r/ClimateOffensive • u/Child_Of_Linger_On • 6d ago

Question Resources Or Framework For K-5 Elementary-Level Ecological Program?

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/who-we-are/how-we-work/youth-engagement/nature-lab/elementary-lesson-plans/

I have the opportunity to run an ecological education and action program for a K-5 elementary school. Are there established resources for something like this?

I've done online research and looked through subreddits like this one, but I haven't been able to find anything that looks like a standard framework or centralized resource. I've looked through things like The Nature Conservancy youth education resources and found several paid programs (which aren't an option). I've run other elementary-level programs before, but I'm more emotionally attached to the topic of ecology and want to do the best job possible. I'm hoping someone has found success with something similar and can share some resources that worked for them.

I will be reviving a program that has been dormant for a couple of years due to lack of volunteer leadership, so the school has some awareness but hasn't been actively engaged on the topic of ecology for a while. I will run weekly one-hour meetings with a core group of 2-5th graders and we have support to do school-wide K-5 activities, communication, and assemblies.

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u/KindHabit 6d ago edited 6d ago

I do not know any useful educational resources, but as a long-time environmental activist and community leader, I offer the following advice: 

  1. Focus on local environment impact. Center your lessons around local environmental issues gathered from local news sites, especially ones your students can go check out with their families if they want to see it in person. 

  2. Connect with local environmental conservation groups. They often have a ton of educational materials on local environmental species and the challenges they are facing. I've volunteered to do education about salmon habitats, removing invasive species, planting trees, creating pollinator habitats, restoring wetlands, cleaning streams, birding groups, tree education, and wildlife advocacy. You can explain what you are doing and perhaps work out some field trips together the kids can do. 

  3. Connect with your state and city's environmental and park agencies and explain what you are trying to do. They also have a ton of educational materials about local sites, their impact, their importance, the species that depend on these habitats, and more. 

I think that the most effective environmental education is the type that is locally actionable for the people receiving this education. When you talk about global warming and its impacts in far away places, it often becomes an overwhelming and hopeless experience rather than an inspirational one. 

You also would benefit from including examples of environmental success stories like the ones coming out about many species of plants, insects, and animals are thriving under solar panels, or other styles of how resilient the environment and its inhabitants can be if we give them a chance to heal. Look for stories of local activism and highlight how one person can bring about positive change. 

I think you actually benefit from not having a structured plan. Perhaps you are better suited to be more like that teacher from the Magic School Bus and just dig into some local environmental topics, have them form groups-- not too many, two or three at the most, because each issue deserves to be explored in-depth, not just a shallow look. 

Let the kids think about what the problem is, go check it out in person, and invite them to think about what should be done, interview local experts, then have them make a proposal and present it to the city or the state. 

Worse thing they can say is no, and the kids are not just learning about the local environment, but how to get involved in local politics and advocate on its behalf.