The Ramsar Convention's Outreach Programme

The school curriculum presents a highly effective route for educating children about wetland values and functions, yet there are several problems which make it difficult for teachers to "deliver" an effective wetland message in a classroom setting. In many countries, environmental education may not formally be included as part of the curriculum making it difficult to introduce wetland issues into the curriculum. In others, environmental education may be a recognized component of the national curriculum but wetland issues in general, and the Ramsar principles of wetland conservation and wise use in particular, may not be specifically identified as areas to be covered in the classroom. In yet others, where wetland issues are identified in the national curriculum, teachers may not have the necessary knowledge or training to translate this into classroom activities. Finally, even where all these conditions are met, teachers and curriculum developers are being challenged in many parts of the world to deliver Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). This educational paradigm encourages a more holistic, interdisciplinary approach to developing knowledge and skills to prepare students for life in a sustainable world and it issues a whole new set of challenges to curriculum developers. Of course the challenge for the Ramsar family in general and wetland CEPA practitioners in particular is to ensure, whatever the educational paradigm in operation within a country, that mechanisms are in place to ensure that wetland issues are appropriately addressed at all levels in school education and that teachers are well prepared to deliver the message.

Please let us know if your country does have wetland issues incorporated in the national curriculum - perhaps your country could be a "good practice" model for others.

It is generally true that the best resource materials for use in classrooms will be those tailored to a particular age-group and delivering a specific message - to give an example, you might be developing curriculum materials for 8-12 year-olds living around the Okavango Delta that investigate the human uses of water in the area and how they affect the health of the wetlands. This is a specific message that requires targeted material. In most situations it will not be possible to transfer ready-to-use materials from one country to another: the information usually has to be made locally relevant. The aim of this section of the CEPA mini-Web site is rather to provide examples of available materials that will inform, inspire and provide useful contacts to those who are preparing materials and delivering the CEPA message. Its success depends on the willingness of users to share information - please contact Sandra Hails by e-mail at hails@ramsar.org if you have materials to share.

To start the ball rolling, here are some interesting teaching materials, presented in three sections. Section 1 documents emerging ideas for education for sustainable development (ESD), with training modules for teachers, classroom materials as well background materials on ESD. Section 2 details structured classroom lessons based on wetlands for teachers of various age-groups. Section 3 details materials which can be used to supplement curriculum activities - books/booklets on wetlands for use with children, games, wall charts etc., and other materials to help teachers bring wetlands to the classroom and take children to the wetlands - water-testing kits, water/wetland related games, playground activities, wall charts, etc. Please be aware that these sections are not discrete and the materials frequently overlap from one section to another.

SECTION 1

The Handbook on methods used in Environmental Education & Education for Sustainable Development is a 110-page book introducing educators to the basic ideas relevant to the various EE and ESD methods. Using practical examples to illustrate the methods, this is a useful reference guide. A synopsis of the book is available here and the full document can be downloaded in PDF format if you first join the MedIES network. Look for join instructions here.

Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit was published in 2002 to provide community leaders and educators with an easy-to-use manual to help them start the process of combining education and sustainability. Can also be viewed in HTML .

Australia's Environmental Education for a Sustainable Future: National Action Plan was published in 2000 and can be downloaded from Environment Australia's Web site as an Adobe PDF file (about 500KB). The plan is intended to provide leadership to the many different sectors involved in environmental education activities and promote better coordination of these activities.

As part of their programme on Educating for a Sustainable Future, UNESCO has produced a Web-based programme Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future: A Multimedia Professional Development Programme. This on-line modular programme is intended for pre-service teacher training but is relevant also for experienced teachers and serves as a thorough introduction to teaching for sustainability.

The on-line Development Education Programme of the World Bank has designed tools and resources for secondary level teachers so that they can bring sustainable development issues at the national, regional and global level into the classroom.

The UK Government set up a Sustainable Development Education Panel whose remit covered schools, further and higher education bodies, and education in work, recreation and the home. Look here for a Sustainable Development Action Plan for the education sector, launched in September 2003, and updated in 2005. The Action Plan aims to encourage wider participation in sustainable development in ALL education and skills sectors. This plan built upon the Panel's draft Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in England completed in February 2003.

Promoting social and environmental responsibility is now a key focus of the Environmental Studies 5-14 curriculum in Scotland. But what does this mean for teachers? The booklet Developing Informed Citizens (PDF, 446KB) offers advice, ideas and stimuli to help develop pupils' ability to participate in making positive changes for the future.

SECTION 2 - Structured classroom lessons

Oxfam's Climate Chaos programme provides teachers with a week of activities on climate change for 9-11 year olds. They provide a 5-day plan of activities including links to videos, excellent animations, classroom experiments, group projects etc.

Waves, wetlands and Watersheds is a classroom and community activity guide for teachers that addresses issues such as endangered species, marine debris, coastal geology, water use, and much more. It is carefully aligned to the California State Science Content Standards for grades 3 through 8, and includes “Community Action” lessons adaptable for all ages up to and beyond 12th grade.

WOW!: The Wonders Of Wetlands, an educator's guide is an acclaimed, comprehensive, interdisciplinary curriculum guide for educators of grade levels K-12. The activities have been correlated with the US's National Science Education Standards developed by the National Academy of Sciencesand and with science content standards in several US states. Available for purchase online.

Bogs in the Classroom is an educational web site focused on bog field studies developed by the Irish Peatland Conservation Council. The materials available are intended to help teachers prepare primary, post primary and third level students for a field trip to a bog and includes suggestions for field investigations that could be undertaken, as well as follow up activities to complete the study.

The Electronic Naturalist is a new on-line education program providing a weekly environmental education unit. Each unit has artwork, text, activities, additional web sites, plus online access to a professional naturalist. Two reading levels are available for grades K-3 (Quick Read) and 4-8 (Full Read).

From FAO, an education kit to celebrate the International year of the mountains (2002). The 5 detailed lessons come with clear objectives, procedures and extension activities to give children a better understanding of the importance of mountains to everyone and what they can do to help protect mountain ecosystems and their human communities. Download the lesson plans as a ZIP file here (90KB).

WWF-Hong Kong has developed an interactive environmental education CD (in English and Chinese) "Footprints in Wetlands" which aims to provide additional supporting materials to aid teachers in carrying out on-site environmental education in secondary schools in Hong Kong. Copies (free) are available from Ms. Yvonne Wan, WWF Hong Kong Administration Officer at ywan@wwf.org.hk

Taking action for Rivers is a National Geographic Society web-based project to involve schoolchildren in river conservation in their local area. There are student activities and educator guides for three themes, Using our Rivers, Changing our Rivers and Saving our Rivers. Great stuff!

Turning the Tide on Trash is a learning guide for teachers to increase the awareness of students of the impacts of marine debris as well as the prevention techniques. Although focused on marine debris (which ends up very often in coastal wetlands) the concepts are just as relevant for any aquatic debris.

Bog Ho! is an innovative Web-based learning project based in Canada that brings together primary schools from several countries to explore the importance and fragility of wetlands. The 2001 project brought together schools in three countries to conduct a comparative analysis of wetlands. Visit the project on-line to see the students' work and to find how other schools worldwide can become involved.

Produced by WWF Hong Kong, the Mai Po Marshes educational pack is written in Mandarin and English and distributed free to all secondary schools in Hong Kong. It includes a teacher’s guide as well as 5 booklets with information and worksheets on ecology of mangroves, land use around the marshes, water pollution at Mai Po etc, that can be used both at the Mai Po Wetland Centre and in the classroom. For further information contact Joanne Au (IHCSC@wwf.org.hk).

A collection of teaching materials on wetlands for kindergarten through 12th grade. The activities focus on what wetlands are, what makes them valuable, and how human actions have affected them. Of particular interest to the schools that have access to a nearby wetland to use as a study site. Available on-line Discover wetlands.

A number of curriculum packages for age groups K-12 that focus on Cranes and their wetland habitats. Available on-line at the International Crane Foundation

Two units of work for K-6 and 7-12 that cover groundwater, the water cycle and water conservation. Available on-line Groundwater & the water cycle.

From the USA's EPA, material that can be downloaded as PDF files covering wetland science, wetland types, wetland functions. Includes classroom activities. World in our Backyard

A Saltwatch Resource Book to assist teachers (primary and secondary) and communities in teaching about salinity and associated problems in the local environment. Includes information, discussion topics and activities. Available on-line Saltwatch Resource Book.

SECTION 3 - supplementary classroom materials

Catchment to reef - a number of products on this web site are aimed at children. Two well illustrated booklets for download are Are you connected: a guide to the processes linking land, sea and reef and Nutrients, Catchments & Reefs: A guide to nutrients in your landscape. Poster also available.

Marine Debris - a web site with publications and educational resources for addressing marine debris issues, as well as information on how to get involved.

Lolo’s Flying Journey, a game for 6-12 year olds, produced by WWF Hong Kongand freely distributed to all primary schools in Hong Kong, looks at the challenges facing Lolo, a Black-faced spoonbill, during its migration in east Asia. Available for download in PDF format here

The Water Cycle: the digram is available for download in over 50 languages along with detailed, explanatory texts available in many of these languages too. Made available by the US Geographic Survey's Water Science for Schools Programme.

Explore Our Wetlands is an interactive web animation produced by the Australian government that aims to enhance the understanding and awareness of the community of the role of wetlands in the Great Barrier Reef catchment.

A Climate Change poster was produced as part of the outcome of a joint Ramsar/CBD expert workshop on Wetlands, Water, Biodiversity, and Climate change in March 2007. Available in PDF format here.

The Ramsar Game was launched in 2005 at the 9th Conference of the Parties. Targetting 5-14 year olds, it delivers fun, awareness and learning about wetlands. Launched as a board game in English, French and SPnaish, it has been produced in other languages and as a floor-sized version. Find out more about it here.

Canon Envirothon provides students with a chance to get "up-close and personal" with North America's natural resources. Offering both in-class curriculum and hands-on field experiences focused around ecology, natural resource management, and current environmental issues, this unique combination of learning experiences and breadth of study is part of what has made the Envirothon a huge success with students and educators across the United States and Canada.

WatershedPartners, a coalition of over 40 public, private and non-profit organizations in Minnesota in the US, teaches residents how to care for their watershed through collaborative educational outreach. They offer one-stop help in planning and organizing service-learning projects to prevent water pollution in a watershed aimed at teachers and community workers. Their Pollution Prevention Guide, can be downloaded in PDF format. This 37-page step-by-step guide has been built on the experience of teachers and youth workers that have organized water quality protection projects involving thousands of students over many years.

This report on "Service-learning", a teaching and learning approach that integrates community service with academic study to enrich learning , teach civic responsibility and strengthen communities, gives best practice examples to help teachers develop their own projects in the local community.

WaterAid, a charity dedicated to helping people living without safe water and sanitation, provides some interactive games on water issues for 11-14 and 14-16 year-olds as well as a variety of resources aimed at teachers for use in the classroom with different age groups on a range of development issues.

This interactive website is all about shorebirds, their amazing lifecycles, the flyways and many organisations and people who are dedicated to sharing information about these extraordinary birds. Includes a useful document for teachers Feathers, Flyways and Fast Food that can be downloaded and used in the classroom.

On-line information on all aspects of water in our environment. Although US-based, the facts and figures on surface waters, groundwaters, the water cycle - and much more - are useful for teachers and students wherever they are. Water Science for Schools

CD-ROM (in Spanish) on sustainable management of water resources designed for schoolchildren (10-13 years) in Latin America. Includes materials for children and their teachers. Read more here.

A card game, produced by La Fundaci�n Humedales, de Bogot�, Colombia, targeted at schoolchildren living near the Laguna de F�quene, helps them to understand more about the plant and animal life in their local lagoon. More information here in Spanish and English.

A 37-page children's cartoon magazine (in Spanish), produced by an NGO in Argentina, Fundaci�n Vida Silvestre, tells the story of Segismundo, a bird which flies from the Northern hemisphere to Samborombon Bay, a Ramsar site in Argentina. Segismundo

In line with the Ministry of Education’s call to implement environmental education across the curriculum, Wetlands International recently co-produced (with a local Teachers College) a Tasek Bera Wetland Education Kit, specially designed for primary schools in the area of Tasek Bera, Malaysia’s first Ramsar site. The kit consists of learning modules, story book, videotape, cassette tape and a board game, all designed for use in the classroom. Tasek Bera Wetland Education Kit. This kit has been been used as a model to produce similar kits in Thailand and Cambodia.

A full-colour booklet for 6-8 year-olds produced by the Wetlands Research Centre, Canada, that makes the connection between water, wetlands and wildlife. Blackflies to Blueberries

The Amazonian Institute of Scientific Research in Colombia has recently published a 32-page children's book on Amazonian wetlands. Filled with colourful illustrations, it contains information on wetland classification, species, conservation etc. Los humedales de la Amazonia Colombiana

A remarkable Web site developed by schoolchildren in Hawaii that traces the history of their local wetland from 1300 to the present, highlighting its use and abuse by people over the centuries. This dynamic group of children learned about their local history, their wetlands - and designed a Web site to share their knowledge! Please sign the guest book when you visit. Kaelepulu Pond, Hawaii

"POW! The Planning Of Wetlands: An Educator’s Guide" takes teachers and students through the process of creating, restoring, and enhancing wetlands in or near schoolyards using natural or artificial water sources. The first section of the guide presents background information on the technical aspects of designing and constructing a wetland. The second section includes hands-on activities that allow students in grades 5-12 to fully participate in designing, planning and then monitoring their wetland. Modified activities are provided for grades K-4. The guide can be purchased on-line from Environmental Concern Inc.

Murder Under The Microscope: An interactive environmental mystery game played on the Internet by hundreds of primary schools across Australia every year. The challenge is to find the victim and the villain and then design a catchment management plan to prevent it happening again! Murder Under The Microscope

GREEN: Global Rivers Environmental Education Network produces a catalogue of materials for use in schools, presenting a range of water monitoring kits, field manuals, sampling nets, etc. You can view the catalogue on-line or in hard copy by mail from Earth Force, 1908 Mount Vernon Avenue, 2nd Floor, Alexandria, VA 22301, USA. GREEN Catalogue

Irish Peatland Conservation Council, a registered charity, provides information on all aspects of peatland conservation. Their catalogue offers a wealth of materials - wall charts, books, slide packs - to help bring peatland bogs into the classroom. The catalogue is available on-line or contact them by e-mail: ipcc@indigo.ie at 119, Capel Street, Dublin 1, Ireland. IPCC Catalogue

A company with the unlikely name of the Digital Frog has produced an interactive CD-Rom. Includes animations, narration, games, text, full color photographs and a comprehensive workbook. Can be purchased on-line. Digital Field Trip to Wetlands

For further information about the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, please contact the Ramsar Convention Bureau, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ramsar@ramsar.org). Posted 16 April 2001, updated 15 February 2008, Sandra Hails, Ramsar.