Project Eco-School

Project Eco-School (PES) is a nonprofit resource center designed to promote environmental education by serving as a link between schools and a vast library of environmental information. PES was founded in 1989 by Jayni Chase and her husband, comic-actor Chevy Chase, who were determined to foster greater environmental awareness by educating children.

Since its inception, PES has worked most closely with schools and children in California. In Inglewood, for instance, PES provided Worthington Elementary School with an environmental library. The organization has also been instrumental in developing consumer responsibility among students. It promoted the Zero Waste Lunch, in which students were encouraged to use reusable containers and avoid using the more wasteful, disposable, and prepackaged single-serving containers. The PES flyer "Guidelines for Packing a Zero Waste Lunch" provided tips on recycling and stressed the importance of our actions and choices on the environment .

Among PES's notable publications isBlueprint for a Green School, a reference book geared toward educating young people about a host of environmental issues, including recycling, waste reduction , and consumer alternatives. In addition,Blueprint for a Green School provides instruction on developing letter-writing campaigns and organizing a range of schoolchildren's activities such as field trips, community services, and fund raising.

The newsletterGrapevine is an important element in PES's endeavor to promote environmental awareness. A typical issue provides coverage of events and environmental activism in various schools throughout the country and reports on environmental policy affecting the nation and the world. The newsletter also functions as a valuable networking tool by providing readers with coverage of recent developments in environmental laws and publications. An "Eco-Stars" segment details events relating to recently created organizations, especially those directed to students.

[Les Stone ]

RESOURCES

ORGANIZATIONS

Project Eco-School, 881 Alma Real Drive, Suite 301, Pacific Palisades, CA USA 90272