Greening School Grounds: Creating Habitats for Learning

Nikki Tate-Stratton writes novels for preteens. Her most recent books
are Jo’s Triumph, Raven’s Revenge, and Tarragon Island.

Compiled by the editors of Green Teacher magazine, these two books offer
a broad range of activities designed to bring a deeper understanding of
environmental issues to students at all grade levels.

Teaching About Climate Change focuses on global warning. The first
section of the book includes background information as well as
activities and experiments to help students understand key concepts
about the causes and mechanisms of global warming. Subsequent chapters
look at alternative energy sources (for example, instructions are
provided for building solar ovens and cars), transportation
alternatives, and improving the energy efficiency of homes and schools.

Greening School Grounds is a compilation of suggestions for
transforming unsightly paved school grounds into environmentally
friendly and esthetically pleasing green spaces. This comprehensive
guidebook uses real-life examples to illustrate how greening schoolyards
affects students and communities; how to organize, fund, and implement a
greening program; and examples of many different types of green
schoolyards. Attracting wildlife, water features, safety concerns, and
learning opportunities in the outdoor classroom are all explored in
considerable detail.

Both books include articles submitted by teachers in Canada, the United
States, Australia, Brazil, and Great Britain. These articles are
thoughtful, informative, and clearly written. The balance between theory
and practice is excellent, with comprehensive references, lists of
organizations, and resources provided for anyone needing additional
information on particular topics. The activities have been carefully
selected to be useful to teachers at all grade levels and across
curriculum areas. Diagrams, charts, tables, and line drawings clarify
instructions and information provided in the text. Subject and
curriculum indexes make it easy to find appropriate classroom
activities.

What these volumes may lack in flashy presentation (don’t look for
glossy paper or color photos), they more than make up for in accessible,
useful information supported by the real-world experiences of teachers.