COUNCIL OF OUTDOOR LEARNING
Step 3: Conduct a Schoolyard Inventory (Audit) and Make a Plan
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How can you know what you need, before you know what you've got? Schoolyard inventories or school-wide environmental audits are ways to recognize assets or resources and identify missing elements for an outdoor learning program on campus. Students learn a lot by collecting and analyzing data, which can be used to prioritize future physical improvements or student-directed projects. Here are several types of inventories to consider. Organizations such as the Environmental Education Alliance may be able to recommend a professional who can walk the property and make recommendations about your outdoor learning space.
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EcoSchools USA Schoolyard Habitats Audit
This audit was designed to help students and teachers determine whether there are areas on campus that could support native wildlife. The process involves identifying essential components of a healthy habitat and then surveying the schoolyard to search for them. If there are some areas with potential but missing components, it is suggested that these gaps might generate ideas for student projects.
What's Good in My Hood
This is an asset-based neighborhood workbook for investigating urban communities. Author Akiima Price intends for students to conduct the audit to learn more about their community and how it connects with nature. Learn more about Akiima Price and the Urban Environmental Collective.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Schoolyard Habitat Project Guide
Other Inventory and Audit Models
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NWF Pathways
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ecoRise Eco-Audits
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Roots & Shoots Audits
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GSNN "Greenprint"
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The National Wildlife Federation offers a number of audit pathways that student teams can use to assess sustainability.
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ecoRise provides grants for conducting "eco-audits" of schools and using audit results to identify student projects.
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Community mapping and auditing is part of the Jane Goodall Roots & Shoots process for identifying and implementing projects.
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The Green Schools National Network offers an investigation framework and "greenprint" for becoming more sustainable.
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EPA School Siting Guidelines
This School Siting Guidance from EPA clarifies suitable locations in environmental health terms.
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Green Schools Initiative Quiz
The Green Schools Initiative offers this assessment in a report card format. If you score 31+ out of 73 points, submit your school profile for Honor Roll recognition.
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Project Learning Tree
PLT's School Investigation includes five explorations for students to complete ~
natural habitats, wildlife, trees, grounds maintenance, and ways to improve the site. |
Tree Inventory
A Tree Inventory identifies specific trees (example: iTree) and Tree Canopy Assessment estimates percentage of land shaded (example fr PlanItGeo).
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Make a Concept Plan
Drawing on your survey responses, map of campus assets and needs, any schoolyard inventories or environmental audits that students conduct, and any design constraints (such as avoiding planned locations for future buildings or modular classrooms, locations of underground utilities, and safety hazards), create a concept plan that spotlights the best natural resources you have on campus and prioritizes the most highly-needed improvements. Divide the plan into phases and further divide the phases into "bite-sized chunks" (individual projects) that volunteers, civic groups, and the school community can tackle in one workday. Write up a description for each individual project so the school has an easy-to-follow priority list for work to be done in outdoor learning spaces.
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The Council of Outdoor Learning (CoOL) is an EEA initiative that focuses on the design, development, use, and sustainability of outdoor learning environments on school campuses. CoOL provides tips and techniques for those who want to create outdoor classrooms or learning stations, hosts an annual symposium to share resources and strategies for teaching outdoors, curates a collection of outdoor learning activities that are integrated with state standards, and provides professional learning workshops, resources and webinars for teachers and non-formal educators.
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Join the EEA team! We are hiring a Communications and Events Specialist. Learn more and apply HERE
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Environmental Education Alliance, Inc.
P.O. Box 801066 | Acworth, GA 30101 EEA does not does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in its program , activities, or employment. For more information on EEA's non-discrimination commitment click here . Grievance officer may be contacted at [email protected] |