“As a response to the growing COVID-19 pandemic, Madison Audubon will be teaching virtually for the 2020-21 school year.
Our educators usually visit between 200-300 kids each week. We teach virtually now to protect kids, teachers, school staff, students’ families, and other caregivers. By reducing the amount of moving through the community Madison Audubon staff do, we can help slow the spread of the virus (flatten the curve) for the benefit of our healthcare system.
Stay healthy, everyone, and take care of each other!”
Looking to connect with a Madison Audubon Educator?
Want a memorable, meaningful VIRTUAL outdoor education experience? Let’s connect!
Start here!
Madison Audubon's education team is still partnering with teachers to get kids immersed in outdoor education - we’re just doing it virtually now!
We have great ideas for minimizing screen time and maximizing adventures outside.
We support teachers whether they are teaching virtually or in person, synchronously or asynchronously. We’re here for you!
We use nature to connect kids, even though their learning-from-home experiences might be different
We are also a resource for parents, grandparents & caregivers!
Most importantly: We know that there are racial and economic disparities in access to nature, and that the (mostly white) outdoor community has a lot of work to do to change this. Our free programming and our nature-is-everywhere approach aim to lessen this gap. This fall we are dedicated to introducing kids to nature-mentors who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color, as well as people who are differently abled. We are committed to growing our education programming in ways that will support our diverse Madison community.
Madison Audubon educators have created and curated a selection of lesson plans, stand-alone activities, and more for you to use in your home, classroom, library, or community center! All programming is FREE for students and teachers — so contact us today!
Whether it’s a one-time virtual visit or forming a long-standing partnership with a classroom or center, we strive to get kids excited about nature in their neighborhood. You don't need to travel to find wildlife.
For all of our programming, we work with teachers to ensure that our lessons meet classroom goals and build off of material that kids are already learning. Many of our lessons incorporate STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) themes.
Keep reading to find out more, or contact us at education@madisonaudubon.org. If you use our activities, we'd love to hear from you. Tell us about how it went.
With the right prep work, outdoor education is fun and rewarding. This was pre-covid. We hope you’re wearing masks these days!
New to outdoor education? Here are three blog posts to help you jump:
1. Getting ready to teach outdoors
2. Teaching outside: outdoor routines
3. Teaching outside: adapting to online learning
Please note: our lesson plans are not currently aligned with state or national school standards. We’re good at adjusting lessons to tick off those boxes though! Send us an email if you’d like help.
Fall outdoor ed lesson plans
Flexible lesson plans to carry you through Thanksgiving. This is a working lesson plan and may change.
A teacher and child explore leaf shapes together.
Video lessonettes
Short (5-10 min) videos to build lessons around. Short, fun, and informational!
Can you identify these rodents? We’ll teach you!
Resources for teachers
Ideas for building outdoor routines and materials to give kids. Free. Downloadable. Printable.
Kids disappear into the greenery as they go adventuring.
Video lessons
Complete lessons (30 - 60 minutes) usually ending with guided nature journaling.
Can you identify these feathers? Do you know how they got their colors? we’ll teach you!
Nature Mentors
We know that the wildlife field is dominated by white, straight, cis, able-bodied voices. Our Nature Mentor series is a small step towards changing that.
These scientists, naturalists, and nature lovers want to share their love of nature with your kids!
Use these short videos (about 5 minutes each) to spark discussion with your kids or send them exploring down a new nature path.
Remember when we could all watch nature together? We still can, we just have to give long-distance hugs!
Check out the ways we usually support teachers!
Hopefully we’ll be back to these kinds of plans for the 2021-22 school year. Many of these activities are adaptable and could fit into your COVID-compatible lesson plans.
Banner photo: students found a recently-dead monarch butterfly on a field trip with Madison Audubon. Photo by Carolyn Byers.
