Resource of the Week - Conservation Central

Conservation Central is a habitat educational program designed to teach children in grades 5-8 about the temperate forest and biodiversity. The program features a middle school curriculum with lesson plans, alignments to national standards, and online activities designed to supplement the curriculum. The online activities, including, Design a Panda Habitat, Habitat Adventure: Panda Challenge, and A Walk in the Forest, may also be used as standalone activities.

In Design a Panda Habitat, students learn how to design a habitat that meets the needs of the pandas, zoo staff, and visitors. Students may choose trees/plants, water features, climate control, food, items for enrichment, and research/observation tools. Helpful tips are available and, upon completion, the pandas will explore their new habitat.

In Habitat Adventure: Panda Challenge, students learn how to protect giant pandas by protecting their habitat. Students accompany a researcher in a fictional Chinese nature preserve and learn about making observations, identifying core areas, the healthy balance between carnivores and herbivores, creating habitat corridors, and helping the local community.

A Walk in the Forest leads students on several virtual nature walks through a fictional Virginia forest. Available walks currently include Dirt Detectives: Trees & Soils, Forest Layers, I.D. a Tree, Observing Seasonal Changes, Mapping Forest Changes, and Using Amphibians as Indicators. Each walk teaches students about the temperate forest and encourages them to make observations using the same tools and methodologies that scientists use when monitoring biodiversity.

Additionally, Conservation Central features Family Learning Activities designed to help students and their families explore the world around them.

For more resources like this, be sure to check out the eLIS Digital Resources Collection.