High school science teachers from western New York State are invited to attend a “hands-on” training on the principles of green chemistry, provided by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), on November 4, at the University at Buffalo, DEC Commissioner Joe Martens announced today.

“By implementing green chemistry practices, teachers and students can conduct chemistry in an environmentally responsible way that reduces the amount of hazardous materials in the classroom,” Commissioner Martens said. “Using green chemistry encourages teachers and students to consider the life cycle of the chemicals they work with and promotes awareness of chemical toxicology, sustainability and how chemistry can impact the environment.”

This is the seventh green chemistry workshop offered to science teachers as part of the DEC’s “Advancing Green Chemistry at New York State’s High Schools” pilot program.

Previous DEC green chemistry one-day workshops were held in the Capital District, Hudson Valley, NYC, Long Island, Rochester and Syracuse areas of the state. In addition, DEC has partnered with Siena College, to conduct a three-day teacher intensive green chemistry training, the Green Chemistry Summer Institute. To date, more than 200 teachers from 138 school districts have attended DEC’s green chemistry workshops and the Green Chemistry Summer Institute.

As part of DEC’s project to advance green chemistry at New York State’s schools, Williamsville East High School located in East Amherst, a suburb of Buffalo, in Erie County, was chosen to be DEC’s green chemistry candidate school. That distinction is given to the school in the region which proves for a full year that it’s willing to embrace and teach green chemistry. DEC chose Williamsville because of its chemical management needs assessment and the science teachers’ willingness to embrace and implement green chemistry practices in their classroom laboratories for at least one school year.

For additional information about DEC’s Green Chemistry for New York’s High Schools program, see DEC’s website at: http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/77750.html. Inquiries about the DEC green chemistry workshop being held at the University at Buffalo can be directed to: Deborah.Knight@dec.ny.gov.