Nature Near Schools Program
Nature Near Schools is an environmental literacy program for 4th grade students at Title I D.C. public and public charter schools that focuses on watershed education and schoolyard field investigations. During SY25-26, Urban Adventure Squad, Casey Trees, Anacostia Watershed Society, Living Classrooms, and Nature Forward are bringing this programming to over 1,100 students at 27 schools thanks to funding from the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment.
Nature Near Schools is an environmental literacy program for 4th grade students at Title I D.C. public and public charter schools that focuses on watershed education and schoolyard field investigations. During SY25-26, Urban Adventure Squad, Casey Trees, Anacostia Watershed Society, Living Classrooms, and Nature Forward are bringing this programming to over 1,100 students at 27 schools thanks to funding from the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment.
UAS educators lead five experiences for each of our eight partner schools:
Cleveland Elementary
DC Prep Edgewood Campus
Garrison Elementary
John Francis Education Campus
John Lewis Elementary
Marie Reed Elementary
Whittier Elementary
Van Ness Elementary
Experience 1: What is a Watershed? (October) Students use map skills to identify the watershed where their school is located and look at how all the waterways in D.C. are connected. Then, they conduct a field investigation to determine which schoolyard surfaces are pervious and impervious, and hypothesize what that means for stormwater runoff and pollution in their watershed.
Experience 2: Pollution Solutions (November) Students complete a Trash Timeline activity to determine which types of litter decompose slowest to fastest. Next, they conduct a mini litter cleanup in their schoolyard and collect data on which kinds of litter they're finding. A post-cleanup trash audit reveals which material they're seeing most commonly. Students identify the major sources of litter in their neighborhood and brainstorm ways they can minimize pollution in their everyday lives at school and at home.
Experience 3: Habitat and Human Impact (winter or spring) Classes head out on an off-campus walking field trip to a local green space or river to study how humans have positively and negatively impacted the urban ecosystem. Students practice tree and bird identification, learn about the role of rivers and creeks in the lives of the Nacotchtank Native Americans, observe signs of weathering and erosion, and study micro habitats like leaf litter, tree canopy, riverbanks, and snags.
Experience 4: Student Action Project Planning (Feb or March) Students use all that they've learned to work together and identify an environmental issue impacting their local watershed. They develop an action project that addresses this issue, create a list of materials needed, and decide upon a timeline for completion.
Experience 5: Student Action Project Completion (March or April) Students complete their action project! Informed student action is part of the MWEE framework. "MWEE" stands for a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience and includes hands-on field investigations and and informed, student-led action. You can read more about MWEEs on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's NWEE webpage.
#EquitableOutdoorLearning
#ThisIsOutdoorLearning
#CityAsAClassroom
Is your 4th grade teaching team interested in the Nature Near Schools program? Email us!
Cleveland Elementary
DC Prep Edgewood Campus
Garrison Elementary
John Francis Education Campus
John Lewis Elementary
Marie Reed Elementary
Whittier Elementary
Van Ness Elementary
Experience 1: What is a Watershed? (October) Students use map skills to identify the watershed where their school is located and look at how all the waterways in D.C. are connected. Then, they conduct a field investigation to determine which schoolyard surfaces are pervious and impervious, and hypothesize what that means for stormwater runoff and pollution in their watershed.
Experience 2: Pollution Solutions (November) Students complete a Trash Timeline activity to determine which types of litter decompose slowest to fastest. Next, they conduct a mini litter cleanup in their schoolyard and collect data on which kinds of litter they're finding. A post-cleanup trash audit reveals which material they're seeing most commonly. Students identify the major sources of litter in their neighborhood and brainstorm ways they can minimize pollution in their everyday lives at school and at home.
Experience 3: Habitat and Human Impact (winter or spring) Classes head out on an off-campus walking field trip to a local green space or river to study how humans have positively and negatively impacted the urban ecosystem. Students practice tree and bird identification, learn about the role of rivers and creeks in the lives of the Nacotchtank Native Americans, observe signs of weathering and erosion, and study micro habitats like leaf litter, tree canopy, riverbanks, and snags.
Experience 4: Student Action Project Planning (Feb or March) Students use all that they've learned to work together and identify an environmental issue impacting their local watershed. They develop an action project that addresses this issue, create a list of materials needed, and decide upon a timeline for completion.
Experience 5: Student Action Project Completion (March or April) Students complete their action project! Informed student action is part of the MWEE framework. "MWEE" stands for a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience and includes hands-on field investigations and and informed, student-led action. You can read more about MWEEs on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's NWEE webpage.
#EquitableOutdoorLearning
#ThisIsOutdoorLearning
#CityAsAClassroom
Is your 4th grade teaching team interested in the Nature Near Schools program? Email us!
