Educational Resources

Check this site for frequent updates and new materials.

Resources for teachers, naturalists, and group leaders of all stripes.

CNPS Curriculum, Opening the World through Nature Journaling, by John Muir Laws and Emily Breunig: You may download the curriculum here. This project is funded to date by the JiJi Foundation.

How to Draw Plants videos by John Muir Laws http://www.youtube.com/user/JohnMuirLaws

John Muir Laws: Techniques and equipment for making a Field Journal and Building science observation skills through field journaling (field sketching activities for science teachers and outdoor educators).

California Institute for Biodiversity: http://www.calalive.org/index.php

Sacramento Splash: http://sandbox.sacsplashbackup.org

The California Phenology Project is working at all levels to cultivate phenological and climate change literacy. From elementary school classrooms to university labs, and from natural reserves to national parks, the CPP is developing and implementing a variety of educational, outreach, and scientific training activities. http://www.usanpn.org/cpp/education

Project Budburst: A National Phenology Network Field Campaign for Citizen Scientists. http://www.windows.ucar.edu/citizen_science/budburst.  Join thousands of others in gathering valuable environmental and climate change information from across the country. Project BudBurst engages the public in making careful observations of the phenophases such as first leafing, first flower, and first fruit ripening of a diversity of trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses in their local area.

, where you can record what you see in nature, meet other nature lovers, and learn about the natural world. www.iNaturalist.org

Investigating the Oak Community: Curriculum for grades 4-8: Curriculum from the California Oak Foundation. Download PDF

Plant Taxonomy Teaching materials: a growing archive of teacher training materials

The Private Eye: (5X) Looking /Thinking by Analogy http://www.the-private-eye.com/index.html Hands-on, investigative, The Private Eye — using everyday objects, a jeweler's loupe, and simple questions — accelerates science, writing, art, math, social studies, and more. K-16 through life, The Private Eye develops "the interdisciplinary mind." 

Acorn Naturalists: www.acornnaturalists.com

Project Wild http://www.projectwild.org/. Project Wild is a wildlife focused conservation education program for K-12 educators and their students.

CREEC Network – The California Regional Environmental Education Community.

US Fish and Wildlife Service, Let’s Go Outside http://www.fws.gov/letsgooutside

SAWA’s Education and Public Outreach Programs - Chino Creek Wetlands and Educational Park: http://www.sawatershed.org/

Tabletop Activities for Children at Plant Sales and Native Plant Week

• Tools of a Botanist table (docx 26kb)
    Botanist Data Sheet (docx 11kb)
• Keen Observer Game (docx 12kb)
• Fruits and Nuts Activities (docx 17kb)
• Plant Sale Scavenger Hunt (docx 27kb)
• Download all files in a .zip archive (79kb)

Word Search Puzzles (created by Betsey Landis):

• Chaparral (pdf 98kb)
• Coastal Sage (pdf 98kb)
• Grass (pdf 151kb)
• Native Grasses 1 (pdf 98kb)
• Native Grasses 2 (pdf 98kb)
• Riparian (pdf 98kb)
• Butterflies (pdf 251kb)
• Leaf and Flower (pdf 152kb)
• Insects (pdf 268kb)
• Download all files in a .zip archive (522kb)

Botanical Resources

Herbaria, Collections and Databases

• The Consortium of California Herbaria 16 participating CA herbaria
• California Natural Diversity Database
• USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program
• CalFlora -- an online database of California plants
• CalPhotos: Plants -- California plant images, Berkeley Digital Library
• University and Jepson Herbaria -- UC Berkeley
• Jepson Herbarium Links Page
• Carl G. Sharsmith Herbarium -- San Jose State University
• Oregon State University Herbarium
• Botanical Society of America Online Image Collection
• Information Center for the Environment (ICE) -- UC Davis
• Native American Ethnobotany Database
• University of California, Davis Herbarium
• Index to American Botanical Literature -- NYBG searchable database
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI) -- database of names and associated basic bibliographical details of all seed plants
• Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

Botanic Gardens with Native Plant Collections

Taxonomic Resources

• Jepson Manual Corrections
• Jepson Online Interchange -- search the Jepson Flora Project using the Index to California Plant Names
• Flora of North America
• Biota of North America Program -- North Carolina Botanical Garden
• International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT)
• The Tree of Life -- phylogeny and biodiversity
• National Biological Information Infrastructure -- all biota
• International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Toyko Code)
• Green Plant Phylogeny Research Coordination Group
• Botanical Glossary -- 3700 terms relating to botany, gardening and horticulture
• On-Line Flora of Napa County -- by Joe Callizo, Jake Ruygt, and Gilbert Muth
• Encelia and its relatives -- Heliantheae, Asteraceae
• Flora of Ventura County:

Non-vascular Plants

• American Bryological and Lichenological Society
• California Lichen Society
• Catalog of North American Bryophytes -- NYBG
• Bryological Laboratory - MBG

General Botany Resources

• Discovering Botany -- British Natural History Museum
• Nevada Natural Heritage Program
• Directory of Botanical Resources -- Botanique
• Missouri Botanical Garden Library -- searchable catalog and digitized rare books

Additional California Organizations

• California Botanical Society, CBS
• California Indian Basketweavers Association, CIBA
• California Native Grass Association, CNGA
• California Oak Foundation
• California Invasive Plant Council, Cal-IPC
• The California Society for Ecological Restoration, SERCAL
• Northern California Botanists
• Southern California Botanists