Florida Schoolyard Wildlife Project

Effective Outdoor Classrooms

Teacher working in the woods. The Schoolyard Wildlife Project is an environmental education program that can teach adult educators of K-12 students how to turn school grounds into an effective outdoors classroom. The Schoolyard Wildlife Project's resources help you incorporate Florida's natural history into your curricula to teach environmental awareness, problem-solving, basic biology and ecological principles.

The Schoolyard Wildlife Project offers two types of hands-on, interactive, one-day workshops: Schoolyard Activities & Ecology and Schoolyard Ecosystems.

Schoolyard Activities & Ecology workshops provide educators with high quality, Florida-specific natural history and ecology lessons, and natural science explorations. The Activity Guide contains 35 field-tested activities with blackline masters focusing on wildlife education and ecology on school grounds. This four- to six-hour workshop targets educators in grades K-6. Participants receive the Handbook to Schoolyard Plants & Animals and the Schoolyard Wildlife Activity Guide.

Florida's Water Resource Activity Pack was designed to complement Schoolyard Wildlife Activity Guide. The activity pack was designed to help you use your schoolyard to explore a variety of water related concepts and issues. The activity pack contains 11 complete lessons focusing on topics ranging from the role of plants in the water cycle to water pollution. Florida's Water Resources Activity Pack is included with the Schoolyard Activities and Ecology workshops.

Schoolyard Ecosystems workshops teach educators about local ecosystems and how to involve their students in the creation, restoration or enhancement of native wildlife habitats on school grounds. This six-hour intensive workshop targets educators in grades K-12. Participants receive the Schoolyard Ecosystems for Florida: A Guide for Planning, Installing, Maintaining, and Using.

The Schoolyard Wildlife Activity Guide, Florida's Water Resource Activity Pack and Schoolyard Ecosystems for Florida book can only be received by attending the workshop.

The companion book to the activity guide, Handbook to Schoolyard Plants and Animals of North Central Florida, can be ordered through our office, if you choose not to attend a workshop.

Please examine the following sample lesson from the curriculum.

(free Adobe Acrobat Reader required )