Go Outside: DIY ESE Learning
Outside Activities
Online Environment & Sustainability Reading
Online Games, Virtual Field Trips & Videos
Environment and Sustainability Resources for Educators & Parents
Outside Activities
National Geographic is navigating ways to support, nurture, and care for learners and the educators who reach them. The good news is that there are many engaging and fun ways to learn at home. We invite you to explore these collections of activities that have been curated for educators, parents, and caregivers to implement with K–12 learners.
Check out the Citizen Science resources and Explorer Classroom live or archived events and guides.
Food scraps and yard waste together currently make up more than 28 percent of what we throw away. Making compost keeps these materials out of landfills where they take up space and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Learn more about composting with these resources.
The University of Washington Bothell Goodlad Institute for Educational Renewal, Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy, Tilth Alliance and Seattle Public Schools are partnering to change this status quo and create more culturally and community relevant, field-based learning opportunities for students.
More from the National Environmental Education Foundation
Look for a patch of flowers and watch closely to see what sort of animals visit them. Then, use the NEEF activity worksheet to record your observations, monitor what types of pollinators you see, and help attract more pollinators.
Grades 3-5
Activities to Do With Children at Home
By Jennifer Byerly
With schools around the world temporarily closing to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), we've assembled this list of (free!) PLT family activities to support student learning at home and in their own backyard.
Use open-ended questioning strategies with students of any age. One of many ways to do this is to use question prompts to engage students about the phenomena in their world. Pick any phenomenon or “thing” about the natural or designed world, such as daffodils blooming before tulips, the inner workings of a thermometer, or the way water flows through a local park. What do you notice about that phenomenon? What do you wonder?
Then dive in deeper with the question prompts. When you have reached a new understanding, consider showcasing your learning by creating an art piece. Or present your learning to a family member or friend via phone.
Explorer Journal
Adapted from South Sound Green
Materials: Paper, pens/colored pencils/crayons
Go outside and find a spot you like. If you wanted to record this place and describe it to others, how would you do it? Create a drawing, poem, or short story based off of the environment around you. What would you name this location? What would you use it for?
Find more Home Watershed ideas at: South Sound Green
Track Spring Changes with Journey North
Citizen scientists and young people across North America observe seasonal changes and report their sightings on Journey North. The site is free and full of educational information. You can track hummingbirds, monarchs, grey whales, bald eagles, tulips and more. They provide maps to compare your sightings with people from Mexico through the US and Canada.
iNaturalist is a joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society. Every observation can contribute to biodiversity science, from the rarest butterfly to the most common backyard weed. You can also download the app on your phone.
Start a Bird List with Help from Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Explore the world of birds with the largest collection of bird education resources in the US. Check out their learning games (I recommend Bird Song Hero). Start a list of birds in your neighborhood.
The Washington Invasive Species Council is asking Washingtonians to be aware of plants, insects and other wildlife in their local communities and to report changes or problems they see through its mobile app, Washington Invasives.
Quick & Easy Habitat Education Activities
Washington Native Plant Society hosts educational materials that include hands-on activities for teachers and students, native plant identification cards useful for all, weed identification cards especially handy for individuals engaged in restoring habitats, and informational posters to alert others to the joys of native plants, as well as a helpful guide for those interested in establishing a native plant garden.
All the materials listed were developed by the Starflower Foundation whose mission was to assist with the creation, rehabilitation and stewardship of Pacific Northwest native plant communities.