{Environmental Education Logos}

Find out how to bring these resources into your classroom or program by attending one of the Department of Environmental Protection's interesting teacher workshops

Project Learning Tree  uses the forest as a "window on the world" to increase students’ understanding of our complex environment; to stimulate critical and creative thinking; to develop the ability to make informed decisions on environmental issues; and to instill the confidence and commitment to take responsible action on behalf of the environment. PLT is a comprehensive environmental education curriculum. It is not just about trees; it is about the total environment: land, air and water. PLT is local, national and global in scope. To learn more about this program, email Diane Joy or call (203) 734-2513.  National PLT website

Project WILD emphasizes wildlife and habitat. Aquatic WILD focuses on aquatic wildlife and aquatic ecosystems. WILD materials are used indoors or outdoors and include a mix of activities for independent exploration, cooperative learning, and full group instruction. Materials are appropriate for use by formal classroom teachers as well as by people who work with and teach youth outside the formal classroom setting. To learn more about this program, email Diane Joy or call (203) 734-2513.   National WILD website

Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) explores people's relationships to water. The 516-page curriculum guide is full of activities that are hands-on, easy to use and fun! Activities incorporate a variety of learning formats, such as large and small group learning, whole body activities and laboratory investigations. The WET curriculum itself covers the full spectrum of water-related topics and concepts, from water's role in the social and cultural contexts of our lives to its existence as a managed resource and an essential ingredient of life throughout all Earth systems. These activities promote critical thinking and problem solving skills. To learn more about this program, email Susan Quincy or call (203) 734-2513.  National Project WET website For the list of Project Wet activities that correlate to the CT Science Curriculum Framework, please visit Project Wet Science Correlations.

Classroom FeederWatch has students across the country watching and counting winter feeder birds such as Northern Cardinals, Black-capped Chickadees and Downy Woodpeckers and reporting their results to the Cornell Lab. of Ornithology. Some classes even write their own scientific article about their own results and get published in Cornell’s newsletter "Classroom Birdscope". The Kellogg Environmental Center provides teacher training for this integrated science project and curriculum. To learn more about this program, call (203) 734-2513.  National Classroom FeederWatch website 

Schoolyard Habitat Network is a Connecticut-based collaborative effort dedicated to promoting hands-on environmental education on school property. Using schoolyard property to create 'outdoor classrooms' gets children excited about learning in a way that few other approaches can, while cutting costs for field trips. Math, science, art, history and all disciplines come alive for the children as they experience them by measuring a tree, writing a poem, experimenting with gravity, or understanding that stone walls are part of the history of agriculture in Connecticut. To learn more about this program, email Diane Joy or call (203) 734-2513.  Connecticut Schoolyard Habitat Network website

Project SEARCH began in1994 when the National Science Foundation awarded a teacher enhancement grant to the CT DEP and the Science Center of Connecticut. Since then, public and private high schools throughout Connecticut have been trained and equipped to conduct stream water quality monitoring and data analysis. The data that SEARCH students collect from local rivers and streams are submitted to the CT DEP and municipal officials. While generating useful information, students learn important lessons in earth and environmental science, biology, chemistry, geography and mathematics. They also gain an opportunity to use state of the art field techniques in the collection and interpretation of scientific data. We are pleased to invite you to participate in the SEARCH program and help Connecticut students increase their proficiency in science, mathematics and technology. For further information, please email Erin McCollum or call (860) 424-3090.  Project Search website  

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection is the official state sponsor of Project Learning Tree; Food, Land and People; Project WILD; Aquatic WILD; and Project WET. The DEP partners with other organizations to support Schoolyard Habitat Network, Classroom FeederWatch, and Project Search.

Content Last Updated July 2009