Empowering Tomorrow's Decision-Makers: EnviroAtlas and Ecosystem Services in the Classroom
Citation:
Hartley, J. AND J. Daniel. Empowering Tomorrow's Decision-Makers: EnviroAtlas and Ecosystem Services in the Classroom. ACES Conference 2018, Washington, DC, December 03 - 06, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
Presentation covering the suite of EnviroAtlas lesson plan packages, including the three that are currently available for varying grade levels and others that are in development.
Description:
Interactive web tools provide rich learning experiences for students of all levels. U.S. EPA’s EnviroAtlas contains two primary tools for exploring ecosystem goods and services: An Interactive Map, which provides access to 300+ maps at multiple extents for the U.S., and an Eco-Health Relationship Browser, which displays evidence from hundreds of scientific publications on the linkages between ecosystems, the services they provide, and human health. This talk introduces a suite of educational activities that have been designed for use with the tools in EnviroAtlas for students K-undergraduate. Over the course of two years, the EnviroAtlas educational activities were developed alongside 20 classroom teachers, ranging from K-5 teachers, AIG and ESL teachers, middle school teachers, high school teachers, and STEM coaches and science outreach representatives. Classroom visits took place in over 30 schools, complete with lesson plan pilots, feedback, and edits from teachers. These educational activities encourage critical thinking and engage students and community users in a variety of ways, from connecting with the outdoors to exploring high-tech tools online. In the “Building a Greenway Case Study” lesson students use available information to guide collaborative decision-making using maps and available data. “Connecting Ecosystems and Human Health” shows eco-health linkages that are particularly important for vulnerable communities using an engaging, hands-on activity. To date, the educational activities have been conducted with over 2,340 participants, of which 1,500 were students, and 73% of those students were from low-resource schools and programs. Centered on ecosystem services, these EnviroAtlas educational materials encourage a systems approach to thinking about the world. By learning through this approach, students can gain a more holistic view of study topics and see real world applications of specific science disciplines while also learning how to use freely available online tools. This talk will cover the suite of EnviroAtlas lesson plan packages, including the three that are currently available for varying grade levels and others that are in development. All lesson plans are freely available for download at https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-educational-materials. This abstract has been reviewed and approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Its contents do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Agency.
