Top 9 Resources for Environmental Education Lessons

The duty of instilling a sense of environmental responsibility and awareness is falling on our schools and teachers more than ever before. Teachers have students with them for more than eight hours a day, and thus have the opportunity to cultivate an appreciation for the planet outside of the classroom.

To help teachers with this important responsibility, here is a list of the top nine resources for environmental education lessons:

  • 1. KAB.org
    Keep America Beautiful (KAB) is an organization that provides a great deal of resources for citizens interested in preserving the splendor or America through litter prevention, waste reduction, recycling and other important community beautification tools. Featuring a special “For Teachers” section and even a “Kids’ Zone,” the organization’s website is a great place to get children involved in the effort to preserve our communities.
  • 2. EPA.gov
    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the country’s foremost organization dedicated to the preservation of the environment. Therefore, it’s only appropriate that the EPA has a page of resources dedicated to educators and students. The page includes teaching plans, healthy classroom tips and environmental education information.
  • 3. NWF.org
    The National Wildlife Foundation is dedicated to the protection of animals. Part of its goal is to educate the community about national wildlife and the environment they live in. For this reason, their website includes a kid’s page with lots of fun activities and information to get kids interested in wildlife.
  • 4. EElink.net
    The North American Association for Environmental Education hosts a page of education resources for teachers and students. The site includes a network of educational resources for educators, and allows them to search for and share their own materials with other environmentally-conscious instructors. Stop by the teacher resources page for more.
  • 5. Kid-at-Art.com
    The Imagination Factory has a number of clever and creative resources geared specifically towards younger children. Some of the materials you can introduce to your students include a trash matcher to find uses for items most people throw away, a Thrashasaurus Rex art project and a factory outlet store for additional resources.
  • 6. Earth911.com
    Earth 911 is an environmental services company that works to address solutions for products’ end-of-life. This includes resources for all types of consumers and businesses, including schools. Lead your students to this page for a wealth of information on different products and the most environmentally efficient way to dispose of them.
  • 7. Conservatree.org
    Conservatree is an organization that specializes in providing expert advice on making smart paper choices. For a classroom environment, quality information on the proper way to conserve and dispose of paper is vital. Students, unfortunately, do not generally have an innate sense of responsibility with paper, so it is a teacher’s job to educate them on the impact of being conservative with their paper use.
  • 8. NEEFusa.org
    The National Environmental Education Foundation is a leading source for environmental education resources, news and programs. Head here for information on topics such as Classroom Earth, a program designed to enhance environmental instruction in high school classrooms, and the National Environmental Education Week, an annual event held to promote the organization’s mission.