Whole classroom support to help you teach effective environmental education.
Every educator is an environmental educator.
Standards Alignment Guides
Suggested outlines for incorporating our free materials into your standards-aligned curriculum.
AP Environmental Science Unit 8: Plastic Pollution and Solid Waste
This guide outlines our suggestions for how to incorporate our resources into your Advanced Placement Environmental Science Unit 8 curriculum on aquatic and terrestrial pollution.
Grades 10 to 12
2 to 6 hours
NGSS MS-PS1-3 Synthetic Materials
This guide will outline our suggestions for how to use a few of our resources to teach about the following Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Performance Expectation: MS-PS 1-3 Gather and make sense of info to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.
Grades 6 to 8
Variable Timing
NEW!
NGSS MS-ESS 3-3 Human Impact - "Plastic Ocean"
This guide will outline our suggestions for how to use a few of our resources to teach about the following Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Performance Expectation: MS-ESS 3-3 Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
Grades 6 to 8
Variable Timing
How-to Guides
Here you’ll find how-to guides to help you maximize the resources and support found on Wayfinder Society for Environmental Education.
What to expect from Wayfinder Society toolkits
What are Wayfinder Society’s Toolkits? Our toolkits provide educators with out-of-the-box activities that help students explore environmental issues.
Get the most out of Wayfinder Society lessons
What are Wayfinder Society’s Lessons? Free, Digital, but also printable, Ready to use, Editable, and more!
Ideas for using the Student Hub to empower your students to take action
All you need to know about how to use our Student Hub in your classroom, with sign instructions and inspiration.
Insights
Here we’ll share our collective thoughts, advice, and inspiration that we think will advance our ability to teach effective environmental education.
Maintaining Balance During Challenging Times: A Review of Andrea Bell’s Talk
Last week, we held our first of a series of talks with Andrea Bell, an Ecopsychologist and Licensed Clinical Social Worker. This series will explore the concept of ecopsychology…
Recap of our talk with Capt. Charles Moore on role of environmental educators
For our first guest talk, we invited founder of Algalita, 30-year Captain of the Oceanographic Research Vessel Alguita, originator of…
Realizations from 10 years of plastic pollution presentations
I began my own Wayfinder journey over 10 years ago as a second-year college student. In 2010, the topic of plastic pollution was still a fringe issue. In high school, a...
Free Upcoming Events
Connect with our network of environmental educators!
Check out our upcoming events to meet other educators on this journey - virtually or in-person.
EARTH MONTH CHALLENGE
APRIL 1-30, 2024
Journey Together Action Challenge
During the month of April, students from all over the globe are invited to participate in our Journey Together Action Challenge to compete with other young changemakers to make BIG Impact this Earth month. The team who completes the most Actions in the Student Hub will win $500 USD and be highlighted at our Wayfinder Society End of the Year Ceremony in May! With over 40+ Actions to choose from in the Student Hub, Students can explore ways to take action on plastic pollution in their home, school, and community.
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Virtual Event
WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2024 4-5 PM PT
End of Year Award Ceremony
As the school year comes to a close, we are excited to celebrate the incredible students and educators across the globe who have received our Mini-Grant awards this past year! Not only is this event to spotlight these incredible change makers, but attendees will also have the chance to brainstorm and collaborate with movement members in their interest areas (ie advocacy, environmental justice, research, and more). Family and friends of awardees are more than welcome to join us as with any other community members!
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In-Person Event
FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 2024 11 AM - 1 PM PT
Educator Workshop - Synthetic Sand Lunch and Learn
Come learn about environmental monitoring techniques and collect your very own synthetic sand samples to take back to your classroom at our upcoming Educator Lunch and Learn on Friday, June 28th from 11am-1pm PT. We'll meet at Algalita's headquarters in Alamitos Bay Landing and then make our way over to the beach before assembling the teaching kits and having some lunch at our Education Center. Used by educators across the United States, this toolkit is a great resource for students to learn about microplastics and their impact on our environment.
REGISTER
“Because of Algalita, I don’t feel alone in trying to solve one of the most difficult issues facing our environment today.”
-Christine Davis, Student