Last update:

12th June 2007

Quick links:

Geology toolkit

Natural History Museum

Woodland Trust - phenology

Woodland Trust - Nature Detectives

Environment Agency - fun & games

BBC learning

Worldwatch Institute University

Association of Colleges (AoC) website

GCSE bitesize revision - geography

South West Grid for Learning

Eco Schools

Globe Programme

Learning about your environment - resources for children and adults

What's new on this page...

• Carbon Control website launched - aimed at raising awareness among school children that they too can reduce their carbon emissions
• Sustainable Schools - a new website supporting schools on their journey to sustainability

Learning about the environment and key environmental issues can be fun and there is an enormous amount of information available on the internet for both children and adults - ranging from the fun to the informative. Here are just a few, click on your area of interest below or browse them all:

If you would like to add your own website to this list then please contact Annette Carr on (01392) 352289 or email annette.carr@environment-agency.gov.uk

Nature & Natural History

Census of Marine Life: investigating marine life

Census of Marine Life scientists are sampling a wide variety of ocean habitats, from coastal regions to the deepest parts of the oceans. They are determining the number of species and are investigating individual species populations to develop an understanding of the diversity of marine life: past, present, and future.Discover how scientists conduct research and use technology in the marine environment.

Facilities include:

• Research - past, present, future and census data
• Technology - transportation, observation and counting, collecting organisms, measuring, studying movement, identifying and cataloguing, compiling and analysing data
• Photo gallery
• Glossary
• Links to other marine websites

British Isles: A Natural History

British Isles: A Natural History is a major new programme for BBC One. Find You can find out more about the series or go further with the Open University. Interactive facilities include:

• Great British snail hunt
• Geology toolkit
• Invaders
• Dynamic earth
• Palaeobiology
• Be a landscape detective
• Science and nature on the BBC

Geology toolkit

An interactive Geology Toolkit website, helping you to find out about what the UK is really made of. You can explore region-by-region how the rocks which make up these islands have developed, and use our rock analyser tool to identify the rock samples you've found.

Part of the British Isles: A Natural History television series and website.

The Natural History Museum

Online stuff for kids

A range of fun interactive pages that will interest any age (though particularly suitable for children), including:

• AntCast - the museum's ant colony webcam.
• Mission explore - travel to distant Regaloam to collect specimens for the museum.
• Quest - explore virtual objects with interactive tools.
• Sounds like nature - mix your own natural soundscapes.
• Walking with woodlice - do real science in your garden.
• Dino Directory - find out where and when over one hundred dinosaurs lived.
• including biodiversity, earth, dinosaurs, insects, mammals and birds, plants and a virtual museum.

Online learning for adults and students

The Natural History Museum also has a comprehensive website for adults and students wanting to know more about the environment and natural history. Themes include:

Nature Detectives - discover nature's calendar

A new website for teachers, parents, children and students, helping you to discover the natural world and explore the changing timing of the seasons across the UK. Resources include:

• Improving animal and plant identification skills
• Fun activities and games to help learning
• Record natural events as the seasons change
• Contribute to scientific research about the impact of climate change on trees, woodlands and wildlife
• Free educational materials for the classroom, outdoors and home

An exciting and interactive website that will give you an insight into the science of phenology - the study of the times of recurring natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate change.

Sustainability

Worldwatch University

Worldwatch University is an online resource for students and teachers who want to learn more about sustainability. It includes:

• Presentation and learning resources
• Environmental milestone timetable - an interactive history of sustainability
• Tips for responsible shopping
• Did you know - facts about human activity, social inequalities and the environment
• Worldwatch research library
• Student organisations

Natural resources and environmental issues

Fun and Games for kids

Learning more about your local environment

BBC Learning

Schools

Carbon Control website

Carbon Control is a new climate change initiative for children has been launched - aimed at raising awareness among school children that they too can reduce their carbon emissions, and can play their part in heading off the threat of climate change.

Climate change is one of the greatest problems facing the world, with the potential to cause massive environmental and economic damage unless something is done to lower each individual's personal 'carbon footprint'.

In addition to making sure that adults play their part, through being more energy efficient in the home and on the move, children have a role to play - both as influencers on their parents' decisions and in how they live their own lives.

Research shows that young people are very concerned about climate change but do not feel they can do anything to influence this debate.

The Carbon Control project, organised by the RSA in cooperation with Tesco and the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs, will see school children aged 7 to 14 working together to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions in the home, through transport and through the food they eat.

Sustainable Schools

The Sustainable Schools site is designed to support schools on their journey to sustainability, introducing the principles of sustainable development and offering guidance on how to embed these principles into the heart of school life. The site provides useful information for all sectors of the school community, including the leadership team, the management team, teachers and parents, and offers a number of excellent online and downloadable tools (auditing, benchmarking, environmental assessment) to help schools identify the best route to becoming more sustainable.

Association of Colleges (AoC) website

A website promoting and supporting the interests of all further education (FE) colleges in the region, containing links to colleges, news other useful links.

GCSE Bitesize revision - geography

An educational site from the BBC that aims to help GCSE students revise in easy bitesize topics. Geography topics include:

• Cities
• Coasts
• Economic activity
• Ecosystems
• Population and development
• Tectonics
• Water and rivers
• Weather and climate

South West Grid for Learning

The SW Grid for Learning has initiated some 20 projects leading to the provision of exciting and innovative digital learning resources based within the region but contributing to the teaching of the National Curriculum. Projects include:

Making sustainable development a part of life in your school

Eco-Schools (both an educational programme and an award scheme) is a Europe-wide project designed to encourage and acknowledge whole-school action for the environment. This website aims to help teachers incorporate environmental issues into the curriculum as well as the day-to-day running of the school. Topics include:

• Litter
• Waste
• Energy
• Water
• Transport
• Healthy living
• school grounds

The GLOBE Programme links students (from nearly 10,000 schools) and scientist in 104 countries who are studying the natural environment. Students can make environmental observations about their school or local environment and submit data into the GLOBE database. Facilities include: