Every year, an elementary school celebrates different aspects of Central Texas ecology. This year, they focused on Blackland Prairie, the ecoregion on which the school is located. A schoolwide event at the end of the year offers students the opportunity to teach their parents and their peers what they've learned. The Fourth- and fifth-grade…

To investigate if the units of the São Carlos Ecological Pole (São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil) are educating spaces that may contribute to the understanding of the complexity of environmental issues and stimulate a sense of belonging and social responsibility, we interviewed primary school teachers who had accompanied visits to these places and…

Take plant lessons outdoors with this engaging and inquiry-based activity in which third-grade students learn how to apply soil conservation methods to growing plants. They also collect data and draw conclusions about the effectiveness of their method of soil conservation. An added benefit to this activity is that the third-grade students played…

Even though students see plants all around them, they tend to ignore them. Animal studies usually get all the "press." As a naturalist, children's book author, and coordinator for an educational science website for teachers, the author knows from personal experience that observing and charting plant growth can be as intriguing as observing…

This article discusses the Beyond the Walls outdoor education program at The Franklin Schools in Rockville, Maryland. Under the expert guidance of Maryland outdoor education specialist Amy Beam, Franklin's staff has been guided to reconnect to the landscape, understand native plants and animals, and reclaim a sense of gratitude for the environment…

Outdoor educational programmes are generally believed to be a suitable alternative to conventional biology settings that improve participants' environmental attitudes and knowledge. Here we examine whether outdoor educational programmes focused solely on practical work with plants influence participants' knowledge of and attitudes towards plants.…

With 101 easy and inexpensive activities to do on school grounds, "Schoolyard Science" can help students develop their observation and inquiry skills as well as an appreciation of their outdoor environment. Covering topics such as lower plants, gardens, insects and other invertebrates, energy, and Earth science, Thomas Lord and Holly Travis…

The circles and patterns in a tree's stem tell a story, but that story can be a mystery. Interpreting the story of tree rings provides a way to heighten the natural curiosity of students and help them gain insight into the interaction of elements in the environment. It also represents a wonderful opportunity to incorporate the nature of science.…

The creation of schoolyard gardens is a growing movement in the United States and around the world (Ballard, Tong, and Usher 1998; Pope 1998; Lewis 2004). It brings together all of the features of authentic hands-on science: Students can collect data on plant growth, observe the plant and animal interactions in the garden, and acquire a sense of…

Why not combine the use of technology with the excitement of a scavenger hunt that moves middle-level students out into the "wilds" of their school campus to classify plants? In the lesson plan described here, students embark on a botanical scavenger hunt and then document their findings using a digital camera. This project was designed to allow…

Students love learning outdoors, but how do you ensure they are absorbing the science and gaining skills as they do so? The authors found a way--a fourth-grade classroom teacher, a gifted/science resource teacher, and a group of fourth graders--embarked on a yearlong study of birds and the plants they depend on. They used their school yard as the…

A five-week study taught students how to write a field guide that identified the plants in a small wooded area they passed through on their way to their school playground. By creating this authentic genre of science writing, students came to understand and care for the natural world in their immediate environment. They also developed important…

The Oregon 4-H Wildlife Stewards program has been training teachers and volunteers to convert school grounds to education sites by constructing schoolyard wildlife habitats since 1997. The publication "What Can We Learn at the Pond? 4-H Wildlife Stewards Master Leader Guide" (Bourdeau 2004a) was written to support the program's focus on developing…

Community gardening provides many benefits for students like outdoor physical activity, an understanding of plant life cycles, food production and healthy eating (Blair, 2009; Whiren, 1995). Gardening also provides hands-on learning opportunities to draw parallels between what is needed for plants to grow and what students need to be healthy. When…

The seashore is many things: (1) a place of wonder and delight--inspiring artists and composers; (2) a place of work--for transport and fishing; and (3) a place for play--for sandcastles, surfing and swimming, sailing. In this article, the authors offer some tips on exploring the flora and fauna of the seashore. (Contains 3 boxes and lists 4…