High School Programs

Field It Program

NMF received a grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to augment already existing environmental science curriculum for 11th and 12th grade students with hands-on, real-life workshop field trips, a guest speaker program and scholarship opportunities. The overarching goal of the grant is that through real-life experiences and scholarship opportunities, students will become more aware, more passionate and more interested in environmental issues, and will be encouraged to pursue environmental studies and careers.

NMF has partnered with two high schools for the 2005-2006 academic year to implement the Field It program:

  • Field It ProgramLoudoun Valley High School (Purcellville, Virginia)
    NMF and Loudoun Valley High School will be working to develop a speaker series to supplement in-class lessons and to plan field trips to locations such as a county sewage plant, an area wildflower center, an on-river experience on a Chesapeake Bay tributary, grassland and meadow trips, and a local stream and wetlands trip. NMF hopes through experience with the Field It program that students will see first-hand the water quality issues in their own backyard that have implications for the health of the Chesapeake Bay; learn how to identify plants, trees and wildlife and understand their roles in the ecosystem; and learn about land use issues relevant to this most rapidly growing county in the nation.
  • St. Croix Central High School (St. Croix, US Virgin Islands)
    NMF and St. Croix Central High School will focus the speaker series and field trips, as well as hands-on modules to provide experiential learning for students in the areas of water quality, critical ecosystem and wetlands management, forestry and plant studies, and land use and land revitalization issues. The lessons learned from this project and the materials used will be replicated and/or serve as a model for other schools in the area.

Environmental Essay Contest

NMF conducts environmental essay contests to allow students to express their love of nature and the environment through writing, as well as to use the contest as a way to educate students on specific environmental issues. In 2007, we conducted the essay contest with graduating seniors from Loudoun Valley High School in Purcellville, Virginia. Participating students were asked to write a two to three page response addressing the following question: How is Rachel Carson’s work still relevant today? They were asked to include such information as how she changed the way the public viewed environmental issues and the effects of her work on public policy. They were also asked to describe what positive change/contribution they felt they can make in protecting or improving the environment and how Rachel Carson’s work serves as an example for them to follow.

The 2007 winners are:
First Place: Jennifer Bell
Second Place: Zachary Evans
Third Place: Alexandra Wichs

NMF awarded the winners cash prizes of $300, $150 and $50 respectively.

GreenFocus Awards

Green Focus 2005 Winner

Our GreenFocus Awards provide high school students with an opportunity to combine a love of photography with the environment. Our awards use the art of photography to raise community awareness and educate our nation’s youth and their families about the ethos of environmental stewardship. The program has two components, one focusing on sustainable land use for the annual Brownfields Conference and the other focusing on broader environmental themes for our annual NMF-sponsored Earth Day events.

Find out more about our GreenFocus Awards.

Student Coastal Projects

NMF partnered with Coastal America to provide support to the Coastal America Student Summit. This summit allowed high school students from across the country to come together and showcase the coastal projects they are undertaking in their communities. NMF also provided $1,000 in funding to nine Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers where students work on their coastal projects.