Resources for Teachers Grades 2-6

Place Based Resources and Citizen Science
Classroom Superhero Kits for Growing a Garden ​​ ​Free native wildflower seeds, growing media, and curriculum guides
Create a School Butterfly Garden A guide for creating a school butterfly garden by Monarch Watch
Find a Butterfly Garden Near You ​​Map of accessible monarch butterfly gardens across NYC
Journey North ​Join students and scientists across North America to track monarch migrations north from Mexico every year.
Monarch Larva Monitoring Project ​​​Join students and scientists across North America to monitor a milkweeds for monarch caterpillars to help us better understand how and why monarch populations vary in time and space.
Online Resources
Kids’ Garden Club

​Activities, projects, and ideas from across the curriculum.

Monarch Watch ​Information and resources to support monarch study and conservation in the classroom and garden.
Live Monarch
Resources for educators including an online store where you can purchase monarch caterpillars, milkweed seeds, rearing chambers.
Monarch Joint Venture ​A large and diverse compilation of resources pertaining to Monarchs.
Soils ​A compilation of resources from GLOBE NY Metro’s “Into the Woods” program.
Trees and Phenology
A compiltion of tree and phenology resources from GLOBE NY Metro’s “Into the Woods” program.
Gardening with NYC Native Plants.pdf ​An introduction to gardening with native plant suggestions for a variety of habitats.
Texts
Monarchs and More
Curriculum Guide
​An interdisciplinary curriculum guide that aligns with the NYS Common Core grades 3-6. Available free for workshop participants.
Great Migrations – National Geographic Reader ​An illustrated reading on Monarchs and their migrations. Available free for workshop participants. 
Butterflies on Carmen Street ​A story about the lives of nine different types of butterflies including: monarchs, viceroys, and giant swallowtails. Available free for workshop participants.​
The Fourth Monarch ​A beautiful poem by Michael Kusen written in tribute to the wonderful Monarch butterfly.

Free Resources from Workshops

Teacher and Students

These resources will be provided free for workshop participants:

Planting and Rearing

Live Monarch Caterpillars

Milkweed Rootstocks (local varieties)

Local Milkweed Seeds and Cuttings

Monarch Rearing Shelters​

Books:

Monarchs and More: An Inquiry and Arthropod Based Curriculum (Grades 1-3 and 3-6)

Mrs Carter’s Butterfly Garden

How to Raise Monarch Butterflies​

Butterflies on Carmen Street​

A list of grants selected by Metropolitan Monarch Alliance and Into the Woods affiliates

Roots and Shoots Mini-Grants
$200 or $400 to start, support, or celebrate service campaigns for people, animals, or the environment in your community.
2017 Grant Cycle due March 31st

Submitted by Mary Leou​

Ezra Keats Foundation Mini-Grants
Up to $500 awarded for student projects that foster creative expression, working together, and interaction with a diverse community.
2017 Grant Cycle Due March 31st

Submitted by Peter Schmidt

Teacher Development Grants with the McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation
Up to $10,000 per year for a maximum of three years to support small teams of teachers to develop and implement groundbreaking k-12 classroom instruction.
2017 Grant Cycle accepted January 15 – April 15; closes after 350 submissions.

Submitted by Peter Schmidt

Academic Enrichment Grants with the McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation
Up to $10,000 per year for a maximum of three years to ​fund programs that “nuture the intellectual, artistic, and creative abilities of children from low-income households.”
2017 Grant Cycle accepted January 15 – April 15; closes after 350 submissions.

Submitted by Peter Schmidt

Golden Apple Awards
Up to $10,000 awarded for exemplary and innovative programs in school gardening, cleanup, reclamation and beautification, recycling and waste prevention. The Golden Apple Awards have few applicants and are seeking more for this grant cycle.
2017 Grant Cycle Due June, 2017

Submitted by Into the Woods Participants

Caryola Creative Leadership Grants 2017
$2,500 and Crayole products valued at $1,000 to support “innovative, creative leadership team building within elementary/middle schools. “Several of you are working hard to rally other teachers to the idea of getting students out of the classroom. This grant may help. Developing a program of integrating outdoor experiences with required classroom expectations certainly qualifies as a new and creative initiative in your schools. Explaining what you are doing and giving examples of what you have done and your future plans go a long way to writing this proposal. That many of you have included drawing into your outdoor related experiences is also a big plus to Crayola.” – Peter Schmidt.
2017 Grant Cycle Due June 23rd, 2017

Submitted by Peter Schmidt

Project Learning Tree Grant for Environmental Education Projects
Up to $1,000 to schools for “environmental service-learning projects that link classroom learning to the real world.” As a prerequite, teachers must have attended a project learning tree training (either online or in person).
2017 Grant Cycle due Sep. 30th, 2017

Submitted by Peter Schmidt

Kids in Need Foundation
Up to $500 to educators in support of learning projects.
2017 Grant Cycle Due Sept. 30th, 2017

Submitted by Peter Schmidt

Captain Planet Foundation Offers Multiple Grants:

Captain Planet Foundation Grants for Env. Education Activities

$500 – $2,500 for projects that promote hands-on environmental stewardship opportunities for youth; serve as a catalyst to getting environment-based education in schools; and inspire youth and communities to participate in community service through environmental stewardship activities.

2017 Grant Cycle due Sep. 30th, 2017

ecoTech Grants
$2,500 for “projects that leverage technology to achieve greater or innovative environmental outcomes.

2017 Grant Deadline March 15th, 2017

ecoSolution Grants
$500-$2,500 to support solution-oriented, youth-led projects that result in real environmental outcomes. ecoSolution Grants are available to educators working with youth in the United States (international projects are by invitation only).”

2017 Grants Presently Accepted. Grant Cycle Ends Sept. 30th, 2017.

ECOSTEM Resource Kit Grants
Curated kits of materials and activities organized into environmental themes (i.e. Renewable energy, water resources, pollination, soil & decomposition.)

Project Learning Garden
Up to $3,000 in support. This program provides schools with strategies for building effective and long-lasting garden-based learning programs. Teachers are provided with hands-on training, curriculum aligned to national standards, lesson kits filled with supplies, a schoolyard garden, fully-equipped garden cooking cart, and strategies for summer garden maintenance.

2018 Grants Accepted July 15th, 2017 through February 20th, 2018

Captain Planet Foundation Small Grants
$500 to 2,500 for hands-on environmental stewardship opportunities for youth; to serve as a catalyst to getting environment-based education in schools; and to inspire youth and communities to participate in community service through environmental stewardship activities.

2017 Grant Cycles Due Sep. 30th, 2017

Target Corporation K-12 Field Trip Grants
Up to $700 to support community service or civic projects; career-enrichment opportunities; field trips to art, science, and cultural museums; or other activities away from school.
2017 Grant Cycle Due Oct. 1st

Submitted by Peter Schmidt
​​
Lowe’s Charitable and Education Foundation RFP
“Raise up to $5,000 for your school in minutes. Aimed at supporting projects which encourage parent involvement in local schools and help build community spirit. One-year grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded in support of projects that have a permanent impact on a school community, such as a facility enhancement (indoor or outdoor) or landscaping/clean-up project.”
2017 Grant Cycle due Feb. 9th, 2017

Submitted by Peter Schmidt

National Weather Association Sol Hirsch Education Fund Grants​
Up to $750 to “support projects aimed at improving K-12 education in meteorology and related sciences.”
2017-2018 Grant Cycle to be Announced

Submitted by Peter Schmidt

Greening STEM Integration Grant for Educators
$500 – $1,000 for teachers and after-school programs for “projects that support the integration of Greening STEM into current or new programming or curriculum.”
2017 Grant Cycle Due Date to be Announced, Probably April 2017

Seeds for Education Grant Program
Up to $500 for projects that involve students in developing and enhancing an appreciation for nature using native plants.
2017 Grant Cycle due Oct. 15th, 2017

Submitted by Peter Schmidt

Whole Kids Foundation School Gardens Grant​​
$2,000 to support a new or existing edible school garden on school grounds.
2016 Grant Cycle Due Oct. 2017

Submitted by Peter Schmidt

Nature Works Grants for K-12 Schools
$2,000 to support projects that implement green infrastructure to address local environmental challenges. These include access to healthy food, air quality, heat island effect, climate change, or storm water collection. Young people will work as social innovators to help their communities through project design and implementation.
Future Grant Cycles to be Announced

Submitted by Peter Schmid

Melinda Gray Ardia Env. Foundation Grants for Environmental Studies
Up to $1,500 to support the development of programs that empower student involvement in environmental and social problems.
2017 Grant Cycle TBA

Submitted by Peter Schmidt

To contribute to the Teacher Resource List
Send items to David Jakim at David.Jakim@qc.cuny.edu