EcoRise Youth Innovations inspires a new generation of leaders to design a

sustainable future for all. Our school-based program empowers youth to tackle

real-world challenges in their schools and communities by teaching

ECO-LITERACY, DESIGN & SOCIAL INNOVATION.

Upcycled product designs Mobile gardens

Recycling & composting systems Outdoor classrooms

Graywater systems for the home Solar panel efficiency systems

Native, Xeric & Edible Landscaping Rainwater catchment systems

Campus Eco-Audit & Master Sustainability Action Plan Energy conservation tools

EcoRise enriches conventional classrooms

with academically-aligned middle and

high school curriculum that introduce

students to environmental literacy, design

methods and social entrepreneurship.

Green professionals serve as guest

speakers and project mentors to help

students solve real-world sustainability

challenges concerning energy, water,

waste, transportation, air quality, food

and public spaces.

OUR SIX KEY AREAS OF IMPACT

PAST STUDENT INNOVATIONS

Students build an outdoor

classroom learning permaculture

concepts and installing a pond,

key-hole gardens &

vermicomposting bins.

IGNITING A

GENERATION OF INNOVATION

EDUCATION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

INNOVATION IN THE CLASSROOM

The multi-disciplinary nature of the EcoRise program makes it versatile and valuable for many teachers. We

are particularly well-suited to strengthen and compliment STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering &

Mathematics) and CTE (Career and Technical Education) courses, by offering interactive opportunities to

apply knowledge and skills to relevant, real-world problems.

Schools who partner with EcoRise receive a package of services and resources including, but not limited to,

the following:

ACADEMICALLY-ALIGNED CURRICULUM: Hardcopies of curriculum, containing 60+ lesson plans

(including accompanying PowerPoints and activity sheets), DIY design/build projects, sustainability

and design resource library, and a comprehensive teacher’s guide.

TEACHER TRAINING & SUPPORT: Local one-day training that introduces our curriculum and

methodologies (up to three teachers/campus), plus office hours for ongoing teacher support.

CAPACITY BUILDING: Toolkits and support to help teachers and administrators develop a green

campus strategy, build volunteer networks for field trips, guest presentations, and mentorships, and

plan their end of year Youth Solutions Summit.

E-PORTFOLIOS: Online platform and tech support to aid teachers in the development of class and

student level electronic portfolios that showcase final products and the creative design process.

ONLINE MEMBER ACCESS: Access to members-only online platform that includes lesson plans, rubrics,

teacher forums, monthly newsletters, online videos, webinars, and reference libraries.

In the past four years, EcoRise has

launched programming in 21 middle and

high schools and tested our program in

public, private and charter schools

settings. This school year alone, we are

engaging 2,000 students!

EcoRise is positioning itself to serve youth

anywhere. With an online platform aimed

to launch in spring 2014, EcoRise will deliver

curriculum and resources to educators

across Texas and beyond.

Join us to ignite a global network of young

innovators who are inspired to develop

creative solutions for a better world.

OUR PROGRESS & GROWTH

"I want to create a world-wide

program like EcoRise in every

school, encouraging students,

teachers and parents to

help our environment by

starting right at home."

~JOSE, EcoRise student

TO LEARN MORE

CONTACT:

Gina LaMotte

Executive Director

gina@ecorise.org

http://ecorise.org

™

FOOD

TRANSPORTATION

WASTE

WATER

PUBLIC SPACES

AIR

ENERGY

EcoRise Youth Innovations – Eco Archives Curriculum 3

Time Frame:

55-90 mins.

Topics:

Energy consumption

Power loads

Design Step:

Identify

Explore

Create

Materials:

PowerPoint

Activity Sheet

Examine the wattage chart on the student worksheet. If your classroom contains any appliances that are not listed, research the wattage usage in the resources below:

https://energyaudit-sdge.sempra.com/appcalc/pg1.asp?ID=0

http://www.absak.com/library/power-consumption-table

http://www.clarkpublicutilities.com/yourhome/freeResources/archives/homeEnergyUse.pdf

http://www.oksolar.com/technical/consumption.html

http://www.otpco.com/SaveEnergyMoney/applianceEnergyUsage.asp

http://www.txspc.com/documents/WattageAppliance.pdf

IN ADVANCE

OBJECTIVES Assess how much energy is being used in the classroom. Create strategies for reducing conventional energy consumption.

Introduce the following classroom challenge:

As energy consultants, you have been hired to conduct an energy audit of the classroom. Your task is to assess the current energy consumption and identify easy solutions to make the classroom a model for how the entire school could reduce its energy consumption.

Explain what it would mean to be an energy consultant, and why such a person may be hired. Saving energy would make the school greener and save money for the school at the same time, so a good consultant would be well worth the school’s time and money.

POSE THE CHALLENGE 5 mins.

Begin the PowerPoint and present a series of images about energy and design solutions that address alternate sources of energy, consumption and efficiency.

Discuss what they like or don’t like about the solutions that other designers have created to address energy. Students should take notes or draw ideas that inspire them from the viewing.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE...

PRESENTATION & DISCUSSION 15-25 mins.

classroom blackout!Intro to Design SolutionsENERGY

EcoRise Youth Innovations – Eco Archives Curriculum 2

“Sustainable Energy, Choosing Among Options” Peters, Drake, Driscoll, Golay and Trister 2005

“Sustainable Energy, Without Hot Air” David MacKay 2009

“The Renewable Energy Handbook” William Kempt 2009

sruO ttawoliK

Fuel

Gasland

Gashole

TED TALKS

Living With Renewable Energy

Energy Crossroads

www.kilowattours.org

www.topdocumentaryfilms.com/fuel

www.gaslandthemovie.com/whats-fracking

www.gasholemovie.com

www.ted.com Bilal Bomani: Plant fuels that could power a jet

www.meanmore.com/market/catalog/Living-with-Renewable-Energy-DVD-p-144.html

www.amazon.com/Energy-Crossroads-burning-change-course/dp/B000SNWA2A?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1203896018&sr=8-4

Explore the resources below so that students will be able to- Identify traditional and alternative sources of energy

- Analyze environmental, cultural, and social impacts of non-renewable energy production

- Assess existing ways to conserve energy

Department of Energy

srevaS ygrenE

Energy Information noitartsinimdA

Smart Grid

Advocacy organizations

Energy Teachers

Institute for Sust. Energy

www.energy.gov

www.energysavers.gov

www.eia.gov

www.energy.gov/oe/technology-development/smart-grid

www.apolloalliance.org

www.energyteachers.org/Links.php?LinkTopic

www.easternct.edu/sustainenergy/education/learnAboutEnergy.htm

ENERGY 101

EcoRise Youth Innovations – Eco Archives Curriculum 1

eco archives

Essential Questions

How do human beings consume energy and how does it impact the planet?

How can we use human ingenuity to reduce energy consumption?

ENERGY 101

Resource list of websites, books, films and short videos about energy issues.

INTRO TO DESIGN SOLUTIONS: Classroom Blackout

Students identify and measure power loads of electronics within their classroom, then imagine how to reduce usage and supplement with renewable energy options.

EXTENDED LEARNING: Harnessing Human Power

Students analyze how human kinetic energy can be harnessed as an energy resource, and design a method of harnessing human kinetic energy that reduces the impacts of energy consumption.

DESIGN LAB: Solar Oven

Students design and construct a solar powered oven and connect how solar energy can be applied to energy consumption issues.

ENERGY

Topics Covered:

The Eco-Archives is an engaging, ready-to-use curriculum, that builds a foundation of environmental-literacy and sustainability knowledge. Each lesson emphasizes real-world applications into students’ lives with fun, hands-on design projects.

The Eco Archives include:

CURRICULUM SNAPSHOT

21 lessons including PowerPoint’s and activity sheets that introduce students to sustainability challenges and solutions addressing issues such as energy, water and waste

Easy-to-implement Design Labs that teach students to build Solar Ovens, UV Water Purification Stations, Indoor Plant Walls and more!

A library of educational resources including articles, books, videos and websites

design studio™

innovative strategies to solve your sustainability challenge

REFINE

64

DESIGN

TECHNOLOGY

INNOVATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING

OPTIMISM

CREATIVITY

Students will be able to utilize design-thinking methods and processes to explore and build creative solutions by sketching, modeling, creating, experimenting, constructing, and calculating.

Students will be able to enhance their design experience and technology literacy through digital modeling, online research, computer software, social media, and communication technologies.

Students will be able to stimulate creative solutions based thinking through analysis and improvement of existing ideas, and developing social entrepreneurship mindsets and skills.

Change is possible and solutions are everywhere. We celebrate the power of ideas and believe that the investment in human ingenuity will result in health and prosperity for all.

Imagination is the key to innovation. We cultivate our creative potential by suspending all judgment and allowing the experience of play, inspiration, intuition, freedom, fun, and joy.

intro to activities

Objectives

Essential Questions

Assessment

Skil ls & Principles

+ Evaluate areas of strength and growth in their design solution.

+ Assess and imagine how to improve their innovative design solution.

+ Create an improved and refined version of their design solution.

+ Why is it important to analyze our designs with an objective eye and receive feedback?

+ How does refining help us improve in order to create even better design solutions?

+ Model Making and the Business Model Canvas can serve as summative assessments for this phase. All other activities are excellent formative assessments.

OVERVIEW

EcoRise Youth Innovations – Design Studio Curriculum 65

ACTIVITY ROAD MAP # Activity Description

Snap Judgment

Dot Democracy

BOP Quiz

Product Puppetry

Pain-Gain Map

Test of Time

Eco-Target

Ripple E!ect

Model-making

Strategic Action Plan

Business Model Canvas

Students will use a card-sorting method to quickly critique all of their potential design ideas against various criteria such as viability, impact, novelty, budget, etc.

Students will use a non-verbal voting process to identify their favorite design elements and ideas from a generated list of possibilities.

Students will rate their various design ideas options based on three criteria: to what degree is it Beneficial, Original and Probable.

Students will personify and give human characteristics to their design idea in order to develop the elements and personality of their final design solution.

Students will analyze the “Pains” (challenges) and “Gains” (strengths) of a potential design solution in order to determine areas for refinement and trouble-shooting.

Students will analyze the past, present, and future life-cycle of their design solution with a focus on its social and environmental impacts.

Students will evaluate how their design solution impacts and is connected to all aspects of sustainability: water, air, energy, waste, food, transportation, and community spaces.

Students will analyze causal relationships by considering the positive and negative impacts their design solution can have on oneself, school, city, state, country and world.

Students will construct a full-size or small-scale prototype of their design solution to be used in their final presentations with an emphasis on both style and function.

Student will develop a clear plan to implement their design solution, by creating a timeline and analyzing tasks, people and resources needed to turn their idea into a reality.

Students will create a simple, clear business plan using the Business Model Canvas, an innovative new tool for entrepreneurs.

123456789

1011

The Design Process:

The Design Studio guides students through a creative problem-solving process as they invent innovative solutions to a specific sustainability challenge, such as reducing campus energy consumption, improving public transportation or increasing community access to healthy food.

The Design Studio includes:

CURRICULUM SNAPSHOT

40 interactive lessons developed around inquiry-based learning and design-thinking methods

A comprehensive teacher’s guide including vocabulary, suggested resources and student portfolios

Activity examples and templates for easy classroom useEXPLORE

CREATE

REFINE

SHARE

IDENTIFY

REFINE

80

RIPPLE EFFECTactivity #8

MATERIALS TIME FRAME 20-30 Mins.

1. Open the class with a conversation about the power of one person’s actions. Sometimes what seems to be an insignificant act ends up making a huge impact. Just like when a pebble falls into water and causes concentric waves, our personal actions cause a ripple effect in the world. This activity will help students identify how their proposed design solution will have a ripple effect on a local and global scale.

2. Divide students into design teams. Hand out a large sheet of paper and have the students draw the Ripple Effect illustration (or use the template provided). Instruct students to write their design solutions across the top of the paper with the Ripple Effect template underneath.

3. Starting with self, instruct the students to examine how their designs solutions with impact them. Students may write these notes directly on the paper or on post-it notes. Will your design solution affect your behavior, your perception or your relationships with others?

4. Moving outwards through the concentric circles, have students continue brainstorming how their design solution will impact the world. Some questions to consider:

+ What positive impacts might your design solution bring about? + Are there any negative consequences of your design solution? + Does your solution have direct and indirect impacts? + Could it act as an inspiration or model for others?

5. When students are finished filling in the Ripple Effect template, have them step back and review their notes. Where is their prime impact occurring? Are there any negative impacts that can be addressed and mitigated?

6. Have students share any new insights they have gained and any ideas for improving their design.

BACKGROUND

ACTIVITY GUIDELINES

Students will analyze causal relationships by considering the positive and negative impacts their design solution can have on oneself, school, city, state, country and world. The Ripple Effect activity helps students recognize how our small actions reverberate on both a local and global scale.

Large paperColored markersSticky notes

REFLECTIONQUESTIONS

+ Has this activity changed your perspective of your design and its impact in the world?

+ Can you think of someone who took a small action that ended up making a big impact?

+ How do our everyday decisions, such as what we buy or what we eat, make a Ripple Effect in the world?

EcoRise Youth Innovations – Design Studio Curriculum 81

EXAMPLE

Design Challenge:

eco-audit™

a student led road map to greener, healthier schools

The Eco-Audit is a comprehensive curriculum which will jumpstart and advance the sustainability movement on your campus. Students cultivate 21st century skills as they measure the environmental footprint of their campus, develop educational infographics, and create a strategic plan to green the campus in the short and long-term.

The Eco-Audit includes:

CURRICULUM SNAPSHOT

8 lessons in the areas of water, energy, waste, food, air, transportation, and public spaces

that introduce sustainability topics, highlight green school initiatives, and inspire students to

take action

36 lessons that equip students with the skills necessary to implement home and campus

sustainability audits, including PowerPoint's, activity sheets, facilitator guides, and opportuni-

ties for extended research and science enrichment

14 Taking Action lessons that guide students through the process of brainstorm, analyzing,

and refining possible green solutions for their schools resulting in a strategic action plan

•

•

•

EcoRise Youth Innovations – Eco-Audit Curriculum 291

LESSON PLAN OVERVIEW

STRATEGIC ACTION PLANSHARING A VISION:

ACTIVITY GUIDELINES

The purpose of this lesson is to guide students towards a clear plan for implementing their solutions. Students will create an action plan and a timeline as well as analyze tasks, resources and people needed to turn their solutions into a reality.

This multi-faceted timeline, also known as a dashboard, will serve as a visual overview of student-generated solutions. It is one way that students can easily communicate the necessary steps of each solution to future Green Action Team members, classes, staff members and stakeholders. Ultimately, students need to create an overarching strategic action plan for the entire Eco-Audit that includes a 2-3 year vision addressing all areas of the Eco Audit. After students complete their strategic action plan, they can create the final piece on their own, a Master Eco-Audit report.

1. Open the class with a brief discussion about the importance of a Strategic Action Plan, Timeline and Cost/Impact analysis. Although the world needs great innovators and brilliant new solutions, these ideas have no impact if you do not have the skills to take action and turn your inspired dreams into reality. Project implementation requires incredible planning, persistence and follow-through. It also requires flexibility because no matter how well we plan, along the way we are usually met with unforeseen challenges and new opportunities. For this reason, the Strategic Action Plan is a “living document” that will be revisited and adjusted as the project unfolds.

2. Students should refer to the Solution Dashboard’s already created and use those as a foundational stepping stone for the more detailed work of this Strategic Action Plan.

3. Divide students into solution design teams and hand out a large sheet of paper (or print out the template provided). Ask students to start by writing their original identified issue from the campus audit across the top, followed by their proposed solution.

4. Next have students decide upon the timeframe in which they will be implementing their project. For some projects, this may be pure speculation and for many, it may be related to the school calendar and what can be accomplished within the semester or within the following school year. Have students write out the timeframe in the Strategic Action Plan template.

TEACHING TIPS

ACTIVITY GUIDELINES, CONTINUED

• Implementing the Strategic Action Plan lesson can be accomplished in two formats, depending on how much time is available. The first, and most holistic approach is for all students to generate multiple solutions for each component of the Eco Audit. For example, for the waste audit, one group of students creates a Strategic Action Plan for how to reduce food waste at lunch, while another group creates a plan for increasing the amount of trash that gets recycled, and another group creates a plan to reduce the amount of paper used. Essentially, this is the class creating multiple solutions for each concept of the Audit.

• If time is of the essence, another way to implement the strategic action plan is to split the class into groups creating multiple solutions for each topic. For example, one group generates all possible solutions for food, while another generates solutions for waste, and another for water, etc. etc. If implementing the Strategic Action Plan using the time efficient model, it is important to make sure students communicate their solutions with the entire class.

• No matter which way the Strategic Action Plan is implemented, it is important to plan for time to collect all the solutions into one overarching plan that addressed all of the units of the audit that were completed by the class

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. Ask students to determine what their ultimate goal is within this timeframe. Although there may be long-term goals, such as creating a zero-waste campus, instruct the students to identify what goal they can accomplish within the given timeframe. What would success look like at the end of this period?

6. Either on sticky notes or directly on the paper, have students begin charting every task that must be completed in order to achieve their goal. The tasks are then plotted along the timeline. The timeline can be broken into days, weeks or months.

7. After every task has been identified and plotted on the calendar, have the students analyze what resources are needed for each task (such as materials or funds) and write those in the chart.

8. As students assess the resources needed for each task, have them also analyze who is involved with each task, whether it is community members, school staff or specific students. This may also be a place to assign team members to certain responsibilities. Students may even consider creating special Task Forces to work on certain aspects of the project, such as marketing, construction, sales, etc.

9. Once the Strategic Action Plan has been filled out, have the students now move to the Timeline and Cost/Impact templates to help create different visual understandings of when and how their solutions will be implemented and the cost and impact they may have. These three templates will comprise the clear culmination of their Eco-Audit Green School Solutions and equip them with a concrete action plan to present to stakeholders.

10. When students have finished filling out all their templates, ask them to share any insights they may have gained from this process.

LESSON PLAN SUMMARY

60-90 min

Large paper Colored markers

Sticky notesSolutions Dashboard(s)

EcoRise Youth Innovations – Eco-Audit Curriculum 23

WHY GREEN SCHOOLS?

20% of America’s population spends about six hours a day in a school building. If all new U.S. school construction and renovation went green today, the total energy savings alone would be $20 billion over the next 10 years.

SAVE 50%-90% of waste-removal costs

30% of energy costs

REDUCE30%-50% of water usage

35% of carbon emissions

• Green schools use daylighting strategies to create environments that lessen distractions and encourage student participation. Students in classrooms with abundant daylight had up to 25% higher learning rates and test scores in reading and math than their peers in rooms with less natural light.

• Studies show that green schools reduce teacher turnover rates by 3% and increase productivity by 3%

• Lower energy and water costs, improved teacher retention, and lower health costs directly save green schools about $12 per square foot, four times the additional cost of going green. Financial savings to the broader community are significantly larger, and include lower air and water pollution, and a better educated and compensated workforce

• Schools with environmental education programs increase critical thinking skills and score higher on standard tests in math, reading, writing and listening. Teachers can use the building as a basis for project-based, experimental learning and STEM education.

• Students in American miss approximately 14 million school days per year because of asthma, which is exacerbated by poor indoor air quality.

• Lower-income and minority children disproportionately suffer from poor indoor air quality and related problems in conventional schools. They are 30-50% more likely to have respiratory problems that lead to increased absenteeism and diminished learning and test scores.

• Nurses at green schools report fewer clinic visits; students note less eye-nose-throat irritation and fewer asthma-related incidents

DID YOU KNOW...

SAVE MONEY

IMPROVE PERFORMANCE

INCREASE TEACHER RETENTION & PRODUCTIVITY

PROMOTE HEALTH GREEN SCHOOL PAY OFF!

GREEN SCHOOL BUILDINGS

EcoRise Youth Innovations – Eco-Audit Curriculum 35

Step 3

CONDUCTING A SCHOOL WATER AUDIT LESSON PLAN OVERVIEW

TOPICS

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

The purpose of this audit is to explore the use of water throughout the school, whether it is inside, outside, or used to clean the campus. Students will be surveying how water is used throughout school through observations, examining the school’s bills, and interviews with staff.

• Human Water Use, Appliance Water Use, Orienteering

• What types of water-consuming appliances are on my campus?• Who are stakeholders on campus with whom I can discuss water use and conservation tactics?• What type of groundcover surrounds my campus?• How can I use a map of campus to conduct a water quality audit?

75 mins

Map of Campus (inside and outside)Clipboards

Writing Utensils Campus Staff Directory

Timekeeping Device “Water Audit” PowerPoint Slide Print Out (optional) Meter Stick or Yardage Tape

LESSON PLAN SUMMARY

OBJECTIVES• Identify the location and number of water-consuming appliances on campus.• Identify the make and model of water-consuming appliances. • Locate and interview campus staff members that are knowledgeable about water appliances and

uses on campus. • Determine if a location on campus is permeable or impermeable. • Identify groundcover as native or non-native to the area. • Use orienteering skills while conducting the audit.

ACTIVITY BREAKDOWNTIME EXERCISE DESCRIPTION

5 min Introduce Audit Introduce the water audit and discuss logistics

60 min Indoor and Outdoor Audit Students conduct water audit inside and outside of school

10 min Wrap-Up Debrief, question and answers with class

TEACHING TIPSDepending on the size of the class, this might be a two-day activity (one day inside, one day outside). They will have time to research their questions or interview appropriate staff members later.

• Students must sign a permission slip. (This can be in the form of a lab safety contract.)

• Obtain the campus water bill or information from the bill. Important information includes annual water use and cost, cost per gallon, and, if possible, monthly water use over the course of the year to be able to identify spikes in usage.

• Discuss the audit dates and times with custodian(s) and school staff. Perhaps give students a badge or notification of some sort indicating that they are part of your class.

• The mapping will most likely take the entire class period, so giving clear directions the day prior is a very important timesaving suggestion. It is important to emphasize the fact that students should not waste time if they cannot identify the make and model of an appliance or the type of groundcover. Simply making a notation on the map or taking a picture of the groundcover will suffice.

• If a location is an exclusive access (staff bathroom) or gender-specific (male or female bathroom) some locations might need to be ignored at the time of mapping and researched later.

FOOD

TRANSPORTATION

WASTE

WATER

PUBLIC SPACES

AIR

ENERGY

Topics Covered: