Science

Forming environmental education partnerships

Steve Hage, a teacher at the School of Environmental Studies in Apple Valley, Minn., uses partnerships to enrich his students’ learning experiences.

His school has an impressive list of partner organizations that encompasses groups far and wide, from the Minnesota Zoo and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, to the ends of the earth, including Inuit communities near the North Pole. These partnerships help Hage's students connect classroom content to real-world issues.

Through the application of math concepts students examine the degree of biodiversity that exists in the everyday environment in order to develop an understanding of how scientists classify organisms. They also explore why biodiversity is important for living things.

This guide provides a brief introduction to the 1990 Clean Air Act. The 1990 Clean Air Act is the most recent version of a law passed in 1970 to clean up air pollution. This simplified guide is the perfect way to introduce this law to students.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Proteccion de la Fauna Mexicana A.C., a Mexican non-governmental organization, developed The Monarch Butterfly Manual, Royal Mail: A Manual for the Environmental Educator. This manual offers activities and labs, arranged by grade level, that promote conservation of the Monarch Butterfly.

Students examine the basic purpose and work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the involvement of African Americans in the CCC. They focus on issues such as the benefits gained and problems faced by African Americans who worked in the CCC and the attitude and approach of different New Deal officials towards the black men in the CCC.