A website from UGA Cooperative Extension

We hear greening the curriculum a lot, but what does it really mean?Greening the curriculum means being open to Nature as a teacher, letting the outdoors serve as a classroom, and teaching that sustaining life for all future generations is important. Greening your curriculum ensures that students are capable of tackling challenge of global warming and climate change, and unsustainable lifestyles. 

Greening your curriculum is based on skills and experiences needed to create a generation that understands they are a part of nature, the science of global warming, the impacts of climate change, and can become the change needed in the world. 

Try these tips for greening your curriculum: 

  • Rain barrels and water conservation lessons
  • Start a school garden 
    • This is a great way to get students outside and learning how things grow. It has a positive impact on students’ behavior and instills appreciation for nature.
  • Collaborate with your local extension office 
    • We are here to help any way we can. Our whole purpose is to serve our community and provide reliable information to you. 
  • School wide recycling project 
    • There is so much plastic that is produced and flows right into our oceans. A school wide recycling project can encourage your students to think about their plastic usage and how they can reduce their consumption to protect our environment.  
  • Create an outdoor classroom 
    • An outdoor classroom will allow your students to have a space where they can be immersed in learning about nature. 
  • Plant trees around your school 
    • Trees produce the air we breathe, they provide resources many species need to survive, and control storm water runoff. 
  • Environmental field trips 
    • Field trips give students real world learning they cannot learn in the classroom and expose them to other careers outside the norm. 

 There are so many resources other there for teachers to begin to green their curriculum. Many organizations offer training and material you can use in your classroom. The organizations listed below are environmental education programs for teachers and educators that provide fun resources on how to use the environment to engage students in learning  

Project Wet – https://www.projectwet.org

Project Wild – https://www.fishwildlife.org/projectwild

Project Learning Tree- https://www.plt.org