Educators

Planning a Field Trip to El Yunque

All school groups are required to make a reservation at least two (2) week prior to visiting El Yunque National Forest, so that the application can be processed successfully and ensure that we are prepared to receive your group. Click HERE for more information.

Contacto Verde

Are you looking for Contacto Verde hours separate from your classroom?  We offer an activity to complete 2 hours of Contacto Verde.  It requires your own transportation to visit the forest. Download the National Forest Explorer mobile app and search for El Yunque National Forest on the forest list or search for the web version https://eynf.stqry.app.  

Every Kid Outdoors

Attention Fourth graders: You and your family can get free access to hundreds of parks, lands, and waters for an entire year.  Visit the website to sign up and do the activity sheet https://www.everykidoutdoors.gov/

Online resources with curriculums and lesson plans related to El Yunque

• El Yunque Net: Learn how hurricanes and disturbances affect El Yunque Rainforest with some basic information about the forest, such as, history, climate, average rainfall, and some of the possible organisms students might see in their visit to El Yunque Rainforest. http://elyunque.net/
• Vamos al Bosque!  Sustainability in El Yunque: www.vamosalbosque.org

Virtual trip “America’s Rain Forests: A Distance Learning Adventure (2005)”

Rain forests provide a haven for the largest diversity of plants and animals on Earth. US Forest Service experts, scientists, researchers, and students explore the tropical rain forest in the Caribbean National Forest in Puerto Rico and the temperate rain forest in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. For more information for students and teachers to pair with this program visit http://rainforests.pwnet.org/

Online tools with curriculums and lesson plans related to nature and STEM:

• Project Learning Tree – provides educators with the tools, training and resources they need to bring the environment into their classrooms, and their students into the environment.  https://www.plt.org/
• Wilderness Educator Resources: resources covering Wilderness in preparation for a visit to EL Toro Wilderness. https://wilderness.net/practitioners/education/default.php
• Natural Inquirer  — Download the Natural Inquirer, a free science journal is written for middle and high school students, Natural Inquirer follows the same format as a scientific article to help kids learn and love science. It includes examples of projects to get involved in and classroom activities. http://www.naturalinquirer.org/
• PLUM Landing  — PLUM is a USFS partnership with WGBH, the primary provider of PBS Kids programming for Public Television provides science activities designed for children ages 6-9 (and their families), and most are available in both English and Spanish. There are apps and videos, and activities for families, afterschool programs, clubs, and summer camps.  https://pbskids.org/plumlanding/index.html   
• FSNatureLive - brings nature learning to you through our series of webcasts, webinars, and online education resources. No matter where you are in the world, visit our LIVE programs for exciting, on-site learning about bats, butterflies, climate change, wetlands, and more! Each topic area contains teacher resources including related citizen science projects that. https://fsnaturelive.org/
• LTER’s Schoolyard Program - https://lternet.edu/schoolyard-lter/
• EPA Teaching the Environment https://www.epa.gov/students
• Caribbean Birds: The program uses the innovative BirdSleuth International curriculum developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and adapted for the Caribbean context. BirdSleuth is an inquiry-based science curriculum that engages kids in scientific study and real data collection through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s exciting citizen science projects, such as eBird. https://www.birdscaribbean.org/birdsleuth-caribbean/

*Please visit the Just for Kids Page for additional resources*