From the Executive Director: Citizen Science Fosters Deep Connections to Learning and Ecosystems
 
Fostering student engagement is a perennial challenge faced by many educators, including those who are adopting place-based, project-based, and sustainability learning in their classrooms. How can I make my lessons rich and meaningful to students while satisfying the state and national standards that I am required to meet? Service learning is a great way to connect curriculum with the students' communities; however, what about connections to the non-human world, to nature? In a world where many children are happier with a tablet rather than a compass in hand, how can we connect them to the ecosystems that sustain us all? 
Urban Tree Canopy Project Bridges Community and Curriculum

Meghan Raftery, School/Community Partnerships Coordinator for Virginia Beach City Public Schools, shares how a single, beloved tree sparked a call to action for students to increase the number of trees on school grounds and invite the community into the classroom. 
From Inspiration to Action - Nature's Notebook: A Green Schools Citizen Science Ecology Project

LoriAnne Barnett, Education Coordinator at the USA National Phenology Network, discusses the educational and real world benefits of participating in Nature's Notebook, as well as the experience of one elementary school that is participating in the program. 
Enhancing Life Science Education with Project BudBurst

Katherine Johnson, Youth Education Director for the Chicago Botanic Garden, discusses how the citizen science program Project BudBurst can be used to bring science to life in the classroom through the study of a plant's life cycle.  
Be a BirdSleuth! Citizen Science and Outdoor Investigation in Your Green Space

Jennifer Fee, Manager of K-12 Programs at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, along with co-authors Barbara Jacobs-Smith and Britta Culberson, share ideas and resources for using birds as a focal point for citizen science in the classroom.
Study of Monarch Butterflies Inspires Life Changing Experiences for Students

Matt Tucker, Education Coordinator for Monarch Watch, discusses how the popular citizen science program is teaching students about Monarch migration, as well as compassion for butterflies and the natural world.
Science Action Clubs Use Citizen Science to Engage Students in STEM
 
Katie Levedahl, Director of Informal Learning at the California Academy of Sciences, discusses how the creation of Science Action Clubs are empowering youth across the country to use STEM skills to help scientists answer questions about our natural world.
Tackling Invasive Species Using Citizen Science

Connecting student's fieldwork to professional scientists creates real-life results.  Reprinted with permission from Green Teacher magazine and originally authored by Sarah Morrisseau and Christine Voyer. 
W rite for GreenNotes!

Green Schools National Network is seeking guest authors for its newsletter, GreenNotes.  Learn more about our upcoming topics and how you can contribute. 
GSNN Educator's Toolbox: Professional Development, Resources, Grants, and Awards for January

The latest news on professional development, resources, grants, and awards for January.  



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