Discover: Step 1 - Community Environmental Inventory

Activity - Outdoors

Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Civics, Geography

Scientist Reviewed

Provided by Earth Force

Open Resource

What it is

In this activity, students get outside to gather information about their community to evaluate the environmental strengths and challenges.
Students gather numerical data, analyze maps, conduct surveys, or talk to experts to evaluate their defined community.

Teaching tips

Positives

The website for this activity has lots of suggestions and background materials that will help make the activity a success.

Prerequisites

If students complete the full process, be sure to have them start a portfolio of their work.
To access the tip cards mentioned in this resource, teachers can go to the Environmental Action Civics Alliance website and create a new account to view these and other resources for Step 1.
Before starting the activity, be sure to have answered these questions to help define the scope of work for students:
- How will you define the community for this activity? Will students gather information about all aspects of the environment, or just one? Which sources of information will students use to create this inventory?

Differentiation & Implementation

This can be completed as a stand-alone activity or as one step in a larger community-action and problem-solving process (see other EarthForce resources for other steps in the process).
The website for this activity includes tutorial videos resources for introducing the inventory to students, and tools for determining the root causes of issues.
Other hands-on activities include this solar oven resource and this wind energy resource.

From the scientist review

Inventory mapping is one of the tools used in narrowing down and prioritizing projects to be studied. Using a root-cause technique is also appropriate to identify the most peculiar causative agents impeding positive change in any local community. This activity will guide students on taking decisive steps to actualize site-specific solutions. This resource is recommended for teaching and for facilitating project-based activities in a defined geographic setting.

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At a glance

Grades: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Subjects: Civics, Geography
Format: Google Docs
Language: English
Location: Earth
Provider: Earth Force
Authors: Earth Force
Published: April 27, 2021
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.7 + 15 more

Connecticut Climate Education Hub

Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.7Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and refocusing the inquiry when appropriate.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.4Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Connecticut Elementary and Secondary Social Studies Standards

6.Inq.4.e.Analyze how a specific problem can manifest itself at local, regional, and global levels over time, identifying its characteristics and causes.
7.Inq.1.a.Explain how compelling and supporting questions represent key ideas about geography or other social science disciplines in the study of a world region.
7.Inq.3.a.Gather relevant evidence from multiple sources using both print and digital resources and databases (e.g., origin, authority, structure, context, credibility).
7.Inq.4.d.Present arguments and explanations about local, regional, and global issues to reach a target audience using print, oral, and digital technologies.
7.Civ.13.a.Analyze the purpose, implementation, and consequences of a policy in both historical and contemporary contexts (e.g., environmental, human rights, public health, White Australia Policy).
8.Inq.1.c.Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of views represented in the sources.
8.Inq.3.b.Organize and prioritize relevant evidence from and among multiple sources to support claims.
8.Inq.4.f.Apply a range of deliberative and democratic procedures to make decisions and take action in classrooms, schools, and out-of-school civic contexts.
CG.Inq.3.a.Gather relevant information from multiple sources representing a wide range of views and mediums while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value to guide the selection of credible sources.

Core

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards

D1.5.9-12Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of view represented in the sources, the types of sources available, and the potential uses of the sources.
D2.Civ.13.9-12Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.
D1.4.9-12.Explain how supporting questions contribute to an inquiry and how, through engaging new source work, new compelling and supporting questions emerge.
D3.1.9-12.Gather relevant information from multiple sources representing a wide range of views while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection.