LibGuides: Kids Action Team: The Environment

Formative Texts

Build students' background knowledge on the topic of animal welfare with formative texts. Get started with the resources below and provide students with note-taking materials to guide their research.

NYC Water Quality and Conservation Resources

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has a great education page with a lot of resources to use with students and check out the water page to learn more about New York City's world-renowned water.

Pollution images from Britannica School Database

Share photos from the database to have students identify different types of pollution and generate ideas to help.

Human Impact on the Environment videos from PBS Learning Media

Select one or more videos to build students' understanding of and interest in topics including food waste, air pollution, and eco-fashion.

Food Waste Resources

Introduce students to the issue of food waste with the Life of a Strawberry PSA, a cartoon and discussion questions about "Ugly" Food and Food Waste, and info and ideas from SaveTheFood.com
Review the Office of School Food and Nutrition's guidance on how to set up Share Tables and utilize Offer vs. Share in your school cafeteria.

Sims Municipal Recycling

Check out Sims' video playlist and fact sheets or schedule a tour for a live lesson on recycling in New York City.

Presentation Opportunity

DEP offers education programs focused on environmental topics, such as green infrastructure, sound and noise, or climate change. To schedule a presentation for your Kids Action Team, submit an Education Outreach Request Form and contact educationoffice@dep.nyc.gov with any questions or to discuss your program request.

Articles from Newsela

Share these articles about deep-sea animals with plastic in their stomachs and finding ways to cut air pollution, and prompt students to share what they learned and what new questions it raises.
Additional articles about animal welfare from Newsela, free with login.
- "Trash" It! Waste Food Becomes Juice, Snacks and Other Tasty Treats
- Caught on Camera: The Green Sea Turtle

e-books for Service-Learning

One Plastic Bag by Miranda Paul; Elizabeth Zunon (Illustrator) The inspiring true story of how one African woman began a movement to recycle the plastic bags that were polluting her community. Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use. But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people simply dropped the bags and went on their way. One plastic bag became two. Then ten. Then a hundred. The bags accumulated in ugly heaps alongside roads. Water pooled in them, bringing mosquitoes and disease. Some bags were burned, leaving behind a terrible smell. Some were buried, but they strangled gardens. They killed livestock that tried to eat them. Something had to change. Isatou Ceesay was that change. She found a way to recycle the bags and transform her community. This inspirational true story shows how one person's actions really can make a difference in our world.
ISBN: 9781467716086
Publication Date: 2015-02-01
Clem and Crab by Fiona Lumbers (Illustrator) Clem is an explorer, a collector, a protector of the seas! Treasure hunting on her beloved beach, she stumbles across Crab, whose claw is stuck in a plastic bag. Crab will be much safer and happier in the city with Clem, but doesn't he belong on the beach? A stunningly illustrated, timely tale of cleaning up our beaches, with the message that every small action helps.
ISBN: 1541596196
Publication Date: 2020-03-03
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, Oscar! by Mary Lindeen; Children's Television Workshop Staff (Contribution by) Oscar the Grouch knows a lot about trash, including how to reuse it! Read along as Oscar and friends show young readers that reducing, reusing, and recycling lessens their impact on the planet. Learn how to turn trash into treasure, like making old bottle caps into artwork.We can help Earth! Interior paper made with 30 percent recycled post-consumer waste fibers.
ISBN: 1541572629
Publication Date: 2020-01-01
We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom; Michaela Goade (Illustrator) Winner of the 2021 Caldecott Medal #1 New York Times Bestseller Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth's water from harm and corruption--a bold and lyrical picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and vibrantly illustrated by Michaela Goade. Water is the first medicine. It affects and connects us all . . . When a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth And poison her people's water, one young water protector Takes a stand to defend Earth's most sacred resource.
ISBN: 1250203554
Publication Date: 2020-03-17
Saving American Beach by Heidi Tyline King; Ekua Holmes (Illustrator) This heartfelt picture book biography illustrated by the Caldecott Honoree Ekua Holmes, tells the story of MaVynee Betsch, an African American opera singer turned environmentalist and the legacy she preserved. MaVynee loved going to the beach. But in the days of Jim Crow, she couldn't just go to any beach--most of the beaches in Jacksonville were for whites only. Knowing something must be done, her grandfather bought a beach that African American families could enjoy without being reminded they were second class citizens; he called it American Beach. Artists like Zora Neale Hurston and Ray Charles vacationed on its sunny shores. It's here that MaVynee was first inspired to sing, propelling her to later become a widely acclaimed opera singer who routinely performed on an international stage. But her first love would always be American Beach. After the Civil Rights Act desegregated public places, there was no longer a need for a place like American Beach and it slowly fell into disrepair. MaVynee remembered the importance of American Beach to her family and so many others, so determined to preserve this integral piece of American history, she began her second act as an activist and conservationist, ultimately saving the place that had always felt most like home
ISBN: 9781101996294
Publication Date: 2021-04-13
Harlem Grown by Tony Hillery; Jessie Hartland (Illustrator) "Hartland's joyful folk-art illustrations bop from the gray-toned jazzy vibrancy of a bustling city neighborhood to the colorful harvest of a lush urban farm." --The New York Times "An inspiring picture book for youngsters with meaningful ties to the environment, sustainability, and community engagement." --Booklist Discover the incredible true story of Harlem Grown, a lush garden in New York City that grew out of an abandoned lot and now feeds a neighborhood. Once In a big city called New York In a bustling neighborhood There was an empty lot. Nevaeh called it the haunted garden. Harlem Grown tells the inspiring true story of how one man made a big difference in a neighborhood. After seeing how restless they were and their lack of healthy food options, Tony Hillery invited students from an underfunded school to turn a vacant lot into a beautiful and functional farm. By getting their hands dirty, these kids turned an abandoned space into something beautiful and useful while learning about healthy, sustainable eating and collaboration. Five years later, the kids and their parents, with the support of the Harlem Grown staff, grow thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables a year. All of it is given to the kids and their families. The incredible story is vividly brought to life with Jessie Hartland's "charmingly busy art" (Booklist) that readers will pore over in search of new details as they revisit this poignant and uplifting tale over and over again. Harlem Grown is an independent, not-for-profit organization. The author's share of the proceeds from the sale of this book go directly to Harlem Grown.
ISBN: 1534402314
Publication Date: 2020-08-18

Virtual Field Trips

Each virtual field trip deck includes background information and vocabulary, a brief video (3-10 minutes), and a link to an additional resource. If students will be accessing the trip asynchronously, instruct them to select full screen for the best viewing experience. Then they can use the arrows to advance through the deck and press "play" to watch the video.

NYC's Water (NYC Department of Environmental Protection)

Recycling Facility (Sims Municipal Recycling Center)

Additional Partner Resources

Bolster students' research during with additional resources and opportunities to connect with experts and organizations.

NASA Climate Kids

Activities, informational texts, and interviews with experts on climate.

Reuse Ideas and Activities from Materials for the Arts

Videos on how to reuse basic items in your home to create art and asynchronous field trip to Material for the Arts' warehouse.

Microplastic Madness from Cafeteria Culture

Sign up for a screening (free for all Title I schools) of the 75-minute documentary Microplastic Madness that highlights the advocacy of students in Brooklyn and arrange for a Q-and-A session with a member of the Cafeteria Culture team.

Recycling Questions Answered from Sims Municipal Recycling

View this video on what can--and cannot--be recycled in NYC and use it as a jumping-off point to brainstorm ways to reduce and reuse items before recycling.