The neighborhood environment then provides an outdoor, hands-on setting in which students can learn through exploration, observation and experimentation about topics such as the water cycle, plants physiology, biology, chemistry, earth sciences, conservation, values, etc. Such experiential learning can lead to a greater interest and deeper understanding of science subjects by students than can classroom based learning. Experiential Literacy Urban environmental education programs can also improve reading and writing through the use of stories and journals that connect literacy skills to the real world experiences in the neighborhood environment. Environmental Art and Culture Art and culture can be integrated into such neighborhood based environmental education initiatives. Gardens can include youth created sculptures.
Units can culminate in environmental murals or photographic essays.
Community theater can be used to celebrate and present what students have learned. These aspects then provide greater meaning to the other topics being explored. Life Skills Development Environmental improvement projects provide the perfect forum for teaching team building, conflict resolution and problem solving. In greening projects, students must work as a team to realize success, whereas in the classroom, despite the rhetoric, it is individual achievement that is graded. Finally, we all know that there are real problems to be solved in urban neighborhoods, and greening is a positive and doable way to approach them.