Sample Letter from Teacher to Parents
about the Vermont School Carbon Challenge

Help Make the World a Better Place…and win $5,000 for your school!

Dear Parent(s),

It may be hard to imagine that what we do here in the rural state of Vermont could possibly contribute to changes in the Earth's climate. . . but each day our vehicles, homes, schools, etc. emit tons of heat-trapping greenhouse gases to the air. When you add up these emissions from all your own, your friends', and your neighbors' activities and then add to that all the activities happening every day on our planet . . . it truly adds up.

However, a growing number of Vermonters and people around the globe are taking actions now to reduce their contributions of, in particular, CO2 an important greenhouse gas. It’s not too late to join them and be part of the global solution to climate change.

We at the (Name of School) are taking our role as responsible climate stewards seriously – and hope that you too will join us in an effort to reduce the generation of greenhouse gases. Throughout the school year we will be talking about climate change; the environment; and how all the small things we do, taken together, make a BIG difference. We hope that by empowering young Vermonters to take action – at school AND at home – we can avoid the feeling of powerlessness that often comes when talking about the many challenges before us.

To lend structure to our exploration of what it takes to be a responsible climate steward our class/school is participating in the Vermont School Carbon Challenge offered by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources in partnership with the Vermont Department of Education and Carbonrally.com. Your son/daughter is part of our class/school “team”, (name of team), that will be doing what we can to reduce the carbon footprint of our school and community. The rules of the challenge allow us to take credit for what families are able to accomplish at home as well. Thus, you too as parents are part of our team. We hope you will join with us as active participants in the Vermont School Carbon Challenge as we vie for one of the prizes offered by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.

I do hope you will decide to join us in our efforts. I will be sending information home periodically to keep you apprised of our efforts and how you can help. If you’d like to learn more about the challenge, please visit the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Carbon Challenge website at: http://www.anr.state.vt.us/carbonchallenge/

In addition, I urge you to visit and explore the Carbonrally.com website found on the Internet at:  http://www.carbonrally.com/

In the future you will be able to track our progress both as a team and as a school by visiting the “Leaderboard” at Carbonrally.com.

I look forward to working with you to promote greater environmental literacy, personal efficacy, and greater hope for a climate-stable future.

Sincerely,

(Teacher Name)

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