National Geographic’s “Find Your Footprint” Contest
National Geographic and Procter & Gamble have joined forces to hold the Find Your Footprint conservation competition for K-12 classrooms. Basically, the teachers use the save-the-planet lesson plan to educate their students, the kids learn about how deeply their parents, grandparents, and great grandparents have screwed up the planet, and are then inspired/super-pissed enough to make sound, environmentally responsible changes at home and in the classroom. Watch out, all ye generations of planet-wreckers, the short people are effing cranky.
There are lots of prize incentives, naturally, including the grandest prize of them all: $36,000 worth of educational materials for the winning classroom. I’ve heard some rumors lately about teachers being taken for granted more than they usually are, and school budgets shrinking to oblivion. While I think having the students learn how to be environmentally wise is prize enough, I fully support the stash being educational.
Here’s an excerpt from the press release to sum up the factual bits for you:
WASHINGTON/CINCINNATI (Oct. 12, 2010)—P&G Future Friendly today announced it has expanded its signature partnership with the National Geographic Society through the launch of an integrated in-school conservation education program called “Find Your Footprint.” Developed to inspire students and schools to monitor and reduce their environmental footprint this school year, the multimedia program focuses on energy, waste and water tips that can then be applied to participate in a national classroom conservation contest.
“We know that children can inspire more sustainable lifestyles. By supporting interactive conservation tools like Find Your Footprint, Future Friendly will help educate and motivate families to make simple changes in their homes and schools that add up to meaningful reductions in our environmental footprint,” said Maurice Coffey, marketing director, P&G Future Friendly. “We’re equally excited that this announcement represents the next step in our partnership with National Geographic to promote conservation-minded lifestyles through dynamic communications.”
Rules and details about how to enter and who is eligible for the classroom conservation contest are at www.nationalgeographic.com/findyourfootprint. Teachers can download a comprehensive lesson plan, “How Big Is Your Human Footprint?”, and competition entries must be received by Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. The grand prize for the winning classroom is five state-of-the-art Promethean interactive digital whiteboards (ActivBoards), five classroom sets of Promethean Learner Response Systems (ActivExpressions), $1,000 in National Geographic educational materials and 30 subscriptions to National Geographic Kids magazine. In addition, the campaign features educational resources on saving water, saving energy and reducing waste in an interactive online hub; on-air elements on National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo WILD, including contest spots and PSAs; and is featured in upcoming issues of National Geographic magazine and National Geographic Kids magazine.
Posted by Alexa Harrington
