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Ecology Club Projects

Air

  • Check out the air in your school or club area. Spread a thin layer of vaseline on several pieces of cardboard or white posterboard. Then place the cardboard in various locations of your school (near the front door, the cafeteria or loading dock, out in the playground, etc.). Leave them for a week. Then collect them and bring them back to your classroom. See what they collected and compare the different locations by looking at the particles under a microscope or through a magnifying glass.
  • Check out materials available from Commonwealth Gas on air quality (available only to those in the Commonwealth Gas service area).
  • Create public service announcements with suggestions on how to keep our air clean.

Resources

  • Commonwealth Gas, P.O. Box 35800, Richmond, VA 23235, (804) 323-5450. Tours, speakers & poster (limited to clubs in their service areas: Richmond, Petersburg, South Hill, Portsmouth, Lynchburg, Staunton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Covington, Manassas, Fredericksburg, Culpeper or Warrenton).
  • American Lung Association, call 1-800-LUNG-USA to get address or phone number of your local agency. Handouts, speakers, videos and Project A.I.R.E.

Animals/endangered species/wildlife

  • Adopt an animal. Many organizations will send you periodic letters telling you about your adopted animal. Donate money to Department of Game and Inland Fisheries non-game fund to protect watchable wildlife and threatened species.
  • Plan several activities from Project Wild. Invite a Project Wild volunteer to help you conduct the activities. They have several on animal survival, adaptation, food chains and migration.
  • Write and perform a skit or play for younger children about how litter hurts animals.
  • Check out the local wildlife rescue league, learn what they do and see if you can help them. (One group collected acorns for the injured squirrels.)
  • Discover what items are made from endangered species; then make a bulletin board to tell others not to buy these products.

Resources

  • Audubon Naturalist Society, 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, (301) 652-9188. Classes and field trips.
  • Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, 4010 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23230, (804) 367-1000. Project Wild, classes, materials and speakers.
  • National Wildlife Federation, 1400 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036-2266 (800) 245-5484. NatureScope magazines, materials and classes.
  • Maymont Foundation, 1700 Hampton Street, Richmond, VA 23220, (804) 358-7166. Classes and field trips.
  • Virginia Zoological Society, 3500 Granby Street, Norfolk, VA 23504, (804) 624-9937. Zoopack.
  • The Wildlife Center of Virginia, P.O. Box 98, Weyers Cave, VA 24486 (540) 234-9453. Classes and speakers.
  • Virginia Museum of Natural History, 1001 Douglas Avenue, Martinsville, VA 24112 (540) 666-8615. Speakers, exhibits, field trips and materials.
  • Virginia Wildlife Federation, 4602 West Grove Court, Virginia Beach, VA 23455, (804) 464-3136. Exhibits and speakers.

Aquatic/Chesapeake Bay/water

  • Volunteer to be a water quality monitors for the Save Our Streams program of the Izaak Walton League. This requires learning which bugs indicate good water quality and allows students a chance to get involved in monitoring a stream.
  • Go whale watching on the Atlantic Ocean.
  • Build wood duck boxes.
  • Borrow a video (from Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay) about the Chesapeake Bay and learn about Bay grasses and Bay ecology.
  • Check out the many activities in Project WET (two of our favorites are "A Drop in the Bucket" and "The Incredible Journey") or the water resources education trunk from the Department of Environmental Quality.
  • Write morning announcements about ways to conserve water; then have club members read them to the school.

Resources

  • Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 1001 East Main Street, Suite 815, Richmond, VA 23219, (804) 780-1392. Newsletter.
  • The Virginia Institute of Marine Science, P.O. Box 1346, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, (804) 642-7172. Lending library, speakers and materials.
  • Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, P.O. Box 1981, Richmond, VA 23216, (804) 775-0951. Exhibit, poster and materials.
  • Science Museum of Western Virginia, 1 Market Square, Roanoke, VA 24011 (540) 342-5710. Classes, exhibits and speakers.
  • Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218, (804) 698-4442. Project WET, materials and videos.
  • Virginia Cooperative Extension, P.O. Box 9081, Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA 23806, (804) 524-5964. Classes and 4-H project materials.
  • Virginia Marine Science Museum, 717 General Booth Boulevard, Virginia Beach, VA 23451, (804) 437-4949. Materials, programs and speakers.
  • Chesapeake Bay Youth Conservation Corps, 301 Albemarle Drive, Chesapeake, VA 23320, (804) 436-8185. Youth program.
  • American Water Works Association, 3629 George Washington Highway, Yorktown, VA 23693, (804) 867-9171. Classes and materials.
  • Ocean Encounters, 405 Pleasant Street, Highland Springs, VA 23075, (804) 737-7505. Speakers.

Beautification/environmental education

  • Plant a garden or flower bed at your school. Get the support of your PTA.
  • Beautify an outside area of your school for use by the student body.
  • Place a hoola hoop or yardstick on the ground and use a magnifying glass to discover all the insect life within or along it. Make a map or draw a picture illustrating your findings.
  • Plan a scavenger hunt of natural materials. Remember not to pick plants or remove insects or animals from their natural surroundings.
  • Plant a garden. Tend it, water it and harvest the bounty. Learn how to use natural pest control instead of pesticides to control bugs.
  • Collect seeds and create a collection. Learn what seed goes to which plant.
  • Plan and plant a butterfly garden or hummingbird station.

Resources

  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region III, Office of External Affairs, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107, (215) 597-9076. Teacher kits.
  • Virginia Museum of Natural History, 1001 Douglas Avenue, Martinsville, VA 24112 (540) 666-8615. Speakers, exhibits, field trips and materials.
  • Virginia Living Museum, 524 J. Clyde Morris Boulevard, Newport News, VA 23601, (804) 595-1900. Field trips and classes.
  • Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, 4010 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23232, (804) 367-1000. Speakers, exhibits and materials.

Competitions/contests/field trips

  • Collect aluminum cans and participate in Reynolds Kids Can Plus Contest.
  • Plan and conduct a poster, bookmark or essay contest.
  • Conduct a recycled projects or recycled Halloween costume contest. Call or write the Prince William Clean Community Council to get a copy of their contest rules.
  • Design a T-shirt for sale and use the proceeds for an environmental project.
  • Visit your local landfill or a business that has a successful recycling program.

Resources

  • Reynolds Aluminum Recycling Company, 710-C Pulaski Highway, P.O. Box 486, Joppa, MD 21085-0486, (410) 679-0100. Kids Can Plus Contest and materials.
  • Prince William Clean Community Council, 7987 Ashton Avenue, Suite 236, Manassas, VA 20110, (703) 792-6272. Contest information, materials and speakers.

Energy/matter

  • Invite someone from the Virginia Museum of Natural History to come and talk with your club.
  • Make light switch covers for your school reminding teachers and students to turn off the lights when not in use. Design posters to encourage others to conserve energy.
  • Encourage others to do an energy check of their homes. Check thermostats to see if they are set at 68 degrees in the winter and 78 degrees in the summer.

Resources

  • Virginia Museum of Natural History, 1001 Douglas Avenue, Martinsville, VA 24112 (540) 666-8615. Speakers, exhibits, field trips and materials.
  • Appalachian Power Co., P.O. Box 2021, Roanoke, VA 24019, (540) 985-2353. Classes and speakers.
  • Commonwealth Gas, P.O. Box 35800, Richmond, VA 23235, (804) 323-5450. Tours, speakers and poster (limited to clubs in their service areas: Richmond, Petersburg, South Hill, Portsmouth, Lynchburg, Staunton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Covington, Manassas, Fredericksburg, Culpeper or Warrenton).
  • Virginia Power - Educational Services, P.O. Box 26666, Richmond, VA 23261. Classes, tours and speakers.

Historical resources

  • Explore the relationship between Virginia s Native Americans and their environment with materials from Virginia Museum of Natural History.

Resources

  • Virginia Museum of Natural History, 1001 Douglas Avenue, Martinsville, VA 24112 (540) 666-8615. Speakers, exhibits, field trips and materials.

Land/soil/forests

  • Check out the water module from your local Soil and Water Conservation District or build your own (idea from Project WET).
  • Raise money to help purchase land for preservation through The Nature Conservancy.
  • Discover how erosion hurts us and ways to prevent it. Write a news article or letters to the editor to teach your community about erosion.
  • Have a photo contest of landscapes or scenic sites.

Resources

  • National Wildlife Federation, 1400 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036-2266 (800) 245-5484. NatureScope, classes, magazines and materials.
  • Soil and Water Conservation Districts. To get the number of your local office, call (804) 559-0324 or write Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, 7293 Hanover Green Drive, Suite B-101, Mechanicsville, VA 23111. Materials and sometimes speakers.
  • The Nature Conservancy, Virginia Field Office, 1233 Cedars Court, Charlottesville, VA 22901, (804) 295-6106.

Plants/wetlands

  • Visit a wetland area and learn about the myriad of life the wetlands sustains.
  • Delve into Project Learning Tree for a source of fun activities like Adopt a Tree.
  • Create an outdoor laboratory or classroom.
  • Build a bird, bat or butterfly garden or habitat.
  • Learn about the devastation caused by gypsy moths and what Virginia does to reduce it.
  • Discover how lawn and garden pesticides hurt our resources and how to use alternative methods.
  • Visit a local park and discover its many habitats.
  • Learn about the different wildflowers located in your community.
  • Collect leaves in the fall, then compare the trees they came from in the winter, spring and summer.
  • Plan an Arbor Day celebration in April with a program or a tree planting. Ask for help from your local Soil and Water Conservation District or a nearby plant, garden center, nursery or your county forester.

Resources

  • State Arboretum of Virginia, P.O. Box 175, Boyce, VA 22620, (703) 837-1758. Classes, tours and speakers.
  • Virginia Department of Forestry, P.O. Box 3758, Charlottesville, VA 22903, (804) 977-6555. Project Learning Tree and your local forester.
  • Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, 4010 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23230, (804) 367-1000. Project Wild, classes, materials and speakers.
  • Virginia Museum of Natural History, 1001 Douglas Avenue, Martinsville, VA 24112 (540) 666-8615. Speakers, exhibits, field trips and materials.
  • Norfolk Botanical Garden, Azalea Garden Road, Norfolk, VA 23518, (804) 441-5803. Classes and field trips.
  • Virginia Native Plant Society, P.O. Box 844, Annandale, VA 22003, (703) 672-3814. Speakers and plant lists
  • Environmental Concern Inc., P.O. Box P, St. Michaels, MD 21663. Wetland materials.
  • U.S. National Park Service, 1776 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 223-6722 ext. 223. March for Parks.
  • Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 203 Governor Street, Richmond, VA 23219, (804) 371-7535. Materials

Pollution/waste management

  • Plan a cleanup of your school grounds. Adopt a spot or street or road (recommend older groups only for along the roadways). Celebrate Operation Spruce Up in Virginia.
  • Visit your local landfill and learn what happens to trash in your community.
  • Visit a recycling center, then plan and conduct a recycling drive in your school. Be sure to celebrate Recycling Month in October.
  • Go on an "enviroshopping" tour and learn how to be a wiser shopper producing less trash.
  • Create games or crafts from throwaways.
  • Learn about composting and develop a compost pile at your school to use around your planted areas.
  • Develop a hazardous waste education program that includes alternative materials to use; then teach it in your community.
  • Conduct a used clothing drive and donate the clothing to a local homeless shelter.
  • Make recycled paper and discover how many trees are saved by recycling one ton of paper.
  • Distribute litter bags to your student body and make sure each bus has a trash receptacle.

Resources

  • Science Museum of Western Virginia, 1 Market Square, Roanoke, VA 24011, (540) 342-5710. Classes and speakers.
  • Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218, (804) 698-4442. Project WET, materials and videos.
  • Waste Management of Hampton Roads, 401 E Street, Hampton, VA 23661, (804) 838-6008. Tours and field trips.
  • Prince William Clean Community Council, 7987 Ashton Avenue, Suite 236, Manassas, VA 20110, (703) 792-6272. Materials and speakers.
  • Clean Valley Council, P.O. Box 3320, Roanoke, VA 24015, (540) 345-5523. Materials and speakers.
  • Virginia Peninsulas Public Service Authority, 2 Eaton Street, Suite 502, Hampton, VA 23669, (804) 728-2062. Speakers.
  • Virginia Department of Transportation, (540) 899-4560. Adopt-A-Highway Program

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