Applications are now open for the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Youth Advisory Council. Launched in 2015, the Council unites young conservation leaders from across the country who guide SeaWorld and Busch Gardens programs and work from a youth perspective while providing input to SeaWorld and Busch Gardens team and partners regarding conservation initiatives, education programs, and strategies for reaching and engaging other young people nationwide. Applications for the next cohort of Youth Advisory Council members are open to young people ages 14–20 from the United States and are due November 27.

NSTA's New Orleans area conference is right around the corner. What can you expect? Here's what Michelle H., a recent NSTA conference attendee, told us: "What a great day of events. Learned so much from so many experts in the field. Thank you to all those who taught us all today. Headed to bed, I am wiped out! #lotsoflearning" Want that experience too? Join us in New Orleans, November 30–December 1. And save if you register by the advance deadline, November 17.

In this two–day workshop with authors Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan, you will learn how to use Picture-Perfect STEM Lessons in your classroom. Join us in Athens, Georgia (January 23–24, 2018).

Districts will soon be working on plans for using funds under the new federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Will science and STEM be part of your district's ESSA plan? Speakers will provide ideas you can use to improve student science outcomes in your district and develop strategies around your district's science plans that can be incorporated into ESSA implementation. Learn more and register.

Read this month's issue of NSTA's Book Beat and download the recycling-themed lessons "From Trash to Treasure" from Picture-Perfect STEM Lessons, 3–5: Using Children's Books to Inspire STEM Learning and "Landfill Recovery" from Inquiring Scientists, Inquiring Readers in Middle School: Using Nonfiction to Promote Science Literacy, Grades 6–8. Or you can download the outdoor science lessons "Hitchhikers" from Everyday Life Science Mysteries and "Comparing Leaves and Comparing Seeds" from Bringing Outdoor Science In: Thrifty Classroom Lessons.

Do you think quality professional development should be the goal of STEM certification? Jan Mader, a 25 year veteran of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Physics Teaching Resource Agents professional development cadre, gives her thoughts on that topic and more in the third blog post from the What Goes Into STEM Certification series.