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Eat sustainably, choose school meals!

• Check out the Earth Week section of the . 
• We encourage students to eat local at school! On Earth Day, all AISD schools will feature tacos or nachos prepared with locally sourced pasture-raised beef from Augustus Ranch in Yoakam, served on tortillas and chips from Fiesta Tortillas in Austin.
• We will also highlight many of our other local vendors throughout the week including New World Bakery (bread, burger/hot dog buns, dinner rolls) in Kyle, Oak Farms Dairy (milk) in San Antonio, Alpha Foods Co. (pizza) in Waller. 
• Did you know that all 115 of AISD cafes receive monthly sustainability training?  Lessons are related to the work done around composting, share tables, energy efficiency, self-serve initiatives, and meal planning to prevent food waste.
• Cafe staff will celebrate Earth Week by wearing green “Eat Sustainably, Choose School Meals” t-shirts on Tuesday, April 22.
• Five of our elementary school cafeterias will host community volunteers to help lunch waste (both from home and from meal service) and share simple lessons about trash sorting on Thursday April 24.

Enter into the Earth Art competition!

Get outside and get creative with “earth art”! Gather natural objects (leaves, rocks, flowers, etc.), create a work of art, capture a photo of your creation, and submit it for a chance to win prizes thanks to the National Wildlife Federation. Follow these for the theme, criteria, link, and more information. Submissions are due April 30th, winners will be announced May 7th!

Display your Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights Poster

Read the Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights and print your own copy for your classroom in and . Research shows children who learn and play in nature are healthier, happier and perform better in school. 91���� leaders signed the pledge to support the Austin Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights, which was passed by the City Council in 2017.

Become a Green School Park!

Any school campus within 91���� has the opportunity to to be a and receive the official designation. AISD currently has 19 Green School Park campuses (). The is a partnership between AISD and The City of Austin Parks & Recreation Department. It aims to ensure every schoolyard creates access to nature and fosters play and learning outdoors for all.

Get outside with your Lifestyle Savings Account (LSA) 

Did you select a Lifestyle Savings Account and are still undecided as to how to spend it? 

Here are some ideas that will help you get outside and enjoy the beauty that is all things Texas!  

• Enjoy Lady Bird Lake from the water by renting a paddle board or a kayak.  
• Explore one of Texas’ 14 national parks or 87 state parks - your LSA will cover your park pass.  
• You can also use your LSA to save on gas by purchasing a bicycle or track your steps during the day by purchasing a fitness tracking device.       

to find more ways that your LSA can help you get outside during Earth Week and keep an eye out for more ideas through the AISD Engage app all Earth Week long!

Join Outdoor Learning Professional Development with Partners for Education, Agriculture, & Sustainability (PEAS)!

AISD elementary teachers are invited to join an Outdoor Learning 101 Professional Development session at Casey Elementary on April 25th to celebrate Mother Earth and the joyful connections we cultivate through Outdoor Learning. Subs will be reimbursed.  ! Secondary teachers, be on the lookout for information for Outdoor Learning 102 in May!

Nominate a Garden Superstar & Get Resources for Greening Your Schoolyard

The , led by the Central Texas School Garden Network, invites school administrators, educators, and parents to explore how to bring green features to your campus. Visit the site to learn about creating and maintaining food gardens, ponds, chickens, and more on your school grounds. Want to go one step further? to help support educators throughout our area.

Visitors to the site can also nominate a school garden superstar for the . The FiG Award is presented annually to a school garden volunteer who consistently goes above and beyond to care for their school’s garden. !

Request Speaker from City of Austin's Urban Forest Program

Request the City of Austin’s Urban Forest Program to speak with your classroom or after-school club! Choose from a range of topics that promote the significance of trees in public spaces and foster environmental stewardship, such as Mindfulness in Nature, Tree ID Tour, Urban Forestry Discovery, and much more! Submit and the Think Trees team will be in touch!

Communicate the benefits of green schoolyards

Check out these and learn how green schoolyards can promote physical activity, provide mental health benefits, improve academic outcomes, encourage beneficial play, about the benefits of green schoolyards.

Start a Schoolyard Habitat at your school

To help reconnect today's children to the outdoors, the National Wildlife Federation assists schools in developing outdoor classrooms called , where educators and students learn how to attract and support local wildlife. Learn how to design, build, certify, and use your Schoolyard Habitat with this from the National Wildlife Federation.

Become a Tree Campus!

recognizes schools that lead the way in tree stewardship. When you make trees part of your curriculum and your campus, you make your school a better place to learn and live. Become one of the first K-12 schools in Austin to receive this designation! Take the to become a tree campus.

Lights out for birds!

Protect our migrating birds by turning off all non-essential lights at night from March 1 - June 15, especially during the peak migration period of April 22 (Earth Day!) - May 12. Be on the lookout for hundreds of millions of birds migrating through our state on their way north from their southern wintering grounds. Learn more about and follow our birds on the , or check out their .

Tree Folks Activities

Get involved by volunteering! is a local forestry non-profit with a mission to empower Central Texas to build stronger communities through planting and caring for trees. Volunteer opportunities include: 

Tree Care Event at Perez Elementary (Saturday, April 26th). Register by following this link to the .

Become a Roots & Wings Festival Event Host!

Riding the wave of Earth Day festivities, the 8th annual Roots & Wings Festival occurs this fall, 10/18 thru 11/2! Does your school want to host a special event to celebrate trees, bees, butterflies or many other beautiful expressions of nature? City of Austin mini-grants are available to help fund it, along with resources and information to assist your school committee every step of the way! The application deadline is August 1st. For more information and to receive the event calendar in October, !