Ask Doctor Global Change
A reference service provided by Global Change Research Information Office (GCRIO) that assists in finding information and data relevant to global environmental change. Provides students with a searchable collection of answers to questions about issues related to climate change and students can submit questions of their own and explore related links.

Biodiversity 911: Saving Life on Earth
Developed by World Wildlife Fund and funded by the National Science Foundation, Biodiversity 911: Saving Life on Earth engages visitors in hands-on activities to explore what biodiversity is, why it's declining, and how we can help to protect it. To complement the traveling exhibition, WWF has developed a comprehensive Web site that provides interactive games, video clips, and special downloads that explore biodiversity and teach how to help conserve it.

The Columbia River Virtual FIeld Trip: An Amazing Watershed Journey
Learn about Columbia River history, geology, the headwaters region, First Nations and Native Americans culture, current issues and challenges to the river, make educational connections, and provide glimpses of sustainability about the future of the river with readings on the river from multiple perspectives. Designed for middle and high school students and teachers in conjunction with Tramline, an award-winning creator of virtual field trips. A web product of the Columbia Basin Environmental Education Capacity Building Initiative (CBI). Contact: Kim A. Freier, Ed.D.

Edison Teaching Kit
The kit contains eight how-to booklets based on the experiments of Thomas Edison and other scientists. Designed for junior high students, each hands-on experiment includes simple directions and required inexpensive materials.
Send: $1 for postage/handling
Write to: The Charles Edison Fund, 101 South Harrison St., East Orange, NJ 07018.

Endangered Species
A comprehensive resource for every teacher who is concerned about endangered species. Teachers can obtain a copy at no charge. It contains projects for classrooms and science fairs that will help children gain an awareness of the danger that many species face and ways to prevent their extinction.
Send: request on school�s letterhead
Ask for: The Endangered Species Handbook,
Write to: Animal Welfare Institute, P.O. Box 3650, Washington, DC 20007.

Energy & Me
Project Learning Tree's music recording, Energy & Me, sung by Billy B, is an educational component of PLT's new educational program, Energy & Society. The program (PreK-8) provides activities to help youth learn about their relationship with energy and investigate the environmental issues related to energy's role in society.

Free and Almost Free Things
Free and Almost Free Things for Teachers by Susal Osborn lists more than 250 educational resources. $8.95 from Putnam Publishing Group, 200 Madison Ave., New Your NY 10016. Or Elementary Teachers guide to Free Curriculum Materials 1996 list teaching kits, booklets and other curriculum aides by subject.
Write to: Educators Progress Service, 214 Center St., Randolph, WI 53956.

From Seed to Seed K-8 Educator's Course - Online
A Plant Science professional development course from the National Gardening Association for K-8 educators to incorporate botany and gardening (indoors or out) into their science curriculum. In addition to the core botanical information, activities and experiments are provided, that address K-8 national standards in various disciplines. National Science Education Standards are emphasized throughout the course, and connections are made to geography, health, history, language arts, and mathematics.

Hands on the Land
Hands on the Land (HOL) is a network of field classrooms stretching across America from Alaska to Florida and is sponsored by Partners in Resource Education, a collaboration of five Federal agencies, a non-profit foundation, schools, and other private sector partners. HOL provides a national network of field classrooms to enhance kindergarten through high school student-learning. Site provides teaching materials, resources for students, educational program information, teacher bulletins, and more.

Happenin' Habitats Program E-Field Trip
March 14 and April 13, 2024 ~ Online. Take your students on a wild learning adventure with National Wildlife Federation! This exciting, free resource is filled with information and activities about habitat and how to create an accessible Schoolyard Habitats(r) site. On March 14 from noon to 12:30 p.m. ET, tune in for a 30-minute broadcast, "Introduction to Habitat." On April 13 from noon to 1 p.m. ET, join a live electronic field trip to an elementary school habitat.

International Migratory Bird Day
IMBD celebrates the migrations of birds between their breeding grounds in the U.S. and Canada and their non-breeding grounds in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. As part of the program, a variety of educational materials are available year-round to engage youth and adults in the exploration of birds.

National Gardening Association
Plants, seeds and tools are available to schools with a gardening program through the National Gardening Association. For an application, send your name, school address and phone number
Write to: Youth Garden Grants, 180 Flynn Ave., Burlington, VT 05401 or 18005387476.

National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History�s teaching packet for anthropology includes suggestions for in-class and field activities such as mother-infant observation and exploring historic cemeteries.
Write to: Anthropology Outreach and Public Information Office, National Museum of Natural History, Room 363, MRC 112 Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, 202-357-1300.

Learning About Renewable Energy
The earth�s supply of natural resources, such as coal and oil is well on its way to becoming exhausted. Written especially for the younger audience, this educational pamphlet introduces children to alternative energy sources, such as wind, water, and solar power, emphasizing their importance to all of our futures.
Send: a postcard
Ask for: Learning About Renewable Energy
Write to: Renewable Energy Information, P.O. Box 8900,Silver Spring, MD 20907

Nature�s Wonder on Screen
Naturalist Elizabeth Terwilliger appears in five free-loan 16-mm films that encourage an appreciation of nature and wildlife in young students. (Teachers pay only the cost of return postage for films). Produced for grades K through 6, each 14- to 22- minute film features children discovering the wonders and beauty of nature. The films are no. 16112, Bay Tidelands; no. 16113, Chaparral, Grassland, and Freshwater Pond; no. 16116, Oak Woodland; no. 16114, Redwood, Forest, Stream, Ocean Beach, Monarch Butterfly, Trees; and no. 16115, Sights and Sounds of the Season. Low cost teachers� guides to each film are also available.
Send: $1.00 for teachers� guides;
Ask for: teachers� guides
Write to: Terwilliger Films, P.O. Box 722, Tiburon, CA 94920

Nuclear Energy
Advocates of nuclear energy argue that it is an important source of clean electricity with no air pollution - an environmental advantage. The U.S. Council for Energy Awareness takes the stand that nuclear energy is both necessary and safe. Their free booklet on nuclear energy includes the national plan for safe nuclear waste disposal, can be used to approach the subject in your classroom. Even if you disagree, it�s helpful to know the facts and concerns of nuclear-energy advocates.
Send: a postcard
Ask for: free booklet on atomic energy
Write to: U.S. Council for Energy Awareness, P.O. Box 66080, Department K, Washington, DC 20035

Quack! Quack!
Ducks Unlimited is a national organization dedicated to the protection of ducks and other waterfowl as well as their endangered environment. Local branches work with classes on a variety of activities including wetland clean-up projects and building and preparing homes for ducks during the nesting season. Your student can become a member of Greenwing, the Ducks Unlimited kids� group. Kids up to age 11 will receive the magazine, The Puddler. Kids age 11 to 17 will receive the regular Ducks Unlimited magazine.
Send: a letter on school letterhead
Ask for: information on Ducks Unlimited and Greenwing membership
Write to: Ducks Unlimited, One Waterfowl Way, Memphis TN 38120.

Raptors in the City
Raptors in the City is a real-time, inquiry-based science and technology program for grades 4-6 that stars the peregrine falcon. The online portion of Raptors in the City guides children through nesting season (roughly February to June) as they watch the still rare falcons live via cameras mounted on skyscrapers. The curriculum supports one semester of study, and the students learn environmental, biological, and technological lessons, as well as research skills, tied to national science and technology standards. Curriculum materials and books for falcon study are available at low cost.

Robocow
Web-based animation featuring a new superhero, Robocow. Robocow flies over agricultural horizons, rescuing us from ill-advised practices endangering the quality of surface waters. For students in grades 6-10. From the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration of Canada's Agriculture and Agri-Food Ministry.

Sierraecology Newsletter
The Sierra Club publishes a newsletter 3 to 4 times a year designed specially for grade school students. Sierraecology articles discuss current environmental threats and alternative energy sources and suggest inexpensive conservation-related activities for the classroom. School workshops and local cleanup efforts are advertised regularly, offering students an opportunity to join actively in the fight against environmental pollution.
Send: a postcard
Ask for: Sierrecology
Write to: Sierrecology, Sierra Club Public Affairs, 730 Polk St., San Francisco, CA 94109

Solar Reading List for Kids/ Solar energy and You
The Conservation and Renewable Energy Inquiry Referral Service bibliography includes the title of each book, a summary, page length, and publisher. Help your students learn how the sun and earth can work together. Solar Energy and You is an informative fact sheet that describes for students how solar panels are used to transform the sun�s elusive rays into a valuable and safe source of energy.
Send: a postcard
Ask for: Solar Bibliography for Children
Write to: Conservation and Renewable, Energy Inquiry Referral Service, P.O. Box 8900, Silver Spring, MD 20907. 1800-523-2929

Stories From Where We Live
Stories from Where We Live is part of a growing effort known as place-based education, which seeks to reconnect kids to the local natural world. Readers will find in the multiplicity of voices contained in the Stories From Where We Live anthologies a sense of the many ways people value and respond to the natural world. The accompanying teaching guides have a strong language arts emphasis, guiding students not only to read about a region, but to get outside and record their own observations about what they see and experience. The curriculum is most suitable for late-elementary and middle school language arts, social studies, and interdisciplinary environmental science classes.

Teaching Population
Teaching Population: Hands-on Activities is an extensive K-12 teaching kit on CD-ROM. It includes over 50 activities from Population Connection's seven teaching kits. Educators can search by grade level, subject area and topic to find the best activities for their lessons. Each activity links to recommended articles, transparencies, printable props, and content standards, all just a click away. Online ordering available.

Try the KIND way
Kids in Nature�s Defense Club offers an informative and lively newspaper for the classroom, KIND News. This publication teaches respect, responsibility, and kindness to the environment, animals, and people. For just $.75 a copy you can order a single issue of KIND News and share a caring concern for others with your class.
Send: $.75
Ask for: KIND News, Jr. (grades 2-4) or KIND News, Sr. (grades 5-6)
Write to: National Association for Humane and Environmental Education, KIND News, Department FS, 67 Salem Road, East Haddam, CT 06423-1736.

The Smithsonian
The Smithsonian Resource guide for Teachers ($5) list lesson plans, posters, videos, teaching packets and other materials available for free or little cost from the Smithsonian Institution�s many museums. Also available: Art to Zoo, a free teaching guide with lessons plans and resource list for science, social studies and art teachers.
Contact: Smithsonian Institution, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Arts and Industries Bldg., Room 1163, MRC 402, Washington, DC 20560

Student Earth/Animal Protection Club
For a free guide on forming a student earth/animal protection club in your school, along with a sample copy of the student newsletter KIND (Kids in Nature�s Defense) News.
Contact: NAHEE, Dept. FF, P.O. Box 362, East Haddam, CT 06423

Water Science for Schools
Information from the U.S. Geological Survey about the many aspects of water, from what it is to how we use it. This website includes pictures, data, maps, and an interactive center where you can test your water knowledge. A glossary and related links are also included.

What's Your Ecological Address?
Exploring the natural world around us is an important step towards environmental literacy. Yet many students and adults don't know how water gets to their taps or the names of the birds and trees that are common in their neighborhoods. Abstract concepts such as food webs and water cycles can be made more tangible if students can visualize the connections between the water, land, climate, wild and human life that surrounds them and understand the ecosystem services that support their own lives.

For a model of activities and resources that enable you or your students to map your ecological address, see the North Carolina Department of Natural Resources' "Discover Your Ecological Address" site. David Sobel's "Mapmaking with Children: Sense of Place Education for the Elementary Years" (Heinemann, 1998) is a good resource for younger students.

World Wide Biome Project
The World Wide Biome Project is designed to have students learn about ecosystems in their locale and share their findings with students from around the world through the medium kids use - the Internet. The prime focus of the site is to have students/classes do an evaluation of a habitat in their biome and send the data in to the World Wide Biome Project. Their data is converted into a series of Web pages for them. This allows students to learn from other projects that students like themselves have created.

YES! Magazine - Free Subscription
YES! offers teachers and students inspiring case studies of practical, positive solutions to a broad range of environmental and social justice challenges. By casting a spotlight on these everyday heroes, young and old, at home and abroad -- YES! offers hope, inspiration, and a sense of what is possible. Educators find YES! a powerful tool for informing students about ecological and social problems while also providing hopeful solutions and channels for constructive action. Teachers are eligible for a free one-year subscription to this quarterly journal.