 Environmental
education connects students to the environment and can support any subject
area. Studies document the positive impact that environmental education has
on student test scores, overall achievement and self-esteem.
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Curricula
listed below address California standards. Field trips serve to further connect
children with nature.
City of San José Environmental Services Department
Watershed Protection – Youth Watershed Education Team (YWET)
200 East Santa Clara Street, Tower, 10th Floor,
San José, CA 95113-1905
Tamara Gilbert: (408) 975-2606
tamara.gilbert@sanjoseca.gov
www.sanjoseca.gov/esd/schools
Curriculum materials, grant funding, teacher training,
field trips, and presentations focused on watershed protection. It's Wet,
It's Wild, It's Water! is a curriculum
targeted for grades 3 to 6 and correlated with California Content Standards.
This updated tool kit offers a teacher's guide with five hands-on activities
and resource materials, a watershed poster, and an award-winning video.
Santa
Clara Valley Water District
5750 Almaden Expressway
San José, CA 95118
Kathy Machado: (408) 265-2607 x2331
kmachado@valleywater.org
www.valleywater.org/For_Teachers_and_Students/index.shtm
Offers
water conservation workshops, tours, and newsletters for teachers and students.
RAFT,
Resource Area for Teaching
1355 Ridder Park Dr.
San José, CA 95131
408-451-1420
www.raft.net
RAFT Teacher Training Workshops facilitate hands-on learning,
offer low cost professional development opportunities, and enrich education
for
children. In house and in school topics include Math, Science, Technology,
and Art.
Special workshops feature use of Adobe products for schools.
California Education Standards
There are many environmental education curricula available now that address
the California Education Standards. Environmental curricula can be incorporated
into any subject area.
California Regional Environmental
Education Community Network (CREEC)
An educational project supported by the California Department of Education,
Environmental Education Program, in collaboration with state, regional and
local partners, with an on-line Resource Directory where users can search
by county, grade level and academic focus using California Standards, including
resources for bilingual and disabled students.
Region 5: South Bay Area
including S. Clara, S. Cruz, S. Benito and Monterey
Counties
Pat Kent, Coordinator Region 5
Santa Cruz County Office of Education
809-H Bay Ave. Capitola, CA 95010
831-479-5327 phone / 831-476-5294 fax
E-mail: Pat Kent
www.creec.org/region5/
California Department of Education,
Environmental Education
Provides Statewide Environmental Education Resources, Environmental Education
Grants, and the Environmental Education Compendia Series which compiles K-12
environmental curricula.
www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ca/sc/oeeintrod.asp
Conservation Connection
Simon Eching
seching@water.ca.gov
www.owue.water.ca.gov/docs/StudentBook.pdf Provides
a curriculum focused on water and energy conservation.
Banana Slug String
Band
P.O. Box 2262
Santa Cruz, CA 95063
(888) 32-SLUGS, (888) 327-5847 Phone and Fax
www.bananaslugstringband.com
School assemblies integrate music, poetry, drama,
and movement with hands-on science. Teacher trainings, presented in a variety
of formats, are open
to Pre K-6 classroom teachers and outdoor educators.
Waste Free Lunch Program
info@wastefreelunches.org
www.wastefreelunches.org
Information
and products enabling parents and schools to develop waste-free lunches:
tips, brochures, recipes, strategies, lunch kits, and free e-newsletters.
Cornell
University Waste Management Institute
Trash Goes To School, Youth Resources
Ellen Harrison, CWMI Director: (607) 255-1187
cwmi@cornell.edu
cwmi.css.cornell.edu/Youth.html
Provides
K-12 activities, lesson plans, ideas for using solid waste issues in other
subject areas, glossaries, videos, and publications on solid waste
issues, recycling, composting, and garbage.
Recycling Rechargeable Batteries
Corporation
7 Lilac
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
Sean Burchill: (949) 215-4620
sburchill@rbrc.com
www.rbrc.org/call2recycle/docs/c2r_lesson_plan.pdf
Free
lesson plans focused on rechargeable battery recycling for students age
10 and beyond.
Youth Science Institute
296 Garden Hill Drive
Saratoga, CA 95070
Marion Blair: (408) 356-4945
info@ysi-ca.org
www.ysi-ca.org
Offers flood lessons for grades 5-8, and field trip locations.
Earth Balloon Portable Classroom
San José Beautiful
1601 Foxworthy Ave., San José, CA 95118
Margaret Wagenet: (408) 723-1574
The Earth Balloon is a 19 foot walk-in balloon
replica of the Earth, with images of the continents created from thousands
of NASA photographs. It holds up to
30 students inside, providing a unique learning environment. A nominal rental
fee brings the Earth to your school.
Walden West - Environmental Education
Santa Clara County Office of Education
(408) 573-3051
www.sccoe.k12.ca.us/waldenwest/
- Outdoor Science School: Grades 5-6, natural sciences camp at two outdoor school
sites
- Windows to Our Watershed (WOW): Grades 3-6, interactive,
flexible learning opportunities
- Growing Gardens for Growing Minds reintroduces
students to their school gardens.
Santa Clara County Office of Education
Educational Resources Database
1290 Ridder Park Dr., MC 232, San José, CA. 95131-2398
408-453-6800
204.88.140.44/Lasso/Resource_Connection/erd.htm
Directory of 300 environmental field trip locations in the South Bay (including
Recycling Centers).
Hidden Villa
26870 Moody Rd.
Los Altos Hills, CA. 94022
(650) 949-8650
Hidden Villa is the site of a 1,600 organic farm and wilderness
preserve with miles of hiking trails, a Youth Hostel, summer camp and other
landmark programs.
Founded in 1970, Hidden Villa’s Environmental Education Program (HVEEP)
has served thousands of children each year through two core programs and other
educational offerings. On-site naturalists and community educators provide
focus on environmental education along with the wonderment and exhilaration
of hiking alongside a creek, milking a cow or goat, or harvesting garden vegetables.
Through age-specific activities, children learn about ecology, natural history,
and energy systems/cycles, striking a balance between scientific investigation
and wonder, awareness, and appreciation. Children’s Discovery
Museum: BioSITE
180 Woz Way
San José, CA 95110
Environmental Science Educator
Sandy Derby
(408) 298-5437 ext. 261
sderby@cdm.org
www.cdm.org/biosite/
BioSITE is a
partner of the San José Children’s Discovery Museum. The
BioSITE program is based on the belief that through the process of scientific
inquiry all children can successfully grow and learn to make sense of the
world in which they live. At BioSITE K-12 students explore and observe the
creekside
environment, collect and test water samples, look for plant an animal species
and document their findings along the Guadalupe River.
Hooked on Nature
4848 San Felipe Rd., # 150-230
San José, CA 95135
(866) 340-4623
www.hookedonnature.org/
A non-profit
organization whose mission is to offer inspiration, training, workshops, and
resource materials for adults who wish to help children develop
loving relationships with the earth. Workshops, Nature Circles and Resource
materials are available.
Slow the Flow
Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge, Alviso
Mailing address only, call for reservations and directions to Alviso site:
9500 Thornton Ave.
Newark, CA. 94560
408-262-5513
www.fws.gov/desfbay/environ.htm
The
free Slow the Flow Field Trip Program is designed for Grades 5-12 and takes
place at the Alviso site of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife
Refuge, “a wildlife island in an urban sea.” Staff lead students
in activities that explore water use, water treatment and habitat preservation.
The curriculum is correlated to California standards. Staff are also available
to make in-classroom presentations at local schools. Children and Nature Network
7 Avenida Vista Grande B-7, #502
Santa Fe, NM 87508
www.cnaturenet.org/
The Children & Nature Network (C&NN) was
created to encourage and support the people and organizations working to reconnect
children with nature. C&NN
provides access to the latest news and research in the field and a peer-to-peer
network of researchers and individuals, educators and organizations dedicated
to children's health and well-being. Environmental Volunteers
3921 E. Bayshore Road
Palo Alto, CA 94303-4326
(650) 961-0545
www.EVols.org
Volunteer natural science educators provide hands-on science education
to K-8 schools in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties so that all children
can become
responsible stewards of the earth. Programs include: eight in-classroom presentations
and field trips; Science and Nature Adventures for Kid Explorers (SNAKE),
an exploratory nature camp; and Weekend Service Program at the Palo Alto
Baylands
for hands-on education outside of school hours. Guadalupe River Park and Gardens
438 Coleman Ave.
San José, CA. 95110
(408) 298-7657
Guadalupe River Park and Gardens connects children with nature
in a beautiful natural setting near downtown San José. Packaged field trips
address California
curriculum standards, showcasing the Guadalupe River, the Heritage Rose Garden
and the Historic Orchard, and teach environmental stewardship through the
River Testing Program. Seasonal events like Pumpkins in the Park and Spring
in Guadalupe
Gardens offer additional environmental education opportunities.
ZunZun
(831) 426-0684
zunzuntunes.com/getintouch.php
A
performing arts group that celebrates the environments and cultures of the
Americas through music and is available to perform at schools. Last Child in the Woods:
Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder
Book by Richard Louv. The author directly links the lack of nature in the lives
of today’s wired generation—he calls it nature-deficit—to
some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as the rises in obesity,
attention disorders, and depression. Last Child in the Woods is the first
book to bring together a new and growing body of research indicating that
direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development
and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults. More than
just raising an alarm, Louv offers practical solutions and simple ways to
heal the broken bond—and many are right in our own backyard.
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