January 10th

By Mutt Mulligan

TurfMutt will send one lucky teacher to the NSTA conference!

Attention educators! Have you heard that there’s a new National TurfMutt Teacher award in conjunction with the annual Be a Backyard Superhero essay contest? A teacher from the winning school will be awarded a trip the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) annual conference in Los Angeles, March 30-April 2.

The essay contest is for kids in grades K-5. To enter, students must tell a story about how they are helping TurfMutt and the Outdoor Powers combat the environmental villains – Carbon Creep, Dust Demon, Dr. Runoff and Heat Freak.

One grand prize winner will earn their school a $10,000 grant to spruce up school grounds or put in an outdoor classroom. Entries for the Be a Backyard Superhero contest are due January 23. For more about the contest – including official rules – click here.

Since 2010, the TurfMutt program (a collaboration of OPEI and Scholastic) has awarded $35,000 to schools nationwide. Impressively, TurfMutt’s environmental education and stewardship program has touched more than 62 million children, educators and families since 2009!

Don’t forget, TurfMutt program materials are free and aligned to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) standards. You can find educational and engaging activities, downloads, games and story books at TurfMutt.com.