Elaborate Environmental Action Project

By the end of the modules your students will be able to complete an Environmental Action Project. This project can take many forms based on the interests of your students, their learning over the course of the modules, and the time and materials available to your classroom.

Students should be able to communicate their learning about their watershed.

Through the Environmental Action Project students will Elaborate on what they have learned by identifying an issue in their watershed, creating a plan, implement that plan. and share their findings. This could be as simple as an awareness campaign about the recycling procedures on your school campus to as complex as creating their own service group that restores natural areas once a month in partnership with a local natural area.

The project will be different in each classroom and sometimes for each student. This introduction page is set up to give you tools and advice to make a project that works for you and your classroom. Take some time to look through this page to understand the project type and timeline that will work for your class and you can use the blue button below to visit the Project Options Resource Page that has some projects that have been developed already from external sites.

Environmental action projects can take many forms and may fall into the following types:

• Restoration or protection: actions that assist in the recovery or preservation of a watershed or related ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed (e.g., plant or restore protective vegetation/trees; restore a local habitat; remove invasive plants; clean up litter at local beaches, parks, or school grounds; develop a school garden, natural history area, community garden, or other sustainable green space; install rain gardens to help manage stormwater).

• Everyday choices: actions that reduce human impacts on watersheds and related ecosystems and offer ways to live more sustainably (e.g., refuse/reduce/reuse/recycle; monitor and save water in the face of potential drought or reduction in water availability; compost food or yard waste; research and implement energy efficient strategies or energy alternatives at school and/or at home).

• Community engagement: actions that inform others about how to address community-level environmental issues (e.g., give presentations to local organizations; organize community events; record or broadcast public service announcements; share information on social media; post flyers in community; share posters at community events/fairs/festivals; mentoring).

• Civic engagement: actions that identify and address issues of public concern. Students acting alone or together to protect public values or make a change or difference in a student’s school, town, neighborhood, or community (e.g., present to school board or school principal; attend, speak, or present at town meetings; write or meet with decision makers/elected officials of a students’ school, town, neighborhood, or community).

From (https://www.noaa.gov/education/explainers/noaa-meaningful-watershed-educational-experience)

Class Environmental Action Project should be completed before the field trip to Vester Marine and Environmental Science Research Field Station. When planning your project think about what is manageable for you and your classes.

At the completion of each module there is the Elaborate section that gives specifics for the project so that your class can work on it piece by piece until the end of all the modules. The one way to work on this project would be through student interest, grouping students to complete certain parts of the project throughout the modules as they learn new information, and then bringing each groups part together by the end of all the modules for a completed project. Another option would be to save all Elaborate sections until the end of all 4 modules and work through the projects sets all at one time.

Example timeline

• Module 1 Sea Level Rise Elaborate: classes review project types and brainstorms possible projects.

• Module 2 Extreme Weather Elaborate: classes vote through a backchannel on projects. Students complete skills inventory and are grouped as teams.

• Module 3 Mangroves and Climate Change Elaborate: Student teams are assigned tasks and begin working on tasks.

• Module 4 Wildlife and Climate Change Elaborate: Student teams share completed tasks for revisions/edits. Make revisions and edits then publish work.

• Principles for effective communication and public engagement on climate change https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2017/08/Climate-Outreach-IPCC-communications-handbook.pdf

• School-Based Environmental Service Learning https://www.nationalgeographic.org/idea/school-based-environmental-service-learning/

• Project Management for Middle School https://www.edutopia.org/article/project-management-middle-school

• 10 Tips for Successful Student Projects https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-10-tips-for-successful-student-projects/2015/03

• Ignite Middle Schoolers Curiosity with these 7 Eco-Projects for School or Home https://populationeducation.org/ignite-middle-schoolers-curiosity-with-these-7-eco-projects-for-school-or-home/

• A Better Way to Brainstorm: How to get students to Generate Original Ideas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLpZ6RZHyoM

• Critical Thinking Toolbox: How to Brainstorm https://www.edutopia.org/blog/critical-thinking-toolbox-brainstorm-hans-nathaniel-bluedorn

These videos were selected to inspire you and your students. These are shorter videos and at varying levels from simple to complex so that you can choose what would be helpful for your students. The first video on Florida's Environmental Year in Review I would recommend all students to see to show the need for the Environmental Action Project.