student activists

Conservation Club

Conservation Minnesota



What is Conservation?

This is a testConservation is the protection of animals, plants, and natural resources to prevent them from being lost or wasted.

What is Conservation Club?

Do you want to hang out with friends and figure out ways to better protect our Earth? In this afterschool club, you and other environmental advocates from our school will become conservation leaders in our community by selecting and designing a project that helps protect our Earth.

Conservation Club is a youth-led, empowering program that engages students in learning and leadership around conservation opportunities in their schools.

This FREE club is open to 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders at the HCP-Northrop School. Interested students should return a permission form to Ms. Jaeger (paper or Google form). The club will meet Thursdays from 3 - 4:15pm, from February to May 31, 2022. All students must be picked up by 4:15pm on meeting days.

Questions? Contact Ms. Jaeger.

What is a Greenhouse Gas?

Greenhouse gases are gases in Earth’s atmosphere that trap heat. They let sunlight pass through the atmosphere, but they prevent the heat that the sunlight brings from leaving the atmosphere. The main greenhouse gases are Water vapor, Carbon dioxide, Methane, Ozone, Nitrous oxide, and Chlorofluorocarbons.

What is a Carbon Footprint?

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide and methane) that are generated by our actions.

What are Invasive Species?

An invasive species is an organism that causes ecological harm in a new environment where it is not native. Invasive species can occur on land or in the water. They can be plants, animals, fungi, and insects. Some invasive species in Minnesota include zebra mussels, Eurasian watermilfoil, common buckthorn, and emerald ash borer.

How can you get Involved?

Build Community Gardens


Community_garden
Community gardens strenthen community colaboration, provide access to fresh, healthy and afforable food, and are fun ways to learn more about ecosystems.

Start a Compost


Compost
Composting enriches the soil, helping retain moisture and suppress plant diseases and pests. It also encourages the production of friendly bacteria and fungi! Request a compost bin or learn more about composting in Minneapolis!

Create a Pollinator Garden


Bees
Pollinator gardens support pollinators, like bees 🐝 and butterflies 🦋, by supplying food in the form of pollen and nectar that will ensure that these important animals stay in the area to keep pollinating the plants we need for our food!

Use a Reusable Water Bottle


Water_bottle
A reusable water bottle takes less oil to produce and replaces all the plastics that you would have used, reducing your carbon footprint. Plus you can add cool stickers and find them in your favorite color.

Build Rain Barrels


Rain_barrels
Rain barrels capture water from a roof and hold it for later use. They help conserve water while providing plenty to drink for your garden!

Recycle


Reduce, Reuse, RECYCLE
Recycling reduces the amount of garbage in landfill, oceans, and in our atmosphere. It also saves energy and conserves our natural resources. Find your recycle schedule and learn more about what is accepted in Minneapolis!

Start a Worm Bin


Worms
What is a worm bin? Gross! Friendly worms actually help break down your compost faster, reducing rot and smell. They can also help reduce the amount of Methane produced when food breaks down, just by eating! 🐛

Eat Sustainably & Shop at Farmers Markets

Farmers_markets
Besides making friends with our local farmers, buying food from farmers markets cuts down your carbon footprint, and it's tasty! Next time you are at the grocery store, check the label to see where it was grown. Find a farmers market near you!
Student Acivists with signs that say 'protect our home!'. Earth is also featured, much larger than all of the student activists.

Program Instructors - Let's Learn Together!

Shelbee_Jaeger

Ms. Jaeger

Welcome to Conservation Club! I am the 6th grade Earth and Space Science teacher at Hiawatha Academies - Northrop. The goal of this after-school program is to provide students an opportunity to lead our school in improving our conservation efforts as a community. When teaching our youth, I love sparking curiosity about the world around us and supporting students in understanding themselves as the future leaders of our next generation. My favorite subject happens to be Environmental Conservation, and I spend a lot of time outside, whether it's playing and coaching soccer, exploring with my pup, or hiking along the Mississippi river.

A few ways that I practice conservation in my own life are composting through the city of Minneapolis, buying fruits and vegetables that aren’t packaged in plastic, saying no to plastic bags (even if that means awkwardly carrying a couple of items home from the store), and most important of all… learning and thinking about more ways to incorporate conservation into my own life.

Ms. Jaeger and dog illustration. Ms. Jaeger holds sign stating 'for a better future!;

Contact Ms. Jaeger:
phone icon 612.444.1455
email icon sjaeger@hiawathaacademies.org

Erica Bentley

Ms. Bentley

Hello all! I am the 7th grade Life Science teacher at Hiawatha Academies - Northrop. If you have driven up to the school my room is the one with lots of plants in the window! My goal is to bring the outside in when we are in the classroom, but I also love to get students outside doing Science. Conservation is near and dear to my heart. We compost, garden, support local farms, and seed save at our house. I love how many animals are attracted to my yard with all the native plants. I would love for students to have that same experience here at school. I am learning new things about conservation all the time and I am excited to work with students to see what new plans we can draw up together.

Ms. Bentley and plants illustration. Ms. Bentley holds sign saying 'let's learn together!

Contact Ms. Bentley:

email icon ebentley@hiawathaacademies.org