10/14/11
I’ve just finished the third of four weeks of touring schools for this fall. I headed out on a line southwest from Kansas City through Garnett, Moran, Iola, Erie, Galesburg, Parsons, Neodesha and Elk Valley ending up just a few miles from the Oklahoma border. The students were well prepared and really wanted to sing the music we had sent in advance. Here’s a photo from St. Patrick’s school in Parsons. 
In tiny Elk Valley Elementary the students were very excited. Here’s a picture from our program there. After the program I took a fourty mile detour to see the newest wind farm in Kansas. The towers, turbans and power are all the biggest so far in the state.
2/25/11
We’re back from the meeting we had last weekend in Denver. It was a planning meeting for the Green Schools National Network. About 35 people from all over the US came together to help plan next year’s national conference and strategize ways to make the network stronger. I was impressed with the diversity and dedication of the group. The network was started by Jim McGrath a charter school principal who took his school “green” then found that there was a pressing need for a way to share all the great things schools were doing. I got to share some of the great things Kansas has been doing and even sang the group one of our Green Schools songs, titled Just Me and You.
 |
| Jim McGrath, Director of the Green Schools National Network and Stan at a meeting in Denver. |
We’ll be looking forward to the next national conference in February 2012.
2/14/11
I recently reported to my Green Schools contract supervisor about the progress so far this year. Each school is encouraged to evaluate the program (we received almost two hundred) and one fourth grade class took the time to write me letters. They were sweet and touching. So on Valentines Day, here are a few of my favorites.
Here’s another two-pager
1/13/11
Here’s the article we had in the Wellington Daily News from our fun time with the kids at Eisenhower Elementary.
Eco-Troubadour comes to Wellington 
Nate Jones
Wellington Daily News
Students at Eisenhower Elementary in Wellington had the opportunity to learn about being environmentally friendly, Wednesday afternoon. The Eco-Troubadour, Stan Slaughter, was in town to perform at the elementary school as a part of the initiative of the Green Schools Program. Students learned about different environmentally friendly practices through songs written and performed by Slaughter.
On the web:
www.kansasgreenschools.org
www.eco-troubadour.com
www.kansasgreenteams.org
Copyright 2011 Wellington Daily News. All Rights Reserved.
1/6/11
Our first week in South Central Kansas went very well with programs at Ingalls, Montezuma Spearville and Sacred Heart of Dodge City.
We had a great second week in Western Kansas but the weather shut the door on our first day, the 10th. We visited St. Pat’s of Kingman, Harper k-8, Belle Plaine, Wellington, Greensburg and Pratt- Skyline. Over 2100 students in six days. Here’s our article in the Dodge City Globe
1/5/11
Today we had programs at Ingalls Elementary and Montezuma Elementary. Both programs had a really nice feel to them as relatively small groups (100 and 140) were attentive, good singers and very knowledgeable. Part of the program is the”what can you (kids) do?” part. Six students come up and hold up six cards for the audience. Each represent a simple “step” that can help our environment.
The captions are:
1. Change a light bulb to a CFL.
2. Save the gas, I’ll ride my bike.
3. Paper or plastic? No thanks, I brought my own.
4. Use one paper towel when I dry my hands.
5. Turn off the water when I brush my teeth. and
6. Recycle my trash at school and home.
After we sing “The One Step Song” we discuss each of these measures. Then I ask the kids to vote for the one step that is the best for the environment. At both of these very rural Kansas schools, a full 95% of the students knew that it is recycling. That’s much better than most of the 60 schools this year.
My visit was booked and arranged by long-time friend Roger Masenthin. He’s in the picture with me.
He’s been bringing me to south Kansas for 17 years. He’s director of the Sunflower RC&D, an agency of the USDA. I come to educate the schools in his area about the environment and he comes to showcase the efforts of his group to put recycling, composting and other environmental efforts into place for local citizens. He’s a dynamo and very effective. Tomorrow It’s Dodge City.
We’re in Wind Farm Country here.
