Elementary

Bookmark these ideas for students to conduct investigations and learn about water conservation, plus tips for how to build your own rain barrel. This story highlights students in Kansas who calculated the amount of water their school uses, and the dollar savings in water bills after they installed rain barrels.

Learn how two teachers banded their students and local partners together to reclaim their school’s outdoor space and create a peace garden and classroom.

Project Learning Tree schools share lessons teachers learned after starting a class garden.

A GreenWorks! grant to Coles Elementary in Virginia sparked science learning across all grades as students investigated a soil erosion problem on their school grounds.

Children selected an animal found in their community’s garden to research. They created beautiful mosaics of their chosen animal for a permanent outdoor art exhibit.

Young students don’t need to wait until they’re older to make a difference. Here are 13 inspiring stories that show what’s possible when young environmentalists take action.

As the pandemic has disrupted countless traditional learning environments, many have begun to move classes outdoors. But as Project Learning Tree educators know all-too-well, taking lessons outdoors offers many more benefits than just germ control!

A PLT Outstanding Educator shares her adaptations and useful resources for conducting Project Learning Tree’s Forest Consequences lesson from the PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide.

Sounds abound in every school yard! This activity encourages PreK-2 learners to explore sounds all around their neighborhood and compare how sounds change from one season to the next.

A parent finds a way to introduce environmental education and PLT into busy teachers’ schedules at her own children’s school.

Building school gardens, reconstructing running trails, creating maple sugar. Highlights from projects funded by Project Learning Tree’s GreenWorks! grants program.

My life changed when I met Pat Maloney, the PLT State Coordinator in Maine. Learn about PLT’s national network that provides support to educators for incorporating environmental education and outdoor learning into their classrooms.

Print out these useful cards for students to wear as giant name tags next time you facilitate PLT’s Activity 63: Tree Factory in your classroom.

With PLT activities infused across the curriculum and some amazing student accomplishments, this school is a model for others wanting to build a GreenSchools program.

Students in grades 4 through 8, along with community volunteers and supporters, came together to plant a native prairie and plant demonstration garden.

A forester explains what the life of a forester actually entails and how she inspires students to explore jobs that will take them outside.

Exploring Mars while recycling on Earth, composting in the classroom, creating a wildlife garden. These are some highlights from service-learning projects funded by GreenWorks! grants.

“Kids can always make a difference in society” exclaimed a student from this exceptional green school in Alabama. Learn how teachers are inspiring their students.

Multiplication often results in ending up with more than you had at the start. That’s what happened with Environmental Learning Multiplied, or ELM, a program that took place at Sloan’s Lake Park in Denver.

It’s clear why this Florida school was selected to help pilot the national PLT GreenSchools program.

Technology is an entry tool that can make learning about the natural world exciting and fun. Students used technology to create a digital interpretive guide for a local trail in Maine.

Environmental awareness permeates Lothrop Science and Technology Magnet School, a pre-K through fourth-grade school in Omaha.

A dedicated Tree Farmer, who has welcomed fourth-graders on her land for more than 20 years, ponders how to connect the next generation with nature.

Strong support for PLT comes from the principal, teachers, and students at this Florida K-8 school.

Discovering an endangered Ozark chestnut tree (also called Chinquapin) in the woods near the school campus inspired Acorn School students to take action.

From Landfill Larry to an “idle-free” pick-up zone, students at Dimensions of Learning Academy found innovative ways to make a difference.

McKinney, Texas, often receives quality-of-life awards. Wolford Elementary helps contribute with a conservation focus across all grade levels.

Fishburn Park students in Roanoke do indeed care for fish–as well as recycle, monitor water quality, and a whole lot more!

The Learning Gate School community, including teachers, students, and families, lives and learns by the fact that “nature is the best teacher.”

It’s important to teach students the impact pollinators have on our lives. Here are pollinator projects created by students of all ages.

Learn how a small school in New Jersey established sustainability as an integrated concept.

Pairing older and younger students to create a nature trail around a New York school’s perimeter provides learning experiences for both.

A classic PLT activity connects students in Texas and Connecticut—and a parent adds an unexpected personal connection to make the learning even more real.

An elementary school in Louisiana proves Project Learning Tree is a powerful tool that can be used to improve student test scores.

A new outdoor space at an elementary school in Madisonville, Kentucky, provides many hands-on learning opportunities for the students.

Whether your school is just starting out or has had lots of experience being “green,” PLT’s GreenSchools Investigations can help move you forward.

Washington, D.C. might belong to the whole nation as our capital–but it also a place where kids live, learn, and go green.

A large, diverse Title 1 public school and a small, private school in Houston both use PLT’s GreenSchools program to meet the needs of students.

Sixteen schools across the country participated in the MonarchLIVE project to build butterfly gardens. Here are the stories of three of those schools.

Create your own painted lab coats! These powerful visual tools engage students in learning about science and the environment.

A successful service-learning project is more than just volunteering—it involves students applying knowledge and skills to make a difference in their communities.

An elementary teacher from Arkansas shares what she’s learned from implementing a schoolyard habitat project. Organizing a committee, engaging volunteers, and publicizing the effort have all contributed to their success.

A 5th grade teacher in rural Minnesota uses a local forest as a teaching resource. He also engages parents and the entire school in environmental learning.

A teacher shares her story about how hands-on activities used inside and outside the classroom can help students gain knowledge and an appreciation for the environment.