Green Schools National Network
Virtual Learning Resources for Sustainability-Minded EducatorsGreen Schools National Network remains steadfast in its commitment to provide K-12 schools and districts with the resources and support they need to educate for sustainability during this time of virtual learning. On this page, we have assembled a selection of age-appropriate lessons from our PD Collaborative Partners and others that are well-suited for virtual learning. We vetted these lessons against a set of criteria we developed that looks at aspects such as deeper learning, 21st century skill building, authenticity, and sustained inquiry using a real-world context.
Resources for Grades K – 5
Sustainable Economics: The Triple Bottom Line
In this project-based unit of study, students consider their roles as consumers and producers through the lens of the triple bottom line of sustainability. In the first half of the unit, students...
What Can We Do with All This Stuff?
In this lesson, students consider the idea of “zero waste” and their part in making this a reality. Students go on a waste hunt to survey and document items that are thrown away. Then, using the...
Speaking Out
In this lesson, students learn about taking civic action for a cause they care about, identify an environmental issue they want to address, and develop a campaign that they can implement to create...
Project Hero Pollinator Quest
In this project-based learning experience, students learn about the vital role that pollinators play in our food chains and ecosystems, identify pollinators that live in their region and the threats...
How Can We Take Care of Our Commons?
In this lesson, students learn what a Commons is, how to take care of a Commons, and the importance of everyone doing their part to keep their Commons healthy and beautiful. They apply this learning...
Field Research: Land Ecosystems
In this field research lesson, students learn what an ecosystem is, collect and record information on local plants and animals in a Land Journal, compare the natural versus built landscape in their...
Resources for Grades 6 – 12
FoodSpan
In this curriculum (17 lesson plans and a Food Citizen Action Project), students explore critical food system issues related to human health, the environment, equity, and animal welfare. The...
Sustainable Economics: The Triple Bottom Line
In this project-based unit of study, students consider their roles as consumers and producers through the lens of the triple bottom line of sustainability. In the first half of the unit, students...
Marine Ecology, Human Impacts, & Conservation
In this curricular unit (nine lesson plans), students learn about marine ecology, human impacts on the ocean, and ocean conservation to develop a better understanding of the health and importance of...
Peak Water: Mount Everest and Global Water Supply
In this curricular unit (three lesson plans), students learn about sources of fresh water and watersheds and develop an understanding of water scarcity and the impact of human activity on water...
Menacing Microbes
In this curricular unit (three lesson plans), students learn how communities prevent and respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases. After analyzing a historical case study, students select a...
Interrupted Migrations
In this curricular unit (three lesson plans), students learn how human activity impacts animal migration, why and where animals migrate, and what actions can be taken to support migrating animals....
Apps
TreeSnap
TreeSnap lets you contribute to the study of tree health and resiliency by tagging trees around your home, in your neighborhood, and out in the wild. It’s as simple as snapping a photo of a tree and...
Water Quality Mobile App
Use the Water Quality mobile app to record, share, and interpret water-quality monitoring data. You can also use the app to learn more about chemical (e.g. dissolved oxygen, E. coli, pH, nitrate,...
iNaturalist
iNaturalist is one of the world’s most popular nature apps. Use the app to record observations, learn about nature by talking with others in the iNaturalist community, and connect with scientists...
National Wildlife Federation Nature Guide Apps
The National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) Nature Guide apps are “field guides for the 21st century.” Each guide is jam packed with features including expert-curated content, high-quality professional...
GLOBE Observer
The GLOBE Observer app lets citizen science volunteers contribute data to the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program, an international science and education...
Merlin Bird ID
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Merlin Bird ID app is a virtual field guide with over 6,000 bird species found in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Upload a photo of a bird,...
Member Resources
GSNN Members have access to additional curated resouces
The Latest from the GreenNotes Blog
Centering Environmental Justice at the Core of Curriculum: Lessons Learned from Addressing Environmental Justice for a Sustainable Future
By. Kate Bartholomew I’ll admit. I am a neophyte right now. While I’ve been an educator for over 20 years, last year was my first teaching ninth- and tenth-grade science at New Roots Charter School in Ithaca, New York. Before that, my teaching career was spent in a...
The Time has Come for Culturally Relevant Leadership
By. Dr. Floyd D. Beachum Systemic Racism Many people in the United States are calling for the examination and elimination of systemic racism. I define systemic racism here as racism that is historical, individual, institutional, and cultural. In the United States,...
Doubling Down on Coronavirus: How One Pennsylvania School District Facilities Manager Plans to Approach COVID-19 in the Fall
By. Frederick Remelius When my good friend Tracy Enger at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) referred me, a 40-year veteran of facilities management, to do an article for Green Schools National Network about how I planned to handle COVID-19 at...
Plastic Grass Isn’t Greener
By. Rochelle Rubinstein Reprinted with permission from Green Teacher #118, Winter 2019. Learn more about Green Teacher’s nonprofit magazine and books at www.greenteacher.com.
Clearing the Air: An Update on Indoor Air Quality Guidance and Challenges for Reopening Schools
By. Phoebe Beierle The novel coronavirus has disrupted business as usual across the globe, and the disruption of the K-12 education system is having ripple effects throughout the economy. School buildings were abruptly abandoned in mid-March as staff and students were...
Balancing the Three-Legged Stool: Indoor Environmental Quality Drives Healthy Learning Environments
By. Tracy Washington Enger and Mary Jo Errico, Ph.D. Children spend much of their time in schools, which, on average, are more crowded than many other indoor spaces. In fact, schools often have four times the population density of a typical office, which can have a...