STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) has been a key focus area for the Obama administration, ranging from 2009’s “Educate to Innovate” program to a recent Town Hall meeting where Obama reinforced STEM education as a “must have.” The latest announcement on this front is the introduction of the Green Ribbon program for public and private schools that, with support from the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the EPA, will recognize and honor schools that create healthy and sustainable learning environments and excel in teaching environmental literacy to its students.
Encouraging STEM and environmental learning in schools has long been a focus for The Nature Conservancy. The organization’s LEAF program works with a network of partner high schools to engage urban youth in conservation activities and help foster future leaders in environmental stewardship. With partner schools currently in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Georgia, LEAF provides students with paid summer internships on nature preserves around the country and helps enrich these in-the-field experiences in the classroom by providing development opportunities and helping educators at the partner high schools share resources.