NGSS student members must complete at least 20 hours of environmental community service and meet requirements (stated below) to be to be eligible to receive NGSS recognition and awards at the end of the year. These requirements apply to all chapter members in NGSS high school, NGSS – Junior, NGSS – Elementary, and NGSS – Virtual. NGSS Chapter members can qualify for awards by working on a group project or on independent projects. Awards include a NGSS Certificate, state-level citation, and, for students who qualify, environmental recognition at the federal level. Please note that each member must complete and submit the online form and submit paperwork as an individual. All documentation is due May 10th.
Click here to access the NGSS Student and Graduate Recognition and Award Form,
- Submit a NGSS Student Profile
- Submit a NGSS Student Project Description, Outcomes, and Evaluation
- Submit a NGSS Service Hour Tracking Sheet
- All NGSS student members are eligible to apply for US EPA’s Presidential Environmental Youth Award Certificates with appropriate documentation. EPA documentation must be completed individually using the EPA forms and mailed directly to the local EPA regional office. The forms should be downloaded from the EPA’s website and mailed by you. Most of the information you submitted to NGSS can be used for this application.
NGSS seniors/graduates:
- Graduates must perform environmental service in the following categories to be eligible to receive a NGSS graduate certificate and honor stole to wear at their graduation ceremony. Hours can be accumulated from a combination of courses, club activities, service or class projects, STEM projects, attended events, special programs, conferences, career exploration, and so on.
- Students who meet these requirements must submit a student profile, project description, a two-page essay about environmental service or e-STEM and its impact, and a completed service hour tracking sheet that certifies hours of service signed by the NGSS chapter advisor or representative from the school. You can submit all of the documentation online in the NGSS Student and Graduate Recognition and Award Form. This forms allows you to upload documents.
- Essay requirements: Write and submit a two-page essay describing how you completed the following requirements during your time in high school: Environmental service; Environmental education conducted both inside and outside of the school; Project learning, such as hands-on projects connected to environmental education, STEM or a senior project; and career exploration or volunteering with a community partner. Include in this essay the impact your project or service hours had on your school and your community. We would also like for you to state your plans for the future; for example, are you going into an environmental field of study in college? What are hopes and expectations?
- All NGSS graduate documentation is due by May 10st. Documents can be scanned and uploaded with the application. A fee of $45 covers the NGSS honor stole, a certificate, and related processing and mailing fees.
- Green Schools National Network Conference and the NGSS National Chapter and Student Awards held in March
- The Green Difference Awards Ceremony at the Massachusetts State House in Boston on May 19th, 2017.
For more information about NGSS, contact:
ngss@projectgreenschools.org
