Join PBS Western Reserve for Cyberchase—Green It Up! This free hands-on event is designed for children ages 6-8 to inspire a deep appreciation for nature, build STEM skills and help students feel empowered to take environmental action in their neighborhoods—just like their favorite characters on the PBS Kids show CYBERCHASE.
Cyberchase. Green It Up includes 13 hands-on modules designed to help children explore the environment, build critical thinking skills, and take action in their communities. Themes include food waste, gardening, composting, pollinators, deforestation, migration, coral reefs, sustainable design, nature appreciation, and more. The modules include easy-to-follow indoor and outdoor activities on colorful cards with step-by-step instructions, as well as bilingual family activity booklets (in English and Spanish), “Kids Can Help!” posters, and materials needed to complete the activities (like seeds, soil, and craft materials). The activity booklets are designed to inspire families to explore environmental topics and complete activities together. Each module focuses on one environmental topic and contains an Explore activity (an experiment or craft) and a Get Outside activity (a type of “field trip” to explore the concept in an outdoor setting). At the end of each module, students are challenged to use what they’ve learned to green up their communities.
Watch the recordings of the Cyberchase—Green It Up! 2022 virtual event.
Session 1 — Pollinators and Flower Gardens
Pollinators — Pollinators, like bats, butterflies, and bees, are animals that help to spread pollen from one plant to another so that more plants can grow. They are necessary for growing many fruits and nuts that we eat like almonds, cherries, bananas, avocados, tomatoes, and grapes, as well as most kinds of flowers. Today, many pollinators are losing their habitats (places where they live).
Flower Gardens — Flower gardens are not just beautiful places to enjoy nature, they also create food and homes for insects and other animals. Gardens also help to clean the air by changing carbon dioxide into oxygen for us to breathe. You can plant a garden almost anywhere, even in some unexpected places.
Session 2 — Container Gardening and Composting
Fruit and Veggie Garden — You don’t need a lot of land or a complicated set-up to grow your own food. You can grow your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs in a classroom, at home, or in a community garden. Growing your own food can help you make healthy choices, save money, and help the environment. You can control what pesticides and chemicals you use (or don’t use!) and the amount of water you use, so that nothing is wasted. You are also making a green space that gives you oxygen and provides homes for insects and other animals.
Composting — When we throw food away in the trash, it goes to a landfill where it breaks down slowly, takes up space, and can release harmful methane gas. We can turn food scraps into new soil ourselves by composting. Composting is a process where tiny creatures, called microorganisms, help to break down food and other scraps safely outside of landfills to create healthy soil. Worms can help speed up the process!
Session 3 — Appreciating Nature and Big Finale
Appreciating Nature — There are many benefits to spending time in nature. It is a great space for many fun activities, beautiful scenery to enjoy, a place to learn new things, and a peaceful experience to clear your mind. While you are out enjoying nature, you can show your appreciation by being respectful and taking care of natural spaces you visit, so that they stay healthy and safe for everyone to enjoy in the future!
Big Finale — There is a lot that we can do to impact the environment. What issues are important to your children? Help them think about what they’ve learned and take the time to share with others things they can do to support and protect nature in our communities.
Watch the recordings of the Cyberchase—Green It Up! 2021 virtual event.
Exploration 1 — Pollinators
Join PBS Western Reserve’s Department of Education and the Cyberchase Green it Up Team as we look at pollinators, like bats, butterflies, and bees, animals that help to spread pollen from one plant to another so that more plants can grow. They are necessary for growing many fruits and nuts that we eat like almonds, cherries, bananas, avocados, tomatoes, and grapes, as well as most kinds of flowers. Today, many pollinators are losing their habitats (places where they live).
Exploration 2 — Fruit and Vegetable Container Garden
You don’t need a lot of land or a complicated set-up to grow your own food. You can grow your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs in a classroom, at home, or in a community garden. Join PBS Western Reserve’s Department of Education and the Cyberchase Green it Up Team as they demonstrate how growing your own food can help you make healthy choices, save money, and help the environment. You can control what pesticides and chemicals you use (or don’t use!) and the amount of water you use, so that nothing is wasted. You are also making a green space that gives you oxygen and provides homes for insects and other animals.
Exploration 3 — Deforestation
Join PBS Western Reserve’s Department of Education and the Cyberchase Green it Up Team as we look at the issue of deforestation. Trees provide the Earth with many things that help other plants and animals (including humans) survive, like air to breathe, places to live, and food to eat. We also use trees to make paper and supply wood for building houses and making furniture. Deforestation is when people destroy forests permanently to create room for farmland, housing, and other buildings.
Exploration 4 — Big Finale
We learned about pollinators, growing your own food and the dangers of deforestation. However, There is a lot more that we can do to impact the environment. Wrap up your Green it Up experience and join PBS Western Reserve as we look at issues that are important to us all. We’ll take some time to think about what they’ve learned and share with others, through a PSA, poster or other sources, the things they can do to support and protect nature in our communities.
