This is a series of stories about what scientists do at the Agricultural Research Service. It is geared to kids 8 to 13 years old.

Highlights of this course include: Major biological, chemical and physical components of the agricultural systems The scientific basis for understanding these systems and their management How has science influenced policies related to agriculture, food safety and environment in the United States? How have the policies evolved over time in the US? What has worked and what has not; what are the reasons and what are the consequences? Beyond science, what other factors influence policies? How do we link what we learn to ecological agriculture? How do we use what we learn for policy analysis?

Highlights of this course include: Major biological, chemical, and physical components of the agricultural systems The scientific basis for understanding these systems and their management How science has influenced policies related to agriculture, food safety, and the environment in the United States How the policies have evolved over time in the US What has worked and what has not; the reasons and the consequences What other factors influence policies beyond science How we link what we learn to ecological agriculture How we use what we learn for policy analysis

This site provides access to more than 4,000 reviewed resources covering 76 biological science topics: agriculture, anatomy, bacteriology, biochemistry, biodiversity, biotechnology, botany, cardiology, cell biology, ecology, environment, evolution, genetics, geography, human biology, immunology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, neurobiology, pathology, pharmacology, physiology, public health, respiratory biology, soil biology, virology, zoology, and others. Registration required.

The curriculum section provides over one hundred garden-based lessons to create, expand, and sustain garden-based learning experiences. It offers practical ideas and resources for every level of garden-based learning from sprouting seeds to understanding the food system.

This curriculum section was compiled by the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Garden-Based Learning Workgroup. The content for this section was borrowed, with permission, from various resources. It was our goal to use existing resources as not to “recreate the wheel” and to give a broad example of the garden-based learning resources that are currently in print.

The section is divided into 12 theme areas with applications for primary and upper grade level students.

Instructions for carrying out this soil science experiment in a double period.

Students will learn how they can take one more step with recycling, and also learn more about nature’s version of recycling.
Materials needed:
Container for bin, hand rake or trowel for burying food waste, red worms, newspaper, leaves
and/or cardboard, and soil. See “tips”
for each procedure.

These worksheets have been designed to enable all Key Stage 2 pupils to gain a better appreciation of growing healthy tomatoes. Each of the 8 worksheets are based upon the learning objectives and outcomes detailed in the QCA units for Science.

The article explains how students and teachers can make their school & classroom a more sustainable place by taking some easy decisions like encouraging recycling, switching off the lights when not needed, packing a healthy lunch.

Frequently asked questions about Organic Agriculture, with the corresponding answers from the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)

Students will brainstorm ways that they use and waste natural resources. Also, they will respond to some facts about population growth and how people use petroleum. Lastly, students will consider the different ways that engineers interact with and use our natural resources.

In this lesson, students reflect on challenges that face farmers in cultivating crops, including insects. They then simulate how crops are affected by native and non-native insect populations and the options farmers have to protect their crops. Finally, they create an agricultural plan from the perspective of a farmer.

Upon completion of this WebQuest, the young learner (3rd, 4th or 5th grade) will understand the basics of running a small Farm Stand business. Operations involved: Selecting the produce to be sold after product and pricing research. Calculating total sales. Substracting the expenses set by the WebQuest for their Farm Stand. Paying taxes based on their sales. Meeting savings, and charitable donation goals. Learners will experience how different decisions can affect results. They will be asked to think about the reasoning behind their choices.

Sustainable development needs chemical research
Research and innovation are preconditions for the transformation of economic and social processes in favor of a sustainable development. Chemistry, the science and practice of the transformation of matter, is of central importance. Everyone dealing with chemistry can contribute substantially to sustainable development and holds special responsibility. Already in education the links between reactions and substances with the consumption of energy and resources, toxicology and environmental pollution have to be treated consciously, so that graduates can provide for them in their professional life.

Organic chemistry lab courses are central for chemical education
Organic chemistry lab courses are obligatory in university courses in chemistry, biochemistry, biology, pharmacy, physics, medicine and even in some engineering science courses. Most of these courses are being carried out in the traditional manner: Students learn basic experimental techniques of synthesis and analysis as well as dealing with dangerous chemical substances. The efficiency of a reaction is generally only looked at in terms of its stoichiometric yield. Students don't learn to evaluate the overall efficiency of a chemical transformation which is a direct measure of its sustainability. Procedures for possible improvements of their efficiency are not taught in an explicit way.

Education contents must be complemented
In order for future generations of scientists to pay more attention to the topic of sustainable development already during their education, traditional contents and concepts of chemical education in schools, vocational schools, academies and universities have to be changed. Important contents of organic chemistry lab courses have to be preserved: Experiencing the joys of experimental activities, practicing of experimental skills, getting to know substances, equipment and reactions, safe handling of dangerous substances complying with legal regulations. These topics shall be complemented by aspects of efficiency and sustainability of a reaction. From this broader perspective students learn to plan, conduct and analyse organic synthesis reactions, including effects of the reaction on man and environment into the scope of their activities. Sustainability starts with planning the reaction!

Course material offered in a new way...
Depending on aim and level of studies the contents to be conveyed differ strongly. Therefore a new format was chosen for the new organic chemistry lab course. Not a textbook or script but an interactive database was designed to offer all relevant information. The offer is meant for lab instructors and teachers responsible for practical education in organic chemistry in universities, academies and vocational schools. The NOP material is intended to help set up modern lab courses and seminars, to get concepts and tools of sustainable chemistry across to generations of scientists to come.

Lab experiments with experimental instructions, security information, safety information and analytical data have been amended with non-classical issues like life cycle assessment (LCA), energy consumption and (eco-)toxicological evaluations.

...and open for your contributions
Contrary to the "closed" nature of a textbook, only evolving by new editions in a confined way, this lab course is "open", meaning that authors not belonging to the original team can contribute. All materials are free of charge for students as well as teachers. For their application in a specific course, the instructor chooses adequate parts of the NOP collection. A preselection of topics, amplitude and structure of a course has been deliberately avoided. We hope that this open form of offering course material will widely be accepted and used on the different levels of education. Classical contents like experimental instructions are directly linked to, but not mixed with information, articles and data concering sustainability, environmental protection and (eco)toxicology. In this way it is envisioned to convey these contents together with the classical "program".

The project was funded by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt.
This is cordially acknowledged.

In this lesson, students will identify the Earth's natural resources and classify them as renewable or non-renewable. They will simulate the distribution of resources and discuss the fairness and effectiveness of the distribution. Students will identify ways that they use and waste natural resources, and they will explore ways that engineers interact with natural resources.

This BioBulletin Web site takes a close look at chocolate and why yields from cacao plants around the world are falling. The site includes text, videos, photographs, and interviews with key scientists.

An overview of Organic Farming written by Dr. Trevor Storey.

This module on population and development is part of the World Bank Group's educational site that addresses sustainable development in the world. An introduction, objectives, activities, and references are provided. Educators can use the activities to help students understand population growth rates.

A Food & Taste education project by Slow Food to fight hunger through an innovative approach to food education: 11 schools and 400 students from villages in the Molo Highland