In the Garden -Accessibility for Everyone

https://www.flawildflowers.org/classroom-resources/

Wild About Wildflowers! is a free activity guide developed by the Florida Wildflower Foundation to help students and learners of all kinds discover Florida’s native wildflowers. Fully updated in 2026, this expanded edition is organized into nine units that progress from the anatomy of a single flower to the broader ecological and cultural roles wildflowers play — covering flower parts, life cycles, pollination, seed dispersal, adaptations, plant and animal interactions.

Florida Wildflower Foundation resources:

• Planning your school garden(Practical information on wildflower gardens and creating garden teams with volunteers)

• Linking your garden to your curriculum (Ideas for creating curriculum goals and projects that incorporate your campus wildflower garden)

• Wild About Wildflowers! Activity Guide (A 139-page activity guide addressing Florida native wildflowers and their purpose and place in Florida’s unique habitats. Activities are correlated to third- and fourth-grade standards but are amenable to all grade levels.)

• Common Invasive and Non-native plants

• Wildflower Maze (Grades K–2)

• Wildflower Connect the Dots(Grades 2–4)

• Wildflower Crossword Puzzle(Grades 3–5)

• Wildflower Word Search (Grades 3–5)

• Plant profiles (300+ profiles of native wildflowers and plants)

• A Guide to Restoring the Little Things that Run the World webinar, Doug Tallamy

Order seeds for your garden:

• Florida Wildflower Growers Cooperative

Wildflower videos:

• Protecting Florida Wildflowers(by NatureWise TV)

• Landscaping with Florida Native Wildflowers (by NatureWise TV)

Choosing wildflower species for your garden:

• Guide for Choosing Native Wildflowers and Plants 

• 20 Easy-to-Grow Wildflowers

• Attracting Bees and Other Beneficial Insects with Florida’s Native Wildflowers

• Attracting Butterflies

• Attracting Birds

• Great Wildflowers for your Dry Landscape

• Starting a Wildflower Garden from Seed

• Recognizing Small Wildflower Seedlings, OecoHort, LLC

UF/IFAS Extension offices: 

• In addition to offering many more gardening resources, UF/IFAS Extension offices can do a soil analysis for you if provided with a soil sample. To find your local extension agent or office, visit solutionsforyourlife.ifas.ufl.edu/map/.

Classroom and garden activities:

• Florida Wildflowers and Butterflies Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida  (Click on photos for identification and gardening information)

• Grow to Learn: Florida School Gardening Guide Sarasota County UF/IFAS Extension

• Florida Automated Weather Network Factsheet (Calculate the proper amount of water needed for irrigation)

• Kids Gardening (Lesson plans and activities on wildflowers, pollinators, photosynthesis and more)

• Urban Pollinator ProgramCurriculum Guide K-12 from North Dakota Game and Fish Department

• Pollinator Curriculum and PowerPoint for K-12 from Beyond Pesticides

• Coloring pages from Amy Mosher of the Sea Rocket Chapter, Florida Native Plant Society

Classroom environmental education:

• Celebrating Wildflowers US Forest Service

• League for Environmental Educators of Florida (LEEF)

• Center for Invasive Species(Learn about and report invasive plants and animals in Florida.)

• Marvelous Explorations Through Science and Stories: MESS® Florida Museum of Natural History (Science-centered curriculum for 3–5 year olds.)

• Project Learning Tree University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (Educational resources and guides for early childhood, elementary, middle and high school.)

• Combat Garden Pests NaturallyFarmers’ Almanac

Butterflies and other insects:  

• The Tiny and Tough Miami Blue Butterfly, Geena M. Hill and Sarah Steele Cabrera, Florida Museum of Natural History (coloring book)

• Butterfly Forest Educators Guide Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida

• Monarch Joint Venture University of Minnesota (Help collect longterm national data)

• Beneficial Insects Sarasota County UF/IFAS Extension

• Pollinator profiles Florida Wildflower Foundation

• Northeast Florida’s Native Bees(Gardening for bees in Northeast Florida; native bee identification)

• Florida Bug Club University of Florida, Entomology Department

Birds:   

• Audubon for Kids! National Audubon Society

• Plants for Birds National Audubon Society

• All About Birds Cornell University Lab of Ornithology (Online bird guide, bird ID help and bird sounds)

• North American Bird Guide National Audubon Society (smartphone app)

• Guide to North American Birds National Audubon Society

• K-12 Educational WebinarsCornell University Lab of Ornithology

Amphibians and reptiles:

• Kids’ Corner University of Florida, Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation (Amphibian and reptile coloring and activity books)

• How to Make a Treefrog House University of Florida, Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation

• Gopher Tortoise Program Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (Help document gopher tortoise sightings)

Links to school gardening resources:

• Kids Gardening

• The Science Spot (Science activities for junior high school students)

• National Wildlife Federation — Teaching with Schoolyard Habitats

• National Wildlife Federation — Ensuring Success for your Schoolyard Habitat

• Junior Master Gardeners

• Pollinator Partnership

• Florida Green Schools Network

• How to Build a Raised Garden Bed, UF/IFAS (lumber)

• How to Build a Raised Garden Bed, UF/IFAS (concrete blocks)

• Propagation, UF/IFAS