National Environmental Education Week

Monday, April 19: Citizen Science Tools for Teachers

Looking for a way to engage students in environmental education that works equally well in a virtual or in-person format? NEEF will teach educators about citizen science through a webinar co-hosted with SciStarter, an online citizen science hub. The webinar will walk viewers through the process of creating, developing, and implementing a citizen science project. 

Live Webinar: Getting Your Citizen Science Project Off the Ground (2 p.m. EDT)

Speakers and presenting groups include: 

• SciStarter: How to register a new citizen science project through their online database.
• NASA’s GLOBE Program: A showcase of their citizen science tool, GLOBE Observer
• Susan Sachs, Education Branch Coordinator at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a NEEF grantee who will provide an overview of how they successfully incorporated citizen science into their educational programming.
• Sean O’Connor, Citizen Science Program Manager, BSCS Science Learning, will provide overview of FieldScope platform.

Educators will walk away with an understanding of a few of the resources and platforms that exist to make creating a citizen science project easy and accessible. 

Problems watching the video? Click here.

Tuesday, April 20: Greening STEM in the Field

COVID-19 has presented many challenges for educators, especially when it comes to getting students out into the field for hands-on environmental education. For an inside perspective, NEEF spoke with our partners at McInnis Canyons National Recreation Area and the Colorado Canyons Association about their Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-funded Greening STEM demonstration project in the high desert canyon country of western Colorado.

This project involves taking local high school students into the field to study invasive Russian knapweed on the Colorado River. Students will explore different strategies and biological control methods for dealing with invasive species, and includes the creation of a Chronolog station to monitor the effects of Russian knapweed on the local habitat and document its removal efforts.

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Recorded Event: Experience Nature from the Classroom 

Hundreds of time-lapse videos highlighting important environmental scenes are openly available via Chronolog, an environmental monitoring platform powered by citizen science. Observers get a first-hand view of environmental changes ranging from fire recovery to invasive species. Ky Wildermuth, Co-creator of the Chronolog project, demonstrates ways to use this free tool to enrich your curriculum.

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Wednesday, April 21: Developing Greening STEM Activities for the Classroom

Eager to put Greening STEM to the test in your classroom?

Live Webinar: Greening STEM in a Classroom Setting (1p.m. EDT)

NEEF will host a one-hour live webinar with the Frost Museum of Science to discuss strategies for implementing Greening STEM in a formal classroom setting. The educators at Frost recently partnered with NEEF to introduce several Greening STEM activities to Miami-Dade County middle school STEM teachers during a professional development workshop. The Frost team will provide an overview of three biodiversity resources (available below) that were developed for implementation in virtual classrooms.

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Biodiversity EE Resources:

• Reptiles Survey: Students are responsible for researching the relationship between the invasive Cuban brown anole and the native green anole found in South Florida. 
• Promoting Pollinators: Students explore the world of pollinators by researching either honeybees or butterflies, focusing on what their needs are for a successful habitat and the threats they face in South Florida. 
• Native vs Invasive Plants: Students engage in a mini BioBlitz by surveying their local surroundings to determine species richness and whether there are native or invasive plant species in their area. 

Thursday, April 22: Earth Day 2021

Check out our article about biodiversity-based citizen science projects featuring Alison Young, co-founder of the City Nature Challenge (CNC). Held each spring, the CNC is a BioBlitz-style competition where cities across the globe compete to see who can make the most observations, find the most species, and engage the most people. Educators can learn how BioBlitzes are an important tool for encouraging participation in environmental education for both in-person and virtual instruction.

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Friday, April 23: How to Talk About Climate Change with Kids

When it comes time to talk with children about climate change, it’s important to have a game plan.

Recorded Event: How to Talk to Your Kids about Climate Change

Meri-Margaret Deoudes, President of The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) sat down with  Dr. Joellen Russell, a climate scientist and professor at the University of Arizona, to explore strategies for discussing climate change at home. Dr. Russell is a representative of Science Moms, a group of climate scientist and mothers, including Dr. Katharine Heyhoe and Dr. Melissa Burt, “who care deeply about the planet that our children will inherit.”

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Recorded Event: Tips for Teaching Students about Climate Change

Robert Sendrey, K-12 Education Program Director at the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), interviews three teachers from the Climate Superstars Challenge to discuss how they used the contest to bring the subject of climate change into their classrooms. 

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EE Resource:

• Climate Superstars Student Activity & Educator Guide: Learn About Climate Change Student Activity and Educator Guide.