There’s so much nature to celebrate in April—and so many ways to incorporate environmental education into your classroom.
Mark your calendar this month for these five holidays celebrating conservation and stewardship. Links are included to download lesson plans to help engage your students with fun and educational activities. Visit NEEF’s K-12 education hub for more hands-on, place-based education resources.
EE week
Date: April 20-April 24, 2026
About: EE Week celebrates the impact of environmental educators nationwide in fostering environmental knowledge and stewardship. NEEF's collaborative, partner-driven initiative brings trusted EE organizations together in one place.
Ways to Celebrate: Explore NEEF's free collection of classroom-ready activities, curated with trusted EE partners and designed to bring environmental education to life for your students.
Environmental Education Resources: Find everything you need at NEEF's EE Week resource page.
National Park Week
Image designed by the National Park Service
Date: April 22-30, 2026
About: Parks across the country host special programs and digital experiences in conjunction with this annual holiday. Celebrate National Park Week with waived entrance for US citizens and residents on August 25, 2026, for NPS's 110th birthday.
Ways to Celebrate: National Park Week is a time to explore amazing places, discover history and culture, volunteer, and find your park.
Environmental Education Resources: National parks are America's largest classrooms. The National Park Service website provides an extensive collection of lesson plans and teaching resources. For example, one online activity for grades 3-5 explores the relationship between locations and rock types, helping students compare geology from national parks ranging all the way from Acadia to Yosemite.
Earth Day
Date: April 22
About: Created in 1970, Earth Day mobilizes millions of Americans in support of living in harmony with nature. This year’s theme is “Invest In Our Planet” in recognition of how important it is for all of us to work together to take action on climate change.
Ways to Celebrate: Make every day Earth Day by following these 52 actions and tips from EarthDay.org to make a difference every day of the year. You can also join in on The Great Global Cleanup, an annual initiative that aims to coordinate cleanups in 192 countries around the world to reduce waste and pollution and improve habitats. Search the map for nearby cleanups or create your own.
Environmental Education Resources: Explore a wide range of lessons and activities from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to engage students in grades K-12 on Earth Day. A variety of science and engineering projects help kids better understand the planet we call home. For example, students can complete an experiment to explore how changing water temperatures contribute to rising sea levels.
Arbor Day
Date: April 24, 2026
About: Held annually on the last Friday in April, Arbor Day is a good time to recognize the value that trees provide to both our health and our environment. What started as a Nebraska tree planting holiday in 1872 has grown to a celebration of trees in all 50 states.
Ways to Celebrate: Find an Arbor Day event in your state using the Arbor Day Foundation’s interactive map.
Environmental Education Resources: Download Penn State’s forestry and natural resource lesson plans for grades K-12 for a variety of activities focused on forest stewardship. A three-part lesson on tree and leaf identification gets students outside to discover trees near them.
City Nature Challenge
Date: April 24-April 27, April 28-May 10, 2026
About: The City Nature Challenge (CNC) is an example of a BioBlitz—a type of citizen science project where the goal is to observe and document as many species as possible within a defined location and time limit. Data collected during the CNC are freely available to anyone interested in learning about wildlife and have been used in hundreds of scientific publications.
The contest takes place in two phases: participants first take photos of wild plants and animals and then identify what was found. In 2021, nearly 53,000 people got involved to record more than 1.2 million observations of more than 45,000 species.
Ways to Celebrate: Participating in the 2026 CNC is easy: find wildlife near you, take a photo (noting the location), and upload using the iNaturalist platform.
Environmental Education Resources: The CNC education toolkit was compiled by a group of educators at institutions around the world for students in Grades K-12 and beyond. For example, the “Looking at Lawns” activity allows students to observe and compare the biodiversity of a maintained lawn with a portion of taller grass.
EE in Focus
Date: Year-Round
About: Make Earth Day every day. Sign up for NEEF's EE In Focus, our monthly newsletter packed with environmental education resources, grant opportunities, professional development, and classroom-ready tips for bringing nature to your students all year long. Our monthly newsletter is designed for educators, delivering resources on environmental education, grant opportunities, professional development, and practical tips for bringing conservation and nature into your classroom.
Ways to Celebrate: Sign up for EE in Focus to get early access to EE grants, stories, and event updates.
Environmental Education Resources: NEEF offers an extensive collection of environmental education resources for all ages designed to help you integrate environmental education into your classroom.
Originally published: April 2022 • Updated
