School Yard Environmental Projects: A Planning Primer

This guide describes how to establish successful trails, outdoor classrooms, or other environmental education improvements on rural and urban school grounds. Teachers are encouraged to promote the environmental project as a solution to an existing problem and to include all parties and stakeholders that can benefit from a coordinated environmental education effort. Some of the 15 projects described are nature trails, composting demonstrations, wildlife feeders, timber measurement plots, wildlife plantings, outdoor classrooms or amphitheaters, and historical activities. The guide describes how to establish need, document purpose and intent, and organize interested parties. Successful projects depend on many partners. Resources include labor, material suppliers, and funding sources, and when the first two are lined up, the third is easier to get. Forest Service, Farm Service, and Extension personnel can help in determining where school boundaries are and which areas may lend themselves to environmental projects. Safety, liability, trespassing, and maintenance issues are discussed. The integration of outdoor projects across grade levels and curricula is stressed. Fourteen award-winning environmental education curricula for grades K-12 are presented that cover aquatic life, forest stewardship, wildlife, water resources, waste management, and outdoor leadership. Ordering information is provided. Also included are books of interest, North Carolina organizations that are potential resources, national organizations, and North Carolina educational state forests. (TD)