Our Sustainability Partners provide opportunities for schools and students to participate in hands-on learning, competitions and more all while learning about sustainable practices, conservation, stewardship and becoming global citizens. We have worked with the partners in DPS schools and know they provide excellent programming and projects.
openenergi is a hands-on energy education program for ALL Youth where we make energy fun. Schools can bring in bicycle-powered DJ booth, lights and a bubble machine. Solar oven kits and cookies baked by the sun are just the beginning.
The Consumption Literacy Project focuses on healing through learning. We work with science programs with hands-on experiences, creating meaningful work, and producing real impact within our communities. Food and waste is such a significant source of our impact on the planet and much of our programming revolves around developing innovative curriculum to engage learners, who then go to their homes and bring food and waste concepts with them. Our work is aimed at building a better understanding of self in relationship to the world. In K-12 our consumption literacy curriculum happens through the slow work of building food-producing capacity through soil improvement and getting our hands back into the Earth.
Slow Food is a global, grassroots movement founded in Italy over thirty years ago. Today, it is present in over 160 countries, with about 150 chapters in the United States. Slow Food inspires individuals and communities to change the world through food that is good, clean and fair for all.
We Don’t Waste reduces hunger and food waste in the Denver area by recovering quality, unused food from the food industry and delivering it free-of-charge to hunger-relief organizations all around the metro area. In short, We Don’t Waste believes nutritious food should go to people, not landfills and we believe that we can accomplish this through action and education!
We offer schools free food waste audits, in both cafeterias and classrooms, with the goal of helping schools reduce their food waste through a hands-on learning experience for students. We can provide presentations and educational materials that cover topics including food waste, the environment, nutrition and hunger. We love to host students for educational field trips and volunteer events.
To schedule a food waste audit or presentation, visit our website and complete our interest form.
Denver Recycles proudly provides more than 90,000 students in 170 Denver Public Schools with recycling service. More than 40 of these schools receive compost collection as well. Denver Recycles works extensively with DPS to educate students, staff and parents about the importance of waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting. Find information on lesson plans and curriculum, recycling, food waste, composting and more.
If you represent a DPS school and have questions about recycling, please email DenverRecycles@denvergov.org.
Helping people appreciate water’s importance often starts with the youngest members of society, and that’s what Denver Water’s youth education program sets out to do — increase students’ knowledge of water in Colorado; educate young learners about who Denver Water is and what we do; and help inspire wise water-use behaviors. Whether in the classroom, learning remotely or exploring the community, YouthEd has a variety of program resources available.
Nature-based education allows students to reflect on their everyday environment—social, cultural, natural—as the fuel for their questions then encourages real-world application of the learning in the school or surrounding community. The Kiva Center is a nature-based, experiential education community that offers interdisciplinary enrichment to youth and their families through local school outreach, homeschool enrichment programs, after school programs, family workshops, and summer camp enrichment.
We recognize that teachers play a critical role in helping students learn to use energy safely. The e-SMARTkids website provides kids, teachers, and parents with resources to learn about electricity and natural gas, and how to use them safely. There are curriculum-based games and videos for kids, lesson plans, and safety book order forms for teachers and important safety information for parents.
We target 3rd-6th grade elementary educators and students in schools in our service territories, offering printed material and online information to help teach and learn about staying safe around electricity and natural gas. The material also addresses national science learning standards for this age group.
Educators request your Xcel Energy Kit here DPS Sustainability Team will support using the kits with your class.