Environmental Education

Below is an annotated list of resources that have been successfully used by green schools in Arizona and nationwide to educate students about the environment and sustainability while incorporating STEM, civic skills and green career pathways.

Energy and the Environment

Help students understand the complex relationships between energy, the environment and human systems.

  • Alliance for Climate Education  ACE educates and inspires young people to break through the challenge of climate change. The ACE Assembly illustrates the latest science on climate change and is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards and state science standards. ACE supports teachers with lesson plans, professional development opportunities, and online resources. Grades 9-12.
  • NEED Project Curriculum Guide  National Energy Education Development Project. Students learn about the forms of energy—heat, light, motion, sound, nuclear energy, and electrical energy—with age-appropriate, hands-on explorations that emphasize the scientific process and an application of newly gained energy knowledge to understanding energy sources, electricity generation and more, including economic and environmental impacts. Grades K-12.
  • EPA Climate Change: What You Can Do At School  Information about climate change for middle and high school students and educators. Grades 7-12.
  • EPA Clean Energy Home  Starting point for a discussion on clean energy. Various tools available under “Clean Energy Resources” such as the Power Profiler – How clean is the energy I use?

STEM and Technology

Use environmental and sustainability concepts to help teach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) knowledge and prepare students for a technology-driven future.

  • NAAEE’s Excellence in Environmental Education: Guidelines for Learning (K-12)  North American Association for Environmental Education. A set of common, voluntary guidelines for environmental literacy that support state and local environmental education efforts by setting expectations for performance and achievement in grades 4, 8 and 12 and demonstrating how environmental education can be used to meet standards set by the traditional disciplines. Grades K-12.
  • Project Lead The Way  PLTW is the nation’s leading provider of STEM programs including activity-, project-, and problem-based curriculum and teacher professional development. High school programs include Engineering, Biomedical Science, and Computer Science. Grades K-12.
  • Sustainability Science for Sustainable Schools  Arizona State University program includes graduate students, high school teachers and researchers that strive to further sustainability science by bringing sustainability projects into high schools’ curriculum, campuses, and larger communities. Teachers can download lesson plans used in the program. Grades 9-12.
  • USDA Forest Service Educator Toolbox  Here you will find background resources to help you understand forests and grasslands, professional development opportunities and teacher resources. Themes include Climate Change, Kids in the Woods, Water Resources, Wildland Fire, and Forest Service. Grades preK-12.
  • Project Learning Tree  Award-winning environmental education program; materials are aligned with state and national education standards. PLT’s GreenSchools! program provides a set of tools for students to analyze data and design a student-driven project to cut your school’s costs. PLT’s GreenWorks! grants fund these and other environmental improvement projects. Contact the Arizona PLT Coordinator to learn about upcoming educator workshops. Grades preK-12. Grants.
  • Project WET  Promoting responsible water stewardship through excellent and effective water education. Provides water resource education materials and educator training workshops. See the Arizona Project WET site for information on local events, workshops and resources. Grades K-12.
  • Project WILD  A wildlife-focused conservation and environmental education program for K-12 educators and their students. Contact the Arizona Project Wild Coordinator to learn more. Grades K-12.
  • National Audubon Society  Mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity. Provides educational resources and activities including the Great Backyard Bird Count and local Audubon Centers. Grades K-8.
  • Rio Salado Audubon Center  The Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center in downtown Phoenix offers field trips and out-of-school programs and prepares nature-awareness materials for teachers’ use in the classroom. Grades preK-12.
  • SCENE  The Southwest Center for Education and the Natural Environment (SCENE) provides cutting-edge science research experiences to high school students in grades 10-12, who work in labs at Arizona State University and present their work in regional and national science competitions. SCENE also provides online teacher resources with lesson plans for Grades K-12.
  • Earthfest Educator’s Night   Arizona Forward event in October showcases environmentally oriented curriculum, activities and programs with booths representing public and private sector environmental education programs, along with exhibits from the non-profit and educational communities. Educators can also apply for a grant to incorporate green projects into the classroom. Site also has an Environmental Resource Directory. Grades K-12. Grants.
  • SRP Education  SRP offers grants, free workshops and educational resources with focus on energy and electricity, Arizona’s water system, forest health and solar energy.  They also partner to provide professional development workshops for teachers during the summer. Grades K-12. Grants.

Agriculture in the Classroom

  • National Agriculture In the Classroom  AITC programs seek to improve student achievement by applying authentic, agricultural-based content as the context to teach core curriculum concepts in science, social studies, language arts and nutrition. The Arizona Cooperative Extension Agricultural Literacy Program includes activities, programs and lessons; classroom presentations are available in Maricopa County. Grades K-12.
  • MAC Farm Ag-Ventures  U of A Maricopa Agricultural Center (MAC) research station in Pinal County offers educational programs that include videos, educational presenters, hands-on learning experiences and tractor-trailer rides around our 2,200 acre farm for a close-up view of what makes a working farm operate. Grades K-12.
  • AFB Agriculture in the Classroom  Arizona Farm Bureau is a statewide organization offering AITC teacher resources including classroom presentations, field trips and free Curriculum Kits for checkout. Grades K-12.
  • Arizona Cooperative Extension  Information on agriculture, aquaponics, 4-H Youth Development, gardening and more. Speakers and training available through the Master Gardener program.  Links to county Cooperative Extension offices with local programs and resources.

Civic Engagement and Service

Provide opportunities for students to apply their knowledge and skills to address sustainability and environmental issues in their community.

  • Do Something DoSomething.org campaigns are fun and creative ways to serve your community in a way that doesn’t require an old person, a car, or money. Members tackle campaigns that impact every cause, from poverty to violence to the environment to literally everything else.  Ages 13-25, Grades 8-12 and college.
  • Ecology Explorers  ASU program gives Phoenix area K-12 teachers and students opportunities to help research our Phoenix ecosystem and be part of the Central Arizona – Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) project. The scientific data you collect can be shared with other researchers and schools to see what patterns in nature exist across our Phoenix metropolitan area! Grades K-12.
  • Eco-Schools USA  National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools program provides a framework to help educators integrate sustainability principles throughout their schools and curriculum through school-based action teams of students, administrators, educators and community volunteers. Grades K-12.
  • North American Envirothon  Annual high school competition in which state teams compete for recognition and scholarships by demonstrating their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management.  The competition is centered on  soils/land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, and wildlife plus a current environmental issue. See the Arizona Envirothon site for more information. Grades 9-12. Scholarships.
  • Electrathon America  Electric vehicle competition with specific design rules. Events are held around the country. Winner is determined by how far you go in a specific amount of time. Competition is open to the public. Grades 9-12.
  • NWF Garden for Wildlife (Certified Schoolyard Habitats)  National Wildlife Federation assists schools in developing outdoor classrooms called Schoolyard Habitats®, where educators and students learn how to attract and support local wildlife. Students hone their academic skills and nurture their innate curiosity and creativity. Grades K-12.
  • Green Apple Day of Service  The Green Apple Day of Service takes place in September and gives parents, teachers, students, companies and local organizations the opportunity to transform all schools into healthy, safe and productive learning environments through local service projects. See the USGBC Arizona site for more information and grants. Grades K-12. Grants.