2025-01-27T13:18:54-08:00 2024-07-31 721458788 Johnson Mire & Fernandez CPA 2008 Athania Parkway Metairie LA 70001 990 2023-08-01 721310276 Teaching Responsible Earth Education TREE TEAC 5045259020 6221 S Claiborne Ave 628 New Orleans LA 70125 Heather Szapary Executive Dir. 2025-01-27 true true MICHELE MIRE P00048073 5047795990 2023 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z Stephen Smith 6221 S Claiborne Ave 628 New Orleans LA 70125 605773 false X www.treetalk.org X 1995 LA T.R.E.E.'s mission is to educate children and adults about the life science processes that govern our planet, to inspire them to appreciate the natural world, and to motivate them to protect it. The mission is accomplished by conducting comprehensive academic and experiential education programs. 8 8 24 150 0 245918 430086 190040 172540 0 0 435958 602626 0 0 307859 441964 11000 51387 121947 143274 429806 596238 6152 6388 434411 287023 15790 17990 418621 269033 X T.R.E.E.'s mission is to educate children and adults about the life science processes that govern our planet, to inspire them to appreciate the natural world, and to motivate them to protect it. The mission is accomplished by conducting comprehensive academic and experiential education programs. false false 161244 46355 Earthkeepers is a 3-day program where students travel each day to a forested area outside of the city of New Orleans, and earn K.E.Y.S. symbolizing the steps of their journey. Participants earned their K (Knowledge) and E (Experience) keys by engaging in activities such as following Slippery Sally, a water speck (molecule) on adventures through the water cycle. They connected with nature through immersive activities like finding, naming, and describing the perfect wind dancer, a leaf dropped for all to see how it distinctively floats through the air. When students return to school they earn their Y and S (Yourself and Sharing) keys by 1) reducing the amount of energy and materials they use or waste; (2) sharing their knowledge and experiences with younger students, family members and friends; and (3) continuing to experience the wonders of the world through solitude, observation, discovery, and writing. There were 400 public school students (50 non-public), 45 teachers, and 71 parent volunteers who participated in Earthkeepers over the fiscal year. 156765 18000 Lost Treasures is a school-based, science education program for elementary students that was piloted by T.R.E.E in 2020. About 165 third grade children, 80% of which are minority and/or economically disadvantaged, benefited from alternative methods of science education becoming environmentally literate, improving academically, and understanding their ability to affect positive change in their personal lives. The main objective of this project is to establish an empowering, school curriculum-integrated environmental education program for younger students propelling their awareness of problems like climate change and the injustices they create. Children become characters in their own story where they receive proclamations to challenge themselves and work together, and discover tasks in a life-sized treasure chest in their classroom. They learn about the Animal, Mineral and Plant Kingdoms and how they interact and depend on ecosystems. 102050 54980 Sunship III occurs over 3 days and 2 nights for 7th graders, deepening their life science understanding and focus on implications of decisions that affect their personal lives and their communities. To start, each 7th grader receives enough solarians rather than dollars, to pay for their use of necessary resources like water, food, and electricity. They keep a checkbook which they must balance each day as they decide how to best spend their resources. They have tough decisions to make regarding desires rather than needs; like using a hair dryer or ordering the works on their pizza, especially when they realize how much these items actually cost to use, make and transport to the user. The follow-through component connects youth to sustainability leaders in the areas they live. They pledge to interview at least one person to find out how they practice living and working more lightly on the Earth. Sunship III, like each of T.R.E.E.s programs, addresses 3 main needs. One is that New Orleans area children need educational opportunities that achieve superior levels of learning in science. Second, children need to understand how their environment functions, and that it is interconnected to all life. Third, students need to feel empowered, which is necessary for them to be confident that they can make a difference in the world. There were 210 students, 19 teachers and 18 parent chaperones who participated in Sunship III over the school year. 100765 55930 520824 true true false false false false false false false false true false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false true 0 0 true 24 true false false false false false false false 0 false false false false false false false X 8 8 false false false false false false false true true false false true true true true true true false false false X Heather Szapary 5045259020 6221 S Claiborne Ave New Orleans LA 70125 X Andrew Liles Past President 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Heather Szapary Executive Dir. 32.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Robert MacLean Secretary 1.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Jamal Brown Treasurer 1.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Stephen Smith President 1.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Susan Allen Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Brian Beabout Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Thuy Le Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 0 false false false 0 X 1789 50000 378297 430086 CDCA 611600 2725 2725 Earthkeepers 611600 46355 46355 Lost Treasures 611600 18000 18000 Sunship Earth 611600 50480 50480 Sunship III 611600 54980 54980 172540 0 0 0 0 0 3147 3147 0 0 0 0 602626 172540 0 0 0 0 0 0 410360 368683 15838 25839 0 0 31604 28416 1212 1976 0 0 0 0 11000 11000 0 0 7244 1689 5555 51295 46226 1438 3631 5320 4256 532 532 0 18120 14000 2620 1500 35490 33910 226 1354 0 0 420 420 0 11238 11238 14147 12406 1741 0 596238 520824 24027 51387 432202 242069 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2209 0 56192 11238 44954 0 0 0 0 0 434411 287023 3196 7976 12594 10014 15790 17990 X 221646 229608 196975 39425 418621 269033 434411 287023 X 6388 -1 -155975 X false false false X 259361 281893 252250 245918 513635 1553057 125964 4950 15200 190040 172540 508694 0 0 1540 1540 386865 286843 267450 435958 686175 2063291 55000 70000 66000 70000 96300 357300 0 55000 70000 66000 70000 96300 357300 1705991 0 0 0 0 386865 286843 267450 435958 686175 2063291 0.82680 0.83720 0.00000 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 56192 11238 44954 44954 Form 990, Part III, Line 4d OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 4: Lost Treasures is a school-based, science education program for elementary students that was piloted by T.R.E.E in 2020. About 165 third grade children, 80% of which are minority and/or economically disadvantaged, benefited from alternative methods of science education becoming environmentally literate, improving academically, and understanding their ability to affect positive change in their personal lives. The main objective of this project is to establish an empowering, school curriculum-integrated environmental education program for younger students propelling their awareness of problems like climate change and the injustices they create. Children become characters in their own story where they receive proclamations to challenge themselves and work together, and discover tasks in a life-sized treasure chest in their classroom. They learn about the Animal, Mineral and Plant Kingdoms and how they interact and depend on ecosystems. OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 5: Metairie Country Day Summer Camp (CDCA) hires a T.R.E.E. educator(s) to create and implement multi-week programs for 8 to 14 year old campers. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 11b A draft of the Form 990 is emailed to each Board of Directors member for their review. Each have the chance to independently review and comment on the document before submittal. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, Line 19 Other Organization Documents Publicly Available: Some organization documents are publicly available via Guidestar. All public documents and policies are available upon request. Form 990, Part XI, Line 9 $221,550 collected in prior fiscal year for current fiscal = -$155975 Form 990, Part XI, Line 9 year and $64,000 was collected for future years. = -$0 Form 990, Part I, Line 1 - Organization Mission or Significant Activit Organization Mission:T.R.E.E.'s mission is to educate children and adults about the life science processes that govern our planet, to inspire them to appreciate the natural world, and to motivate them to protect it. The mission is accomplished by conducting comprehensive academic and experiential education programs. Form 990, Part III, Line 4a - Program Service Accomplishments: Earthkeepers is a 3-day program where students travel each day to a forested Jean Lafitte National Park, and earn K.E.Y.S. symbolizing the steps of their journey. Participants earned their K (Knowledge) and E (Experience) keys by engaging in activities such as following Slippery Sally, a water speck (molecule) on adventures through the water cycle. They connected with nature through immersive activities like finding, naming, and describing the perfect wind dancer, a leaf dropped for all to see how it distinctively floats through the air. When students return to school they earn their Y and S (Yourself and Sharing) keys by (1) reducing the amount of energy and materials they use or waste; (2) sharing their knowledge and experiences with younger students, family members and friends; and (3) continuing to experience the wonders of the world through solitude, observation, discovery, and writing.There were 790 public school students, 40 teachers, and 108 parent volunteers who participated in Earthkeepers over the fiscal year. Form 990, Part III, Line 4b - Program Service Accomplishments: Sunship III occurs over 3 days and 2 nights for 7th graders, deepening their life science understanding and focus on implications of decisions that affect their personal lives and their communities. To start, each 7th grader receives enough solarians rather than dollars, to pay for their use of necessary resources like water, food, and electricity. They keep a checkbook which they must balance each day as they decide how to best spend their resources. They have tough decisions to make regarding desires rather than needs; like using a hair dryer or ordering the works on their pizza, especially when they realize how much these items actually cost to use, make and transport to the user. The follow-through component connects youth to sustainability leaders in the areas they live. They pledge to interview at least one person to find out how they practice living and working more lightly on the Earth. Sunship III, like each of T.R.E.E.s programs, addresses 3 main needs. One is that New Orleans area children need educational opportunities that achieve superior levels of learning in science. Second,children need to understand how their environment functions, and that it is interconnected to all life. Third, students need to feel empowered,which is necessary for them to be confident that they can make a difference in the world. There were 204 students, 21 teachers and 17 parent chaperoned who participated in Sunship III over the school year. Form 990, Part III, Line 4c - Program Service Accomplishments: Sunship Earth is a 5-day and 4-night 5th grade program, where students are immersed in the natural environment, and are able to directly observe and apply the science concepts being taught. The program has a playful and engaging framework guiding children from one experience to the next. Students receive a "passport" that allows their travels on and off-trail at the Study Station, an outdoor classroom in a bottomland hardwood forest about 50 miles north of New Orleans. Participants engage in 35 hands-on activities including when they climb inside of a leaf and create a molecule that is needed to trigger photosynthesis (energy flow). And, they become coyotes and must come up with independent strategies like camouflage or speediness to catch the one mouse available for dinner (interrelationships). Upon returning to city life, participants pledge to reduce their impact on energy or materials, and have several opportunities to work on changing their habits regarding their enjoyment and protection of the natural world. There were 116 public school students, 4 teachers, and 20 parent volunteers who participated in Sunship Earth over the 2022-2023 school year. Form 990, Part III, Line 4d - Other Program Services: Lost Treasures is a school-based, science education program for elementary students that was piloted by T.R.E.E in 2020. About 165 third grade children, 80% of which are minority and/or economically disadvantaged, benefited from alternative methods of science education becoming environmentally literate, improving academically, and understanding their ability to affect positive change in their personal lives. The main objective of this project is to establish an empowering, school curriculum-integrated environmental education program for younger students propelling their awareness of problems like climate change and the injustices they create. Children become characters in their own story where they receive proclamations to challenge themselves and work together, and discover tasks in a life-sized treasure chest in their classroom. They learn about the Animal, Mineral and Plant Kingdoms and how they interact and depend on ecosystems. Form 990, Part VI, Line 12c - Board Monitoring and Enforcing Complianc Annually, each board member signs a Conflict of Interest policy. Form 990, Part VI, Line 19 - Other Organization Documents Publicly Ava Some organization documents are publicly available via Guidestar. All public documents and policies are available upon request. Requests may be made in writing by email or mail, or by phone call (not text). Part VI, Section B, Line 11b A draft of the Form 990 is emailed to each Board of Directors member for their review. Each have the chance to independently review and comment on the document before submittal.