Left Inside Act (H.R. 3036, H Rpt. 110-754). In short, it benefits environmental education efforts throughout the country and state. It has potential to positively impact many of the programs where we work. More details are below.

The United States House of Representatives is set to vote on it sometime during the week of September 8th. We encourage you to learn as much as possible about this act and how you can support it. This is not something you can vote on personally but you can impact this legislation by calling your US House representative and encouraging others to do the same. For further information on how to support it please contact either Amy Kay Kerber at akkerber@yahoo.com or Charlie Stek, the policy director for the NCLI Coalition, at charliestek@gmail.com or 301-575-7957.

This act establishes a new “National Capacity Environmental Education Grant Program" which may go to nonprofit organizations, state educational agencies, local educational agencies or institutions of higher education that have demonstrated expertise to help the field of environmental education become more effective and widely practiced.

It also makes capacity building grants to state educational agencies contingent upon the creation of peer reviewed state environmental literacy plan (Minnesota’s Green Print counts).

It amends and broadens the successful Environmental Education and Training Program to provide professional development training for teachers to incorporate environmental education activities as part of school curriculum.

It extends the full National Environmental Education Act authorization including environmental education and training at $14 million through 2009.

Thanks,

Jamie McBride, President
Minnesota Naturalists' Association
3800 Bryant Ave South
Minneapolis, MN 55409
612-313-772

© 9/5/08 Minnesota Naturalists' Association