Resources
Learning Library
We believe in life-long learning! Here are some links to great accessible resources. We do our best to keep this page up to date. If you’ve got great content you know of or produce, please contact our team to review for listing here! We prioritize open-access and freely available content relating to STEAM, particulary in North Carolina and Franklin County!
Seek, by iNaturalist
This fantastic app lets you scan anything in the wild or garden with a phone camera. The software then draws from a huge database of curated citizen science observations, and offers suggestions for identifying what you’re observing. If you choose, you can make an observer account on iNaturalist and become one of the millions of citizen scientists world wide who upload their observations to the database. Many researchers use this rich dataset to learn more about our world. There’s no obligation to upload, and the app is free! You can seek and observe to your heart’s content.
Seed Library
Interested in growing native plants, but not sure where to find seeds or start? Connect with the Seed Library to get started, or donate back seeds from plants you’ve sprouted!
eBird
Enjoy birding and engage in citizen science! eBird is a project hosted by the Cornell lab of Ornithology (the study of birds). You can record sightings, bird sounds and calls (you don’t have to identify to upload!). By adding to their database, you help scientists learn more about birds and how to conserve them.
STEAM
These videos from Wisdom of the Ancestors, including this video about canoe building and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) are full of opportunities to learn!
Ancestral Lands
The Native Land Digital project offers teaching & learning resources. Visit the interactive map to learn about the living peoples and ancestral lands of the world and where you live.
(Image Credit: NC Coorperative Extension YouTube Channel)
Woodland Plant Identification
Can you tell poison ivy apart from look-alikes? What is the fruit of a sweet gum? Check out these short, informative videos from the NC Cooperative Extension to learn more!
(Photo Credit: NC Coorperative Extension soil testing web page)
Soil Testing
Calling all gardeners! NC Cooperative Extension offers soil testing. For a small fee ($4/sample in 2023), you can bring a little folding container of earth from your growing areas and get full data back on the composition. Need more nitrogen? Phosporous? Rebalance pH? Find out with resourcs from the local Cooperative Extension!
Your Recommendations Here?
Do you have amazing STEAM resources or content you’d like to see featured on this page? Please contact us and let us know!
We’re glad to post STEAM-related videos, articles, podcasts, you name it! Just keep it open-source or freely available content only please.
