Sustainability at PPS

Happy summer everyone. And a huge congratulations to our 45,000 amazing students on a completed school year!

Learning about climate justice and the natural world doesn’t have to stop over the summer. This newsletter issue is dedicated to listing as many climate-related summer opportunities for students that we could find, for youth of all ages, and teachers and families, too! So take a look inside and find the summer activity that’s right for you.

The PPS Energy & Sustainability and Climate Justice teams will be spending the summer continuing the work of moving the Climate Crisis Response, Climate Justice and Sustainable Practices Policy forward. That includes working with our partners to create roadmaps to smart, efficient, and equitable policy implementation and setting up school based programs to be ready for the return of students and teachers in the Fall.

Have comments, ideas, or stories to share? We’ll be here all summer, so reach out for a chat!

The PPS Climate Justice team is bringing on two part-time high school interns over the summer. If you are a passionate climate activist from a Portland Public high school or you are eager to learn more about how we are making PPS more sustainable, we highly encourage you to apply.

Click here for all the details and contact information.

We are excited to announce that PPS Sustainability and PPS Climate Justice are hiring two AmeriCorps members for the 23-24 school year!

The Sustainability Project Coordinator and the Climate Justice Project Coordinator play integral roles on our small team each year. They support student- and teacher-driven projects, community engagement & outreach, and climate education. These positions highlight school stories in monthly newsletters, coordinate the School Sustainability Champions network, support student activism, deliver classroom presentations, and much much more.

The positions are in partnership with Confluence Environmental Center. The AmeriCorps role is a contracted position from August 2023 - July 2024.

To be eligible to apply, you must be at least 18 years old and hold a high school diploma or equivalent. For questions, or to apply please send a cover letter, resume, and 3 references to Sustainability@pps.net.

Are you a PPS teacher? Join us for a 2 day Professional Development training June 27-28 where we’ll learn about climate justice, action, and history while we dive into a closer examination of where climate already shows up in the PPS curriculum and where we can include it to augment existing units of study.

This workshop becomes more powerful the more teachers who attend, so please consider making this a part of your summer.

For more information, reach out to Noelle Gorbett at ngorbett@pps.net.

SAVE THE DATE to volunteer for Project Community Care! This districtwide stewardship event will be taking place on Saturday, August 12th and Saturday, August 19th. During Community Care Days, volunteers help clean-up schoolyards before the start of the school year. You'll get to pickup litter, weed, spread mulch, prune shrubs, and have fun with your school community!

More details to come from school staff or school PTA/PTSOs.

Lewis and Clark is hosting a free 3-day class called Become a Community Climate Leader, from Aug. 14-16. Through this workshop, college and high school students will be supported to complete climate justice initiatives or projects that are unique to their particular communities. Students will become part of a network of diverse community leaders who support each other’s work and will take meaningful steps toward enhancing climate education and action in our region.

The class will include meals, a project stipend, and will be followed by ongoing mentorship, logistical support, and networking opportunities. There is room for about 20 students, and applications are due June 1.

Check out the program website for more information and for how to apply.

*Calling all 5th - 8th graders*

At Wayfinders Summer Camp, you'll visit Portland's black-owned farms, harvest food, tackle climate design challenges, and forge connections with Oregon's ocean and freshwater systems.

Don't miss out on dope experiences, making memories, science, and fun in the sun!

According to its website, Trackers Portland has the "Best Camps in the Known Universe!"

Trackers summer camps teach real skills with fantastic adventure. Connect with friends while learning with expert teachers and guides. Trackers offers epic camps for all ages. Discover action-packed outdoor skills, arts, DIY crafts, and role-playing games!

The Architecture Foundation of Oregon has a whole slew of amazing design and architecture related summer camps available and they've catalogued them all here or here in Spanish.

OMSI is offering a variety of summer opportunities this year, from one day excursions to multi-day experiences! There are opportunities for kids from kindergarten to the 12th grade.

• Overnight camp at Camp Gray (grades 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, and 9-12). Campers will have the opportunity to investigate thriving ecosystems of the Oregon Coast.

• Overnight camp at Camp Hancock (grades 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, and 9-12). Located within one of the world’s most significant fossil sites, campers will take a peek into Central Oregon’s past.

• Backpacking (grades 6-8, and 9-12). OMSI is offering three trips where you can learn about ecology in the wilderness.

• Rafting! Trips down the Lower Deschutes River are available to grades 4-5, and 6-8.

• Summer Day Camps (grades K-1, 2-3, 4-5, and 6-8). Explore forensic science, program a LEGO® robot, create animated movies, pilot a drone, care for exotic pets and more at these action-packed day camps and classes in the Portland metro area.

Check out this incredible learning opportunity at the Sunrise Summer Camp. Sunrise is a youth movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process. At Sunrise Summer Camp, students will meet peers from around the country, make friends, have fun, and learn how to transform their schools to face down the climate crisis.

This year, Sunrise Summer Camp is all about organizing for a Green New Deal for Schools! A GND for Schools includes climate curriculum, sustainable school buildings and transportation, pathways to green jobs, and plans for community resilience to climate events. PPS' Climate Crisis Response Policy calls for many of the same things as a GND for Schools. This is an opportunity to support students across the country in getting an education that prepares them for a climate-changed future.

Learn more and apply at Sunrise Summer Camp.

Get involved with Our Future, Oregon's Youth Leadership Network for Climate Action and Climate Justice. Work with other students around Oregon in addressing the climate crisis, gain leadership and organizational skills through a paid internship, and work on action-oriented climate/sustainability action projects.

There are ongoing opportunities to join and participate over the summer and into the school year. Learn more here and at www.ourfutureoregon.org.

New to Southeast Portland! Mad Science is partnering with Experiment to offer a variety of STEM summer camps. From chemistry and engineering to archaeology and inventions, find the perfect science experience for all young investigators. See all the options below:

• Junior Science Explorers (ages 5-7): Decipher the world all around us in this exciting camp designed for your young scientist!

• Moving with Science (ages 5-7): Join the Mad Scientist in a fun-filled exploration of how science keeps our world moving.

• Creative Contraptions (ages 8-12): Junior inventors go on a journey of discovery from the real-life inventions of DaVinci, Edison, and the Wright Brothers to Isaac Asimov's dreams of future inventions.

• Underground Explorers (ages 8-12): Learn about archaeology and the techniques scientists use to excavate long-lost cities!

This July and August, check out Summer Free For All! Summer Free For All builds community through free, inclusive, and family-friendly activities that celebrate Portland’s diverse cultures and local artists.

This summer's lineup includes multi-Grammy award winning singer, songwriter and keyboardist for Maroon 5 - PJ Morton, Purple Reign: The Music of Prince presented by Portland Cello Project, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Jeffersons: Live! and much more. See the full schedule by clicking here.

Outdoor Learning is growing at PPS! Through our outstanding partner organizations, more and more PPS students are getting into the garden to learn about nature, stewardship, nutrition, and food system sustainability. Engaging youth in gardens gives them a sense of belonging and new perspectives on food, health, and the world around them.

• Next year, for the first time, FoodCorps will be partnering with 7 PPS schools to provide garden education: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, César Chávez K-8 School, Marysville Elementary, Woodlawn Elementary, Jason Lee Elementary, Chapman Elementary, and Woodmere Elementary.

• Growing Gardens will continue to partner with Lent, Scott, Kelly, Whitman, and Faubion, plus Rigler where Growing Gardens plans to offer culturally specific programming called Semillas Indígenas.

• Grow Portland currently partners with 8 sites: James John, Harrison Park, Vestal, Grout, Creston, Bridlemile, Rose City Park, and Beverly Cleary, and is in the process of finalizing additional sites for next year, too.

This school year, PPS planted over 50 trees and engaged over 175 students in urban forestry education!

Next year, we are planning to plant over 100 trees at schools that reside in low canopy areas of the city. Lots of this work starts with community members, teachers, and parents, which we LOVE! And, with so much enthusiasm for this important work, we want to remind our community of the project process so the trees we plant will thrive over time.

For all tree planting, please review these project requirements.

Multnomah County has released a guide for safe ways to keep cool in the heat, called Help for When it’s Hot. Check it out for how to take care of yourself and others during the hot summer months.

PDX Free Fridge is a community based and informed mutual aid effort to increase access to free food and vital supplies by creating a network of independent fridges and pantries in Portland, OR. Our mission is to redistribute existing resources by providing access to free food and supplies through community fridges and pantries.

For a map with locations of the free food fridges, click here.