Houston Environmental Resources for Educators

H ouston E nvironmental

R esources for E ducators

Going Digital? HERE to help!

Local field trips outdoors are fun with a scavenger hunt with iNaturalist and Seek. Students can make a movie of their outdoor experience, too, like this one at Jesse Jones Park. Check out the blog from National Wildlife Federation on social distancing in the great outdoors.
Plant a wildlife garden for pollinators, and make a time-lapse video of the progress.
Submit any videos about Houston's environment to Alicia for the Wild About Houston Film Festival in October, 2020.
Visit the HERE in Houston Facebook page to see two videos from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service about Houston's wildlife, called "Wild Birds" and "Wild Wetlands."
Teachers, spend time learning about Houston's wilderness at one of more than 50 workshop opportunities this summer.

Harris-Galveston Subsidence District has videos about subsidence, water conservation and watersheds, in addition to digital resources for teachers and students.

Learn about the movement of sharks through the Gulf of Mexico with an Ocearch Tracker; resource includes K-8 curriculum in all four core subjects.

Citizens' Environmental Coalition is on YouTube with a compilation of local videos about air & water quality, Houston's wildlife, and more.

Encourage students to set up and write about their experience composting leaves with this how-to guide from TAMU .

Use the Bird Identification Chart from Houston Audubon to learn the basics, and then take a walk to find as many of the common birds of Houston as you can. Be a citizen scientist and upload data to eBird .

Interactive lessons about the Texas environment are now available from EcoRise. They are offering webinars for teachers t o learn more about how to use and adapt resources for a virtual environment. Note: accounts are currently free for Houston-area teachers. Email Kristi for assistance.

Tune in at 11 a.m. everyday to interact with Zookeepers Live on Facebook at the Houston Zoo.

National Wildlife Federation is hosting a free, online EcoCareers Conference on April 1 & 2 for high school & college students. There are plenty of internships & green jobs available in Houston; take the time now to introduce students to careers in conservation.

On-demand webinars from TWA are interactive, available anytime and include a follow-along worksheet. Students can watch at home by clicking one of these links.

Adaptable Armadillos

ASI: Animal Skull Investigations

Aquifers and Spring Ecosystems

Bats-A-Billion

Food Chain Fun

Complete Metamorphosis

Frog Life Cycle

Incomplete Metamorphosis

Let's Talk Turkey

The Magic of Monarchs

Prairie Dogs (Grassland Ecosystem)

Wetland Ecosystems

There are digital copies of the Critter Connection magazine , too, which include local wildlife information, vocabulary builders, crafts and easy activities to do at home.

CITY NATURE CHALLENGE INFO found on the Facebook page.
Use iNaturalist or Seek in your online/digital curriculum. Get the kids outside!
Check out the EDUCATORS TOOLKIT for more ideas and help using the app.

Take your Students on a Virtual Field Trip April 22. Meet the dancing, booming, stomping, beautiful little bird, the Attwater’s prairie chicken (APC)! APCs were once found on six million acres of prairie along the Gulf Coast, from Corpus Christi to Louisiana. In this program, tour the Houston Zoo’s captive breeding facility at the NASA Johnson Space Center. Learn about the bird, the science and the hard work that goes into protecting this iconic species of Texas' coastal prairie. Free sign up and full calendar available on the ESC webpage .

GRANTS FOR FREE MILKWEED

Do a deep dive into Monarch Watch materials. The butterflies are back after a cool winter in Houston. They make a great teaching tool about pollinators, native plants, habitat restoration, soil types, insecticides, citizen science, and more.

LET'S GET TOGETHER on May 6. Environmental Educators Exchange is open to all educators to network, learn and share. Meet at Memorial Park Conservancy to learn about iNaturalist, go on a scavenger hunt, and see the latest resources from Texas A&M Forest Service and Caroline Cruz. Details/RSVP on Eventbrite .

A Final Thought...

Remember, kids who learn and play in nature are physically and mentally healthier, do better in school, have better self-discipline and higher self-esteem, are more cooperative, are good problem solvers, and become tomorrow's conservation leaders. Find the research on the Texas Children in Nature page , and reconsider your "business as usual" in ways that engage children in nature.

Take your program one step further. Revisit the Guidelines for Excellence in Environmental Education from the North American Association for Environmental Education. With free PDF booklets, review the recommendations for your specific program and consider ways to improve.

Finally, take the extra time to complete the Texas Certified Environmental Educator Program through the Texas Association for Environmental Education. Contact Brian if you need help, or have any questions.

Stay safe, everyone! And let Alicia know if you need anything, on behalf of the Citizens' Environmental Coalition and HERE in Houston .

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