E.A.R.T.H., which began in Sedgwick County, has expanded in to multiple counties across Kansas. Franklin County E.A.R.T.H. began in 2004 and is growing each year. The E.A.R.T.H. program is designed to make students aware of environmental issues and give them tools they can use to identify, prevent, or solve environmental problems. Students who have acquired skills and knowledge during their participation in E.A.R.T.H. will be more capable of taking appropriate action in areas of environmental protection now and in the future.

Todays youth require wide-ranging and systematic education that builds their environmental decision-making skills so they will be able to effectively confront environmental challenges in the future. Unfortunately, most schools do not have the resources to create effective, research-based environmental lessons. E.A.R.T.H. is a year-long classroom program that trains teachers to present environmental skill and knowledge-building lessons to their students throughout the school year. Participating teachers receive award-winning curriculum that contains hands-on lessons built around five major themes; Air, Water, Soil, Living Resources, and Impacts. Each lesson is interactive and is correlated to the Kansas Science Standards. Many school districts face chronic funding challenges, so each teacher receives a classroom Supply Kit, worth over $500.

Each April, E.A.R.T.H. hosts a Student Workshop (Water Celebration) where students apply their classroom skills to real-world challenges. At the Workshop, local environmental experts and youth development professionals present hands-on sessions based on local environmental issues. Here students are able to explore difference scientific careers as well as become active participants in their community and environment.

This year students and teachers complained that they did not get to see all of the presentations since they were only there half a day. We need to figure out a way to allow all students to see all sessions. Possible have two presenters for each topic; this would keep groups small but allow students to see everything.

Financial assistance for this project has been provided by an EPA-Section 319 Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Grant C9007405 99(3889 9591) through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment in cooperation with Kansas State Research and Extension. This project has been supported since 2005 by donations of in-kind goods and services from local businesses including Dairy Queen (South Ottawa), Pepsi Americas (Olathe), Ottawa Pizza Hut, Daylight Donuts, Country Mart, Ottawa Wal-Mart, Stinson Meat Processing, Peoples Bank, Madden Rentals, Gerken Rentals, Franklin County 4-H, Franklin County Farm Bureau, and NRCS staff from Ottawa, Lyndon & Lawrence.