ThinkWater is a national campaign supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help people of all backgrounds and ages think and care deeply about water. It does so by applying systems thinking to existing water education and research efforts and by actively engaging people in a new way around water issues. Resources for educators include videos, infographics, and lesson plans.

The National Park Service supports libraries and librarians in-person and online. Even if a library is too far from a park or the park is not able to provide a ranger, the wide range of resources available at NPS.gov can help capture the imaginations and deepen the curiosity of library patrons.

Librarians may use historic sites found on the National Register of Historic Places to make meaningful programs by connecting book topics with historic places, including local historic sites. Programs grounded in a real historic place take advantage of a patron's existing knowledge or emotional connections. The result can be a powerful library experience.

Slow Food USA is currently developing a three part Good, Clean, and Fair School Garden Curriculum. The “Good” Curriculum focuses on enjoying the pleasures of healthy and delicious food; the “Clean” Curriculum teaches gardening for sustainability; and the “Fair” Curriculum (still in development) covers producing food that respects economic and social justice. Together, they provide a full range of activities centered around the garden, including tasting activities, cooking with garden produce, sustainable gardening, studying food systems, and activities that promote access to affordable fresh food. Learn more about Slow Food USA’s National School Garden Program and download the “Good” and “Clean” curricula here.

Out Teach works with districts and schools to create the effective professional development programs and rich outdoor learning environments they need to unlock student performance with the power of outdoor experiential learning.

The World’s Largest Lesson was developed by Project Everyone to introduce the United Nations’ Global Goals for Sustainable Development to children and young people and unite them in action to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change. Visit the website to learn more about this project, find resources and lesson plans for each of the 17 goals, and to learn how you can join this global effort.

The Natural Inquirer program produces a variety of science education materials for PreK through grade 12. Natural Inquirer products are produced by the Forest Service, the Cradle of Forestry in America Interpretive Association (CFAIA), and other cooperators and partners. Their website includes lesson plans, activities, and resources for teachers as well as games, videos, and activities for kids.

Publications include:
(1) Investi-gator is a free science journal written for upper elementary level students. The journal follows the same format as Natural Inquirer just written at a different level.
(2) The Natural Inquirer Reader series was developed to meet the needs of PreK through second grade students. Each Reader focuses on one Forest Service scientist and their research. Readers contain glossaries, activities, and are correlated to National Education Standards.

Founded in 1991, Jane Goodall`s Roots and Shoots is a youth service program for young people of all ages. Through this program, youth lead local change through service campaigns while developing skills and traits of compassionate leaders. Students can choose from one of the suggested campaigns on the website or design their own. Educators will find all the tools and resources they need to implement a Roots & Shoots service campaign at their school and can search the website for projects that have been completed by students around the worlds.

A zero energy building, or ZEB, is an energy-efficient building where, on a source energy basis, the actual annual delivered energy is less than or equal to the onsite renewable exported energy.

SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators is committed to ensuring all children have the opportunity to lead healthy, physically active lives. SHAPE America has developed guidelines for physical activity and physical education in schools, and their National Standards for K-12 Physical Education serve as a foundation for physical education programs across the country. You can access both standards and guidelines on their website, in addition to helpful resources, tools, and professional development opportunities to help make physical activity a core component at your school.

Responsive Classroom is an evidence-based approach that emphasizes social, emotional, and academic growth in a strong and safe school community. Developed by classroom teachers, this approach gives K-8 educators the skills they need to help students build academic and social-emotional competencies. Visit their website to learn more about the broad array of consulting services and professional development opportunities they offer, including one-day and multi-day workshops; on-site, whole school professional development and consultation; teacher certification; and free online resources.

The National Academy of Healthy and Physical Literacy is a diverse organization that seeks to advance health and physical literacy in our society, especially in K-12 schools, higher education, and in dance and sport venues. NAHPL seeks to grow and advance professional leaders who will interact and network on regional, national and global levels to expand health and physical literacy opportunities for all children and adults.

MindUp is a product of The Hawn Foundation and was developed to help children build personal resilience, develop positive behavior, and improve learning and scholastic performance. Grounded in the pillars of Neuroscience, Positive Psychology, Mindful Behavior, and Social-Emotional Learning, the program consists of 15 lessons that are tailored to a child’s age group and development level. Each lesson offers students mindful strategies that can increase self-control, focus, empathy, and optimism. Visit the MindUp website to learn more about the lessons, pricing, and to view related research and white papers.

Mindful Schools is nonprofit training organization that offers online and in-person courses, multimedia content, informative articles, and a network of mindful educators spanning all 50 U.S. states and 100+ countries.

HealthCorps is a nonprofit that gives teens tools to improve physical and mental health so they can learn to live more productive and happier lives. The organization offers two programs: Living Labs, where a HealthCorps Coordinator is placed inside a high need high school to teach wellness related classes; and HealthCorps University, which provides one to two day professional development trainings in the HealthCorps curriculum for educators and key organizational personnel.

HealthCorps’ curriculum provides turnkey skills to integrate health and wellness into an organization’s current programming, and represents lessons from over a decade of work and research in many of America’s most challenging high schools. The curriculum has been refined and developed since 2003, is aligned to National Health Education Standards, and has been vetted through a board of medical experts. The curriculum is free and can be downloaded from HealthCorps’ website, where you can also read about program success stories, view videos, and find healthy recipes.

FoodSpan is a free, downloadable high school curriculum that highlights critical issues in the food system; stimulates debate about food system topics related to human health, the environment, equity, and animal welfare; and empowers students to be food citizens. It is aligned to national education standards in science, social studies, health, and family and consumer sciences. This curriculum was developed by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future as an outgrowth of its work to help build a healthier, more equitable, and more resilient food system.

Empowering Education is a nonprofit dedicated to bringing comprehensive, mindfulness-based social-emotional learning to K-12 schools. Their products and services include: a standards-aligned, evidence-based K-8 curriculum Empowering Minds; engaging professional development opportunities; school-wide implementation guidance and coaching; school-family partnership assistance and programming; and Whole Child support consulting. Free samples lessons are available on their website.

ChopChop Kids, the publisher of ChopChop Magazine, was founded in 2010 to inspire and teach children and families to cook real food together. Through its namesake magazine, ChopChop reaches more than two million families annually. The magazine is available in English and Spanish and offers nutritious, great-tasting, ethnically diverse, and inexpensive recipes, as well as interesting and little-known food facts, Q&As, and games. The magazine is distributed to schools to teach students about food, cooking, nutrition, and health. A complementary curriculum has been developed with classroom activities, printables, and lessons in math, science, ELA, and social studies that are aligned to national standards.

The Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin – Madison conducts rigorous scientific research to bring new insights and tools aimed at improving the well-being of people of all backgrounds and ages, including children in K-12 school settings.

CLEAR partners with education systems to create and sustain trauma–informed models of practice that support integration of trauma informed practices into the school environment. Visit CLEAR’s website to learn more about this unique professional development opportunity, see a list of schools implementing the CLEAR model, and obtain more information about child trauma on their resource webpage. You can also download this CLEAR Trauma-Informed Schools White Paper: A Selected Review of Trauma-Informed School Practice and Alignment with Educational Practice.

CASEL is the world’s leading organization advancing one of the most important fields in education: the practice of promoting integrated academic, social, and emotional learning for all children, from preschool through high school. Visit their website for case studies, research, policy, and resources (including guides, videos, book recommendations, and informative materials) on integrating social-emotional learning in schools.

The Active Design Toolkit for Schools provides ideas and resources to incorporate active design into schools. Although the toolkit was developed to inform school design in New York City, many of the ideas presented in the toolkit can be adapted for use by schools anywhere in the country to improve the success, health, and well-being of their students. The toolkit was developed by the Partnership for a Healthier New York City in collaboration with New York City’s Departments of Health and Mental Hygiene, Education, and Transportation.

Green Schools Alliance is an international organization that advances student success and saves schools resources by fostering whole school sustainability. Originally developed as a network created by schools for schools, the Alliance has evolved to provide integrated and organized support to students, school professionals, schools, and districts to foster sustainability work. Alliance programs are scaled and developed from member ideas to make them more accessible for other member schools. The Alliance conducts work via its international coalition of schools, rooted in the idea that collaboration among schools brings the greatest change for sustainable learning environments and communities. They:

•promote student success through leadership training, project-based learning, and a support system. •inspire school professionals through access to training, resources, and a community of fellow sustainability champions.
•provide schools with tools to accelerate whole school sustainability efforts through collective purchasing power, access to resources, and reporting and recognition systems.
•offer districts the programs to leverage high-volume purchasing power, foster collaborative communication, and gather system-wide information on school efforts.

At EcoRise, we believe in the power of teachers to ignite innovation and the potential of students to design a sustainable future for all. Our school-based program empowers youth to tackle real-world challenges in their schools and communities by teaching sustainability, design innovation, and social entrepreneurship. Over 350 schools have implemented our full program and 1,800 teachers in 26 countries have accessed our educational materials. Our curriculum, classroom grants, ongoing training, and support engages educators and students in meaningful learning experiences. Our program empowers teachers to confidently champion sustainability and innovation in their classroom, while students cultivate 21st century skills and sustainable living practices.

We offer:

• Online and in-person professional development, curriculum, and self-paced resources for green industry connections to K–12 educators, STEM educators, and Project-Based Learning teachers.

• For U.S.-based schools, we award micro grants to student-designed sustainability projects.

• Our committed partnership with like-minded institutions and corporate supporters to expand reach and impact.

Garden clubs around the country partner with schools to help children plan and maintain school gardens. Various programs include the Pollinators Live program, which engages students and teachers in creating diverse school gardens that incorporate native plants to attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other native pollinators. Learn more about National Garden Clubs' programming for schools.

The Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation or CELF (www.celfeducation.org) provides consulting services, training programs, and educational programs for teachers, students, and communities to promote sustainability education in K-12 curriculum, decision-making, civic engagement, community partnerships, and school campus practices. Both standard and customized programs are available.

The NOAA Office of Education has issued a competitive funding opportunity for education projects designed to strengthen K-12 students’ environmental literacy so they can make informed decisions for community resilience to extreme weather events and other environmental hazards. Successful projects will advance NOAA’s mission and build the environmental literacy necessary for community resilience by focusing on geographic awareness and an understanding of Earth systems and the threats and vulnerabilities that are associated with a community’s location. Proposed projects should be 2-5 years long and have total budget requests of $250,000 to $500,000 for the duration of the project.

Project Orange Thumb, sponsored by Fiskars, is dedicated to supporting the community garden movement throughout the U.S. and Canada. Fiskars’ Project Orange Thumb garden grants provide tools and resources to help communities reach their goals for neighborhood beautification, community collaboration, and healthy, sustainable food sources. Project Orange Thumb is intended to promote new garden spaces and garden expansions. Nonprofit organizations, public schools, and municipalities in the U.S. and Canada are eligible to apply.