Environmental Education Resources for the Rocky Mountains and Plains

USEE Directory

Welcome to Utah's on-line, searchable EE database. The purpose of this database is to improve access to Environmental Education: materials, programs, sites, events, and personnel. The on-line EE database is a project of USEE, with support from CAEE, EE-Link, and the U.S. Forest Service.

http://www.usee.org/database.html

MEEA Directory

Welcome to the Montana Environmental Education Association, where you can learn about resources available to Montana environmental educators and find great things for kids to do outdoors.

http://www.eelink.net/cgi-bin/risee/mteea/start?id

North Dakota's Coalition for Conservation and Environmental Education 

The Coalition for Conservation and Environmental Education (C2E2) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that facilitates communication, cooperation, collaboration and coordination among the varied environmental education programs in the state. We are a diverse group of stakeholders (over sixty public and private organizations, agencies and individuals concerned about responsible environmental education) committed to strengthening environmental education by sharing ideas, forging new partnerships, enhancing communication and leveraging scarce resources. The mission of the Coalition is to "prepare stewards of all ages with skills to evaluate issues; make informed choices; act responsibly; and take corrective steps to maintain a sustainable, quality environment for present and future generations."

http://c2e2.gscience.org

Environment Education Connections of South Dakota

Connecting people with environmental education resources through professional development, networking, capacity building and educational outreach.

http://www.bhsu.edu/education/eecsd/

Fire Education

BLM:

Welcome to the 2006-2007 school year eFieldTrip on the role of fire in nature sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management. This eFieldTrip is the latest educational outreach program in the Bureau of Land Management's "Share the Adventure" series.
We are excited to have you be a part of our efforts to provide students nationwide with a quality educational experience. We have designed our eFieldTrip to meet national education standards and to provide an engaging format that keeps a student's interest. There is no cost to your school.

The eFieldTrip consists of three major components:

eFieldTrip Journal
Virtual Visit
Posting Questions via the Ask the Experts Web Form 

http://www.efieldtrips.org/Fire/

Project Learning Tree:

Resources for Activity 7: Understanding Fire

Overview
Students will explore the patterns of change brought about by fires in a forest ecosystem. They will also examine the environmental, social, and political factors that influence forest- use decisions. Students will develop a broad perspective on the nature of forest fires and how public and private sectors of society are affected by them.

Subjects: Ecology, Environmental Science, Math, Social Studies.

Resources for Activity 8: Fire Management

Overview
Students will learn about the many interdependencies of forests and fire in healthy ecosystems. They will research plant and animal species that depend on fire, and will determine some of their relationships. They will also look at problems that occur when humans live in or near forested areas.

Subjects: Environmental Science, Ecology, Social Studies.

http://www.plt.org/cms/pages/
21_21_192.html

http://www.plt.org/CMS/pages/
21_21_193.html

Water Education

Where Do Mountain Raindrops Go?
"Where Do Mountain Raindrops Go?" is a collection of kids' mountain ground water activities designed at the 4th to 5th- grade level.

http://www.co.jefferson.co.us/planning/
planning_T59_R36.htm

Elk Education

This guide was created in partnership with Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. WILD About Elk provides a summary of the biology and ecology of elk. Topics addressed include elk's physical characteristics and adaptations, habitat and historical range, behavior, life cycles, social structure, migratory patterns, and the present and historical relationships between elk and humans. A primary message woven throughout the guide is the importance of habitat to the elk's survival. Activities in the guide assist educators in helping their students learn about elk and their habitat. A resource list facilitates further exploration of issues affecting elk.

http://www.projectwild.org/
WILDAboutElkEducatorGuide.htm

Yellowstone National Park Education 

Explore our award winning electronic field trips! Since 2001, Yellowstone has been offering eTrips to share the resources and treasures of the world's first national park. Embark on these exciting adventures and look through new Windows Into Wonderland.

http://www.windowsintowonderland.org/

Glacier Park Traveling Trunks

Glacier National Park has 4 educational trunks that are available for check-out. Trunks are a great way to bring props and materials that are otherwise hard to find to your classroom. There are ideas for stand-alone activities as well as materials that can supplement your own classroom curriculum ideas. Each trunk has a wealth of props and ideas and includes lesson plans that fit Montana Content and Performance Standards for science, math, language arts, music, art, health and wellness, and social studies. Trunks are a fantastic resource for students from pre-K to 12th grade. 

All of Glacier's traveling trunks are free of charge and can be borrowed for two weeks at a time. To borrow a trunk contact Glacier's Education Specialist.

FireWorks Trunk
The Fireworks trunk teaches students about the physical and chemical properties of fire as well as the role of wildfire in our western landscape. This trunk is packed with exciting experiments, a felt board, wall posters, an interactive CD highlighting native uses of fire, and much more!

Songbird Kit
This dynamic songbird kit is geared for the classroom as well as outdoors. Resource materials, activities, videos, a felt storyboard, posters, recorded bird songs, and puppets all help students learn more about the natural history of several songbirds.

Wolf Trunk
The wolf trunk includes pelts, skulls, and prey fur samples. There are also tapes of wolf howls, videos, track casts and an activity guide. This trunk is geared for elementary age students and great for learning about predator/prey relationships and food chains.

Bear Trunk
Background material, research guides, and props included in the bear trunk help facilitate discussions about bears of the world, their habitats, and food sources. Emphasis is on black and grizzly bears, including how to tell them apart and how to hike/camp safely in bear country. An activity guide and sample lesson plans are included. Upper grades will benefit from additional materials available on the web.

http://www.nps.gov/glac/forteachers/
travellingtrunks.htm

ECOS Guide to the Ecology of the Northern Rockies 

As part of the ECOS program at the University of Montana, this website is being developed to provide a comprehensive guide to the plants and animals of the Northern Rockies of western Montana with a particular focus on schoolyards and surrounding local natural areas in Ravalli and Missoula Counties.

http://www.bioed.org/nhguide/

Connecting Cultures & Classrooms: A K-12 Curriculum Guide

This curriculum guide is but one of the resources that the Montana Office of Public Instruction is
providing to help teachers implement Indian Education for All. The philosophy of this
document promotes the use of Indian literature as an instructional tool. There are no textbooks
presently for including aspects of Montana Indian cultures into the K-12 school curricula, but
there is a body of Indian literature written and/or reviewed by Indian people that can supplement
regular textbooks and help to teach state standards as well as provide knowledge about Indian people and their views in regard to academic content.

See the science section starting on page 35

http://www.opi.mt.gov/pdf/indianed/
ConnectingCultures.pdf (PDF, 197pp, 735 KB, About PDF Files)

Montana's Adopt-A-Fish Program 

Montana's Adopt-A-Fish Program integrates research projects in western, central and eastern Montana to educational programs that promote native and sport fish conservation. These programs link research emphasizing native fish to schoolchildren in rural Montana schools.

http://fwp.mt.gov/education/adoptafish/
default.html

Heart of the Rockies

Rocky Mountain National Park is an ideal outdoor classroom for students of all ages. Please go to the www.HEARTOFTHEROCKIES.net site for comprehensive information on planning educational and youth-oriented trips to Rocky Mountain National Park. At the expanded site teachers can find free lessons and activities, download photos and resources, and link to authentic research designed to meet learning standards. Learn how to arrange classroom visits by a ranger, and to reserve time at park facilities.

http://www.HEARTOFTHEROCKIES.net