While kids are enjoying some time off from school this summer, it is also important to keep their minds active. Parents can help their kids avoid the dreaded “summer slide,” where students lose some of their academic gains from the school year, by encouraging their children to participate in TurfMutt’s environmental education and stewardship program.
The TurfMutt youth education lesson plans are free and aligned to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) standards for kids in grades K-8. The lessons are available on the TurfMutt website and in the USGBC Learning Lab. They are designed as a fun and engaging way for students to learn valuable science lessons in their own backyards, parks or school yards.
The lessons focus on getting kids outside to conduct interactive experiments and other fun activities. “Our lesson plans help kids learn how to care for the green space around us so they can learn early on how to be good stewards of the environment and why that is so important,” said Kris Kiser, President & CEO of the TurfMutt Foundation.
In the lessons plans, superhero and Foundation spokesdog, Mulligan the TurfMutt is joined by her “outdoor power” pals Big Rooty, Water Warrior, Green Ranger, and Professor Botany. The superheroes battle the environmental “bad buys” including Carbon Creep, Dust Demon, Heat Freak, and Dr. Runoff.
Mulligan is real-life rescue dog who was adopted by Kiser at the TurfMutt Foundation’s annual pet adoption event Mutt Madness. The event is hosted in conjunction with the Kentucky Humane Society and held at the Equip Exposition trade show each year. “No one loves and appreciates a yard and green space more than a dog like Mulligan,” said Kiser. “Parents and teachers know that kids are more likely to engage in learning when it’s fun, and that’s what the TurfMutt curriculum is, thanks to Mulligan leading the way.”
The arts are included in the lessons, as well. One of the plans provides an original drama script where students can act out parts for flowers, sun, trees, shrubs and environmental villains, such as Carbon Creep. By putting on the play as a class or for others, students can learn how green plants, trees and shrubs help our communities. The Turf Mutt lesson plans are free on the Turf Mutt website and available via subscription from the USGBC Learning Lab. Prior Turf Mutt lesson plans, created with Scholastic, Discovery Education and Weekly Reader, are also housed on the TurfMutt website.
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