Learning Resources

Whether you are learning or teaching in-person or at a distance, here are some resources to help.

NCF-Envirothon iNaturalist Project!

Get outside with iNaturalist! - The NCF-Envirothon iNaturalist project is an exciting distance engagement opportunity designed to help continue the hands-on, experiential learning that is foundational to the Envirothon program. iNaturalist offers a unique platform for ecological exploration and education, and it can be easily incorporated into Envirothon trainings and activities, even at a distance!

Project Instructions

Join the Project!

To help advisors and students make the most of the iNaturalist experience and connect it to your Envirothon training, we are developing a series of Activity Guides (lesson plans) geared towards the Envirothon focus areas of: Aquatic Ecology, Forestry, Soils/Land Use and Wildlife. Explore the guides by clicking on the tabs below.

Get your students outside and learning in the field with the Forestry Ecosystem Exploration iNaturalist Activity! This guide and accompanying worksheets provide a lesson plan framework that you can adapt for your Envirothon team. Concepts covered include biotic and abiotic factors, species richness, species abundance, species evenness, generalist and specialist species, adaptations, disturbance and diversity. This activity can be broken into multiple sessions.

Advisor Guide - step-by-step instructions for leading the activity, definitions of key terms, extension questions and essential skills for students.
Student Guide - provides instructions for the students, so that they can complete the activity semi-independently if you are not able to gather in the same physical location.
Data Sheet - to be used by the students to collect data on a chosen site.
Site Comparison Sheet - to be used by the student, team or class to discuss your findings.

This activity is correlated to the Next Generation Science Standards, the AP Environmental Science curriculum, and NAAEE's Environmental Education Strands. Please refer to your state/provincial Envirothon program's learning objectives, curriculum and resources for your specific competition requirements.

Check back soon!

Other Envirothon Resources:

The Massachusetts Envirothon had developed an excellent activity based on this year’s current issue to continue to engage students while distance learning: https://massenvirothon.org/about/the-competition/2020-competition/
The North Carolina Envirothon has some training videos and podcasts that can be found here: https://sites.google.com/site/envirothonnc/study-resources/videos
The Pennsylvania Envirothon has some training videos for Wildlife and Soils, found under the "Learning Enhancements" tab:
- https://www.envirothonpa.org/station/wildlife/
- https://www.envirothonpa.org/station/soils-and-land-use/
The Manitoba Envirothon, Manitoba Forestry Association, and their partner the Frontier School Division have some resources and training videos for the different natural resource topics here: https://www.thinktrees.org/what-we-do/manitoba-envirothon/
The Connecticut Envirothon has some interactive resources for the natural resource areas: http://ctenvirothon.org/study-guides/
Forests Ontario has some Envirothon-specific training videos: https://www.forestsontario.ca/education/programs/ontario-envirothon/study/envirothon-webinars
Ontario Envirothon hosted a Virtual Lab with training videos and activities on the five subject areas of Envirothon. Check out their resources here: https://www.forestsontario.ca/blog/2020/05/11/welcome-to-the-ontario-envirothon-virtual-lab/

General Environmental Science Resources:

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) has a Conservation Education Hub with a variety of resources. Some resources are listed for grades K-8, but can be adapted for high school students: https://www.nacdnet.org/conservation-education-hub/
The North American Association of Environmental Educators (NAAEE) has compiled lists of environmental resources: https://naaee.org/our-work/programs/covid-19-resources-tips-and-support
Project Learning Tree has resources available focusing on plants and forests: https://www.plt.org/
Project WET has some lesson plans and resources available for Aquatic Ecology and other water-related topics: https://www.projectwet.org/resources
Project WILD has some guidelines for field activities: https://www.fishwildlife.org/projectwild/remote-wild
The North Carolina Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs has several links on their resources page as well as a searchable online resource database: https://www.eenorthcarolina.org/resources/curriculum-and-lesson-plans
The National Science Teaching Association has many resources available: https://www.nsta.org/
The US EPA has some activities available: https://www.epa.gov/new-bedford-harbor/environmental-education-resources-teachers-and-students
National Environmental Education Foundation has some home-based learning resources and some educator toolkits: https://www.neefusa.org/education
Ashoka and General Motors “Our Planet, Our Purpose: STEM for Changemaking” Challenge: https://stem.ashoka.org/