Bluffton High School and H.E. McCracken Middle School have each won a $2,000 grant from Champions of the Environment, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control announced.

“The ‘Be an Eco-Hero’ project at Bluffton High School involves students who participated in the Student Training Empowerment Program (S.T.E.P),” said Amy Bennett, Champions of the Environment coordinator. “They’re working to reduce waste by converting gently used t-shirts into reusable shopping bags that will be made available to the community.”

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You might not sport a cape and fancy tights, but you’ll definitely be an eco-hero in your school and community when you learn to make good choices for yourself.  STEP has once again put together six fun after school enrichment workshops full of tips about helping the planet and lots of information to help you be your best.  The workshops develop essential life skills, including critical thinking, teamwork, and important coping skills for children in grades 1-5.  The hands-on workshops promote friendship, honesty and citizenship to help children excel in the future.  There will be workshops topics about how you can help to protect the planet, as well as, how you can make responsible choices to help you grow up to be successful.

The workshops are led by trained high school students that are not only inspiring role models, but students that truly care about helping others to do their best.  Studies show that children learn best from older children, and this is a unique opportunity to do just that.

There will be six fun and entertaining workshops.  Each workshop will be held on the second Monday of each month for the rest of the school year from 3:30 – 5:00p.m. beginning Monday, December 14, 2009.  Included in each workshop will be a healthy and delicious snack, crafts, games and storytelling.

The Bluffton workshops will be held at H.E. McCracken Middle School and the Hilton Head Island workshops will be held at Hilton Head Island High School, in the Chrysalis Conservation Courtyard.  Students will be escorted from neighboring elementary schools by an adult and all workshops are monitored by a teacher.

The cost of each workshop is $12.00 and you must register ahead by emailing kathleen@gostep.org.   Workshop size is limited and they are sure to fill up fast, so please fill in the eco-hero-registration-form ASAP, along with the workshop fee.  Please make checks payable to STEP.  Email kathleen@gostep.org if you need more information.

STEP is cooking up fun at a delicious “Green Cuisine Workshop”. On Monday, April 6, 2009 Chef Glenn Keller, from the fabulous restaurant, Frankie Bones, and STEP mentors will team up with children in grades 1-5 to create a healthy and tasty meal made in part from sustainable local produce. It’s also a zero waste affair. Everything from food scraps to dishes is reused or recycled. Highlights include a cooking demonstration from Chef Keller, story telling from The Hungry Catepillar , and an eco-friendly craft. It is being held among the butterflies at The Chrysalis Conservation Courtyard at Hilton Head Island High School at 3:30 P.M until 5:30 P.M.. This event is all about getting children involved in making good choices to protect the environment as well as making good choices for themselves. This workshop is a unique way to inspire young people to change the way they feel about healthful living. To attend the workshop please fill in the green-cuisine-registration1 and mail it to STEP along with the workshop fee. If more information is needed please email kathleen@gostep.org.

STEP will be participating in the Annual Master Garden Tour which will be held on Saturday, October 18, 2008.  This is the first time that a school has been honored to participate.  The time is 10:00 A.M. until 4:00 P.M., so mark your calendar to come see the Chrysalis Conservation Courtyard at Hilton Head Island High School. STEP members have created the Chrysalis Conservation Courtyard to help not only to promote protection of endangered butterflies, but to share knowledge with other young people about ways to become responsible stewards of the environment.

STEP members will be on hand to offer home-made lemonade and cookies and to share with you the amazing transformation of Chrysalis Conservation Courtyard.

A gift that shows how much you care

Whether you adopt-a-butterfly for yourself, a friend or a loved one, you will be helping secure a safer future for endangered butterflies.

Butterflies are essential pollinators that are now threatened by human acitivities and development. By adopting a butterfly with STEP, you are enabling us to continue to support butterfly conservation projects in different communities across our country.

For each ten dollars donated STEP members will plant 10 host food plants for an endangered butterfly species throughout different communities participating in the STEP program. Very few butterflies are as common as they once were. More and more of our landscapes are being built over with asphalt. Host plants are classified as ‘weeds’ and are either being torn out or sprayed with poisons for manicured lawns which as often as not destroy both plant and butterfly. Continue Reading This Article…

Summertime has arrived!  STEP is here to help you enjoy the simple pleasures of the season. You can get a close-up view of one of life’s most amazing mysteries by watching a caterpillar morph into a chrysalis and then become a butterfly. Make a butterfly house out of a half gallon orange juice carton. It’s easy and fun.

• First wash container very well and leave off cap.
• Cut a 3 inch hole in each of the four sides.
• Cover the top and side holes with mesh and tape into place.
• Now put some fresh parsley, dill, or milkweed inside the carton.
• Place a cotton ball dipped in sugar water also inside.
• Now go search plants and bushes for a caterpillar and give it fresh leaves and water everyday.
• When you find your caterpillar give it some of the same kind of leaves that you find it on.
• Many butterflies are endangered. Share your winged treasure with family and friends then set it free when it has morphed.

STEP will be sharing how to make your own butterfly garden in upcoming articles this summer. In the meantime enjoy being a responsible and caring steward of our planet by protecting butterfly habitats in your neighborhood.