The National Environmental Education Foundation has produced a series of free educator toolkits that inspire environmental learning and stewardship among K-12 students. These provide a variety of real-world challenges that engage students in hands-on opportunities to apply and reinforce STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) concepts across multiple subject areas. Some of the activities and resources also include project-based learning, service-learning, and citizen science components.
Featured Toolkits:
Using Technology to Connect Students & the Environment (PDF) outlines activities and resources at all grade levels for implementing a project on the theme of wildlife or habitat conservation. Whether you have access to a park, community garden, nature preserve, beach, field, stream or vacant lot, these spaces can serve as a resource for taking students and technology outdoors. Most of the activities require the use of a digital camera and/or smartphone.
Greening STEM: Taking Technology Outdoors (PDF) explores how technology can enhance environmental education. The ebook highlights a variety of resources for utilizing technology to engage students in outdoor learning. For example, students can use mobile devices such as smartphones as powerful tools for hands-on study, and there are other activities that use GPS units and digital cameras. Also included are links to recommended apps and websites.
Additional Toolkits: