Environmental Education at Home
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that education doesn't just take place in the classroom. Even at home, there are many activity guides and citizen science projects available for children of all ages.
The following list of resources includes selected NEEF toolkits and activity guides that require minimal outdoor time. Visit our Environmental Education Resources page for more activities, infographics, and educator resources.
You can also sign up for our NEEF Connect newsletter to have new resources delivered each month.
Group Games & Activities
Games can be used as fun and interesting ways to engage folks of all ages. While having fun, participants develop skills and gain knowledge about a topic. Using games in environmental education is especially beneficial, as it can convey complex concepts and relationships found in ecosystems. Players can come into a game with any level of knowledge in both formal classroom or informal at-home environments. Have fun!
Activity Guides and Educational Projects
Going, Going... Gone?
Students learn about extinct and endangered species. They explore how climate change, habitat loss, pollution, and other facts contributed to these species' population loss. From our friends at the American Museum of Natural History.
Like Spotify, but for natural soundscapes
This site lets you listen to nature sounds from all over the world. The sounds are gathered from numerous contributors who have experience recording the natural world in places including Brazil, Spain, Norway, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The website features sounds from locations like national parks and the everglades. Listen at Earth.fm.
Saving Energy with the IMS HEROes
This incredibly creative Saving Energy challenge activity encourages students to conduct a home energy audit incorporating worksheets, comic strips, and more. Developed by Stephanie Fletcher of Ionia Middle School, one of our 2019 Climate Superstars winners.
Grades 6-8
The Legend of the Flying Frog
Imagine you discovered an animal that scientists have long thought to be extinct! And this animal, the flying frog, needs protection. This is your chance to draw and write a story about a make-believe endangered species. From our friends at the American Museum of Natural History.
Water Quality Backyard Activity Guide
Explore the topic of water quality in your area! With activities to do both on and off the worksheet, it's perfect for your next environmental investigation. You can use this activity guide at a park (remember to practice “social distancing”) or at home.
Grades 3-5
Animal Migration Activity Guide
Designed for elementary-age children, this guide can be used at home for some fun and educational entertainment ideas. Activities include encouraging kids to use STEM skills to learn more about the topic, whether they are using math to plot the coordinates of monarch migration paths, engineering to design a birdfeeder, science to understand the phenomenon of animal migration, or technology to get involved with online citizen science.
Grades 3-5
Pollinator Backyard Activity Guide
Look for a patch of flowers and watch closely to see what sort of animals visit them. Then, follow the activities on your worksheet to record your observations, monitor what types of pollinators you see, and help attract more pollinators.
Grades 3-5
Watershed Sleuth
In this Watershed Sleuth Challenge, you will learn more about your watershed—what it is, why it’s important, and what you can do to help protect it—as you earn badges at each level of this three-part course.
Grades 3-5