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Resources for Educators

Are you interested in helping your students or summer campers spend more time outdoors but have limited resources? At Prescribe Outside, our free events focus on creating safe and enjoyable connections with the outdoors. We invite larger groups to contact us directly to discuss needs and accommodations. To learn more, contact us at [email protected].

Additional Resources

Explore additional resources to promote health and wellness in your local education system:

Activities and Lesson Plans

The Cornell Lab
The Cornell Lab has created an adaptable activity book designed to be used by families, school groups, and anyone looking for a fun way to connect to nature. This guide is available for download in both English and Spanish.

Mass Audubon Resources for Teachers
Mass Audubon has created a bank of resources for teachers including lesson plans, professional development trainings, and workshops.

National Environmental Education Foundation
The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) is the nation’s leading organization in lifelong environmental learning, connecting people to the knowledge they use to improve the quality of their lives and the health of the planet. They provide toolkits for educators that include activity guides, lesson plans, and other materials.

Outdoor Classroom Day
Outdoor Classroom Day has created a bank of lesson plans that encourage educators to take their students outdoors to learn various subjects for a variety of ages.

Books

Check out these books at the Free Library of Philadelphia

For Children

  • Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel
  • The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
  • The Wump World Bill Peet
  • Fishing in the Air by Sharon Creech and Chris Raschka
  • Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
  • Butterfly Park by Elly McKay
  • Finding Wild by Megan Wagner Lloyd
  • A Walk in the Forest by Maria Dek

 

For Adults

  • Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
  • Vitamin N by Richard Louv
  • The Nature Fix by Florence Williams
  • Forest Bathing by Dr. Qing Li
  • The Biophilia Effect by Clemens G Arvay

Nature Pedagogy and Tips

Natural Wonders
This guide to early childhood environmental education provides educators with a basis in the relationship between childhood development and appropriate environmental educational activities and pedagogical tools.

Cooperative Ecology and Place: Development of a Pedagogy of Place Curriculum
This PDF discusses the theory behind the benefits of learning in and from the outdoors.