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October 2008 Newsletter

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EcoCenter News

photo by Mike Kahn, www.greenstockmedia.com

We Moved the Mud!

Jan and Bob Fenwick wielded their “shovels” to break ground for the new EcoCenter. The Groundbreaking on September 14th was attended by a standing-room-only crowd of over 150 EVs, donors, and friends at the Palo Alto Baylands.

Read more about the groundbreaking celebration and view pictures of the event!

EcoCenter in the News

Check out all the latest media coverage on the EcoCenter!

EV Awarded Bay Trail Grant

The EV has received a grant from the San Francisco Bay Trail Project to fund construction of the quarter-mile gap in the Bay Trail that passes through the EcoCenter site at the Palo Alto Baylands. The grant is valued at nearly $60,000 and will fund approximately half of the cost of the repairs.

Read more about our Bay Trail grant and this exciting project!

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Energy & Natural Resources Update

by Brittany Sabol, Education & Training Director

Not more than a couple of weeks into my new job here at the EV, I attended the first meeting of the Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) committee. I was thrilled to be able to be a part of this project to develop a ninth subject area from the beginning. While ENR is an incredibly relevant topic for students today, it is also an incredibly broad topic. In order to keep our work focused, the committee decided the subject area would need to:

  • Align directly with the California Science Standards for 4th and 5th grade,
  • Complement and enhance what teachers are doing in the classroom, and
  • Maintain a positive message that each student can make a difference.

Aligning with the standards was going to require two separate topics for the two grade levels. Consequently, for 4th grade we chose to focus on electricity generation, and for 5th grade we chose the carbon cycle. We have developed 11 different learning stations (including introductions and conclusions) to cover the two topics. Thanks to grant money from HSBC, we were able to hire a kit designer to give our kits a more professional look.

We will officially be launching ENR in January; teachers are already signed up. I also hope to run a few prototype sessions this fall to be sure to work the kinks out of everything. To get ready for these services, we will hold training sessions for all of our current EVs in October (see schedule below, under Fall Training Announcement). If you are unable to attend these trainings, we will also be adding the subject into the training for new EVs.

Thanks for all of the hard work and support from the ENR committee: Sally Tomlinson, Walt Hays, Pat Worthington, Bobbi Callison, Chuck Coston, and Margie Gray. We appreciate the hard work of our contractors: Lori Mann, standards and education guidance; Deborah Clark, subject guide; and Noah Balmer, kit designer. We also had the assistance of Austin Munson of Creative Design Associates and Michael Meyer building specific kit pieces. Finally, to all those not mentioned by name--the EVs, staff, teachers, students, and parents--who helped us complete this project with their ideas, feedback, and support...thank you!

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Who's News: Justyne Schnupp

by Jan Whitmer

Our new Development Assistant, Justyne Schnupp, has been working in the office now for two months. She’s a “local girl” who grew up in San Jose and graduated from the University of San Francisco with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Business. Before coming to the EV, Justyne spent 8 years working with nonprofits. Her most recent positions include the Churchill Club, a business and technology forum, where she planned events and assisted in development work. In addition, she spent time at ZeroOne: the Art and Technology Network, a nonprofit which puts on a biennial festival in San Jose, bringing together art and the digital world. Here Justyne was also involved in event planning as well as development work.

The combination of our mission and working with children drew Justyne to the EV. Previously, Justyne taught K-2 English and math in Belize and volunteered with a program called America Reads, in which she tutored San Francisco elementary students in reading. Justyne now finds it exciting to be part of teaching young people the values of preserving nature. She says she enjoys nonprofit work especially because it has the feel of a family, with its closeness and ability to see real progress being made. And an added bonus of the EV office, Justyne enthusiastically claims, is the wonderful snacks!

One of Justyne’s greatest passions is travel and learning about other cultures. She thinks it’s because she comes from such a diverse culture herself, her heritage being Filipina, German, Vietnamese, and Montagnard, an indigenous people from the central highlands of Viet Nam. She feels fortunate to have been in 8 different countries in the last 4 years, including Viet Nam, Italy, Japan, and Brazil. Her dream is to visit all 7 continents before 30! Her travels began with a summer abroad when she was in college, studying art and architecture in Barcelona, Spain.

Justyne also loves to plan parties for friends and to attend concerts and live comedy shows. She even has a collection of concert T-shirts. In addition, Justyne enjoys boating and any activity connected with the water. We are excited to welcome Justyne to the EV family!

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Fall Training Announcement

Our next training class of the fall will begin on October 22nd and run every Wednesday from 9:00 to 1:30 until December 3rd at the Peninsula office. This will be the Living in California module (Early California Indians, Earthquakes, Water, and the new Energy and Natural Resources). Anyone interested in joining the EV and taking this training should contact Nicole. Current EVs with up to date dues and paperwork are invited to join us as well and should RSVP to Brittany.

Energy and Natural Resources training will be offered on the following dates:

Friday October 17th from 9:30 to 12:30 at the South Bay Office -- Electricity

Monday October 20th from 1:30 to 4:30 at the PCC -- Carbon Cycle

For more information about this subject area, see the article above.

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EV Calendar

Here is a list of upcoming events in October. Please join us! For more information, contact Nicole.

  • Sun, Oct 5: Youth Science Institute's 23rd Annual Wildlife Festival. 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., Alum Rock Park
  • Tues, Oct 7: South Bay Area Meeting at Irene Estelle's home
  • Sat, Oct. 11: Pumpkins in the Park. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Discovery Meadow, Guadalupe River Park & Gardens
  • Tues, Oct 14: Peninsula Area Meeting at Ros Carol's home
  • Fri, Oct 17: Energy & Natural Resources Training (Electricity). 9:30-12:30 a.m., South Bay Office
  • Mon, Oct 20: ENR Training (Carbon Cycle). 1:30-4:30 p.m., Peninsula Office
  • Tues, Oct 21: EV Enrichment at Full Circle Farm, Sunnyvale
  • Wed, Oct 22: First Day of Living in California Training. PCC, Wednesdays 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
  • Sat, Oct 25: Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society's Wildlife Education Day. McClellan Ranch Park, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
  • Sat, Oct 25: "Kimono and Nature" lecture/presentation by kimono designer Nobuaki Tomita. At Palo Alto Art Center at both 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Nobuaki Tomita has designed four kimono plus obi just for Palo Alto. Hearing about our love for the Baylands, he has designed four kimono based on the Oriental White Stork, which tragically went extinct in Japan but has now been painstakingly restored through habitat restoration by the city of Toyooka. He picked up some bark from El Palo Alto and used it to dye the obi (sash).

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