The Children’s Environmental Health Institute applauds Healthy Schools Day 2013!
Most American children spend approximately two years inside of classrooms from grades K-12. More time than they spend in any other environment except for home. Mounting research evidence supports the associations between poor environmental health conditions of schools, such as indoor air quality, and student absenteeism, diminished academic performance and short-term illness. Special emphasis must be placed on children in low-income and minority communities, as they may be at greater risks to environmental toxins, in their schools. The importance of preventing childhood exposures to toxins in schools must be elevated and addressed by a broad cross section of stakeholders and policymakers. The Children’s Environmental Health Institute will continue its commitment to engage leaders in health and education to identify the key challenges and opportunities for decreasing environmental toxins in schools.
H-E-B Partnership
The Children’s Environmental Health Institute is pleased to announce that H-E-B, in recognition of Earth Day, has selected EarthShare of Texas to be the April beneficiary for its in-store coupon promotion. This means that customers can tear off and add check-out coupons worth $1, $3, or $5 to their total bill to support environmental work throughout the State of Texas for the entire month of April.
H-E-B supports many EarthShare of Texas organizations with corporate grants or in-kind contributions. The April tear-pad promotion is a bit different as it enables H-E-B customers to bolster the diverse environmental program work of more than three dozen EarthShare of Texas’ organizations, including the Children’s Environmental Health Institute. The customers’ dollars will go directly to these organizations, benefitting both the Texas environment and economy.
Throughout the month of April and into the first week of May, look for the EarthShare of Texas display and tear-off coupons at the check-out stands in any Texas H-E-B and Central Market stores. Support EarthShare of Texas and the Texas environment!
Children’s Picnic and Real Food Fair
The event was held in Austin on Sunday, April 7 • 1–5 pm
Presented by the Children’s Environmental Health Institute, Edible Austin, and The SANDE Youth Project
A Let’s Move! event
hosted by the French Legation Museum on the grounds
802 San Marcos Street in Historic East Austin
Austin, Texas
bring a picnic • grow a garden • play games • meet farmers and local food vendors
• cooking demos • movies • music and more! Free
Featuring the Children and Their Food Photo Exhibit
On view in the Museum, April 7
Sponsored by Whole Kids Foundation
Towards Healthy Schools 2015 Report Now Available!
The Towards Healthy Schools 2015 Report cites multiple studies documenting the benefits of healthy indoor learning environments on attendance and achievement, then presents state-level data and policy summaries.
2012 Symposium
Over one hundred advocates seeking evidence-based information on how to protect children from their exposure to environmental health toxins, gathered at the Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas on October 25 & 26, 2012, to attend the Seventh Biennial Scientific Symposium hosted by the Children’s Environmental Health Institute (CEHI).
Thank you to all the attendees who joined us at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas as we examined how school environments affect the health and
educational performance of the over 55 million children enrolled in our K-12 public and private schools. Your participation was an important step in expanding cross-discipline communication efforts to support best practices and policies to protect the health of children in school environments. Leadership from the educational, medical, research, legal and private sectors provided scientific research on the current state of environmental health risks in schools. Information on the presentations is available for review on the CEHI website at Symposium 2012 Program Syllabus. Included in the Program Syllabus are the presentation objectives and abstracts for each presenter.
Also, available for review are the 2012 Scientific Symposium Speaker Power Point Presentations. The 2012 Scientific Symposium speakers have approved their power point presentations to be posted on the CEHI website. These distinguished experts presented exemplary programs and resources on how to prevent children from their unnecessary exposure to environmental toxins and the advantages of providing healthy school environments.
Thank you for your interest in the work of the Children’s Environmental Health Institute and support of the 2012 Scientific Symposium. We look forward to ways that we can work together to Increase awareness about the prevention of environmental health risks in schools.
Janie D. Fields
Executive Director
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CEHI Volunteer Presents at Symposium
Upasana Prabhu, freshman at Westlake High School and CEHI volunteer, with her parents at the reception at the Dell Children’s Medical Center for the 2012 Scientific Symposium.
To read Upasana’s address to the participants at the 2012 Scientific Symposium, please go here .
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Picture the Children Photo Exhibit
Children and Their Food
Sponsored by the Whole Kids Foundation
The Children and Their Food Photo Exhibit debuted in October 2012, during National School Lunch Week, at CEHI’s Seventh Biennial Scientific Symposium at the Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas.
The Picture the Children program of the Children’s Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) is an approach to evoke an emotional experience for the viewers to envision the unique relationship children experience in their environment and the impact on their wellbeing. The images document the joy, discovery and positive health outcomes children experience in natural and healthy environments.
In partnership with the Whole Kids Foundation, the focus is on children and their relationship with food for the Picture the Children Photo Exhibit. In an effort to advance the discussion about children’s health and their environment, select photographers were invited to turn their lenses toward children and their food. Photographers were selected by the Advisory Panel to submit photographs representing the relationship between children and food.
Eating is a learned behavior. Healthy eating in childhood and adolescence is important for proper growth and development and is associated with reduced risk for many diseases, including several of the leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. Poor nutrition is a major cause of health problems such as obesity and chronic disease, which are now increasingly beginning in childhood.
Jury Members:
Susanna Finnell, PhD, Jury Chair
Marla Camp, Owner and Publisher of Edible Austin
Marise McDermott, President & CEO, Witte Museum, San Antonio, Texas
Lise Ragbir, Owner of Ragbir Art, Art Consultant
Penny De Los Santos, Senior Contributing photographer to Saveur Magazine and a regular contributing photographer for National Geographic Magazine and Martha Stewart Living
To view the Picture the Children: Children in Nature Photo Exhibit by Roberto “Bear Guerra” go to http://www.bearguerra.com/slideshows/cehi_exhibit_final.
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