Environmental Mapping
Environmental Mapping is about helping children see the world around them with fresh eyes. By exploring local places and recording what they notice — from green spaces and wildlife to pollution and litter — children learn to observe, question, and make connections between their everyday lives and the wider environment.
This process teaches valuable skills: how to collect evidence, how to work together, and how to consider the impact humans have on the natural world. It encourages critical thinking, creativity, and care for the places we live in.
To support this, we’ve created a set of teaching packs. Each pack provides structured activities, resources, and discussion prompts that you can use in the classroom or outdoors. Whether mapping air quality on the school run, noting biodiversity in the playground, or exploring how local landscapes have changed over time, these packs are designed to make environmental learning active, accessible, and memorable.
Teaching Packs
Environmental Mapping: Connecting with nature
Here's another teaching pack example.
Environmental Mapping: Green Future Heroes
Learners work together to decide the best place to install a wind turbine on their school grounds. By exploring renewable vs non‑renewable energy, collecting real measurements, and using both paper and digital maps, they investigate environmental impacts and justify their final choice. A hands‑on activity that builds decision‑making, mapping skills, and awareness of sustainable energy.
Environmental Mapping: Air Pollution Part 1
Learners use simple wearable sensors to measure the air pollution they’re exposed to during everyday activities. They learn what air pollution is, where it comes from, and how it affects health. After collecting data on their journeys and at home, they explore maps and graphs to spot pollution hotspots and discuss easy ways to reduce their exposure.
Environmental Mapping: Air Pollution Part 2
Learners explore their local area by predicting where air pollution might be highest, then compare their guesses with real PM2.5 data collected in Part 1. Using maps, discussions, and simple visual tools, they discover pollution hotspots, understand why they occur, and think about ways to reduce exposure in their community.
