Journey North is a year-long, free nature adventure event for youth. The major activity season for Journey North actually kicks off in February but kids can join up at any time. Through May (and beyond) there’s plenty of learning and fun to be had.

WHAT IS JOURNEY NORTH?

A North American adventure for kids that allows them to log-in online (for free) and participate in a safe website experience that offers a, “Global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change.” Students K-12, chat and post about their personal nature field observations with other students across the country. Homeschoolers or unschoolers will really enjoy this project as well.

The site is totally kid-safe and encourages youth to observe various natural changes in their local community as they occur throughout the year. For example, kids learn how to watch for and track things like the life and migration patterns of animals (monarch butterflies, robins, hummingbirds, whooping cranes, gray whales, and bald eagles to name a few), newly sprouting plants, weather changes and much more.

Journey North gives students a view into local natural worlds that they might not otherwise get to learn about. For example, a kid living in New York can get a taste of Oregon wildlife and vice vs.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED:

Kids can head over to Journey North and register for free. Young children will need an adult helper to get them set-up because while reading ability is not required to participate, there is some reading involved. Then there’s an easy orientation and afterward kids can join up with one or more of the many projects happening at the site.

While Journey North is not a “green” by name program, it is a great way to get kids involved with the natural world – and kids who adore their world are far more likely to preserve it.

Visit Journey North.

Is you family already signed on with Journey North? If so, tell me what you think in the comments.

[images via stock.xchng & Journey North]

If you’re into green living then you’ve most likely heard of No Impact Man. If not watch the trailer below then keep reading for info about a nice little environmental education curriculum package you can score from the No Impact Project website.

The No Impact Project website is a supplement to the film and contains plenty of information that can help you lower your eco-impact, including a cool Environmental Education Curriculum for Middle and High School Teachers. I think it’s a great idea for homeschoolers as well.

The fact that people have been drawn in positive ways to green living through the film made it clear that the movie and book would make great tools for eco-education, so the No Impact Project website released it’s own set of learning tools for middle school and high school teachers and students.

This curriculum uses No Impact Man and the ideas behind it to help promote green living to middle and high school students, allowing them to explore the effects their everyday behavior has on the environment, their health, and their well-being. Further perks of the tools include challenges for students about how the systems in our present society influence our lifestyle choices in ways that often are not good for environment and overall the learning tools can help guide students to take action both individually and with others to bring about positive change.

Lesson Plan Features:

• All the curriculum tools are totally FREE.
• Each of the various curriculum sets can be used alone or in combo with the other plans.
• The tools are grounded in curriculum standards for Social Studies, English/Language Arts, and other subject areas.
• All can be taught in one 50-minute class period.
• The program is designed for use in grades 6-12, but parents or teachers could easily adapt the tools for older and younger students.

Lesson Plan Summary:

The five lesson plans in our environmental education curriculum address the following topics:

• Consumption
• Energy
• Food
• Transportation
• Water

You do have to register in order to receive the printer-friendly curriculum and access to the film clips and book passages.However, you only need to register once at our site, and it will only take a minute. This is a great free set of tools if you’re looking for a way to incorporate green living topics into your child’s school or into a homeschooling program.