Education and Outreach

Visuals of our staff out teaching programs

School Programs

2026-2027 School Year Programming

We appreciate the continued support of Gaston County Schools and extend our sincere thanks to the administrators and educators who have approved our educational programming for classroom use.

Keep Gastonia Beautiful offers a variety of FREE, standards-aligned environmental education programs for public, private, charter, and homeschool students throughout Gaston County. Our engaging presentations are designed to complement classroom learning and inspire environmental stewardship through interactive, age-appropriate activities.

To request a program for your classroom or grade level, please complete this Program Request Form. Once your request has been submitted, the Keep Gastonia Beautiful staff member assigned to your school will contact you to confirm your preferred date and finalize the details.

If you have questions about our educational programs, please contact us at keepgastoniabeautifulnc@gmail.com. The staff member assigned to your school will be happy to assist you.

Program Information
• All programs are provided free of charge.
• Programs are designed for individual classroom presentations.
• Multiple classrooms or grade levels may be scheduled on the same day, based on staff availability.
• Programs are available for public, private, charter, and homeschool groups throughout Gaston County.

Resources
Printable flyer to share with your team
Printable document with all program descriptions to share with your team
Program Request Form

Keep Gastonia Beautiful - First Semester Programming
	Kindergarten - Sea Turtle Survival Students will be engaged in the non-fiction story of Duffy, a sea turtle, who was rescued after mistakenly eating plastic trash. After discovering ways to reduce our use of plastics, the class will join in a “fishing out plastic expedition” to save Duffy. NC Science Standards Correlations: LS.K.1
	1st Grade - Hands on Dirt Feel how sand, silt and clay are different! Make a mud milkshake for the class to see what kinds of soil types you have at your school. Investigate local soil types and what amazing things we can do with soil from pottery to bricks and more! With hands-on learning (and wipes to clean up) students will get a feel for the “dirt beneath their feet! NC Science Standards Correlation: ESS.1.2
	2nd Grade - Eyes on Weather Students and teachers will learn how watching the weather, recording temperature and measuring rainfall can help determine patterns in plant growth and help us become better aware of the world around us. Students will learn how to use weather related scientific tools and participate in citizen science. Teachers can decide to turn this program into a year long investigation and borrow weather tools for the year to regularly chart and investigate the weather. NC Science Standards Correlation: ESS.2.1
	3rd Grade - Tree Identification North Carolina has so many different tree species and trees are an amazing kind of plant to study right outside your classroom! Explore 10 basic trees by identifying leaf shape and other distinguishing features in this hands-on exploration. Students will observe, classify, and take home a dichotomous key and leaf rubbings. NC Science Standards Correlation: LS.3.2
	4th Grade -Pollinator Adaptations Bees and other pollinators are vital to our agricultural economy. After exploring the how’s and why’s of pollination, students will learn about adaptations and our environmental impact through a fast-paced game. This action-packed learning game works best outside with lots of room for our pollinators to get to work. NC Science Standards Correlation: LS.4.1
	5th Grade - Vermicompost & the Soil Food Web Introducing students to the “superhero” of composting - Worms! We will investigate food waste and its effect on landfills. Students will examine live worms and build a worm hotel from repurposed plastic soda bottles. Classes will keep this ecosystem throughout the school year in order to observe the worms’ living and eating patterns. NC Science Standards Correlation: LS.5.2
Keep Gastonia Beautiful - Second Semester Programming
	Kindergarten - Super Trees Through the Seasons Superheroes come in all shapes and sizes. Learn the 5 superhero traits of the biggest plants on Earth: TREES! Student interactive presentation as we explore the benefits of trees throughout the year. NC Science Standards Correlation: LS.K.2
	1st Grade - Earth Magic Learning through play! Students will get a small tray and build out the important parts to make a small local ecosystem: air, sunlight, soil, plants and animals will be added one at a time to create the best habitat! And you know what’s NOT in our perfect, magical Earth? Trash! NC Science Standards Correlation: L.S.1
	2nd Grade - Recycle Jams Dive into the world of sound by crafting your very own musical instruments from recycled materials! In this hands-on adventure, young creators will explore how soundwaves work while learning the importance of reusing and recycling. Build, play, and discover the science of sound and the power of conservation—together! NC Science Standards Correlation: PS.2.2
	3rd Grade - Waste Detectives Students will learn about waste while sorting through a mock trashcan based on real classroom waste. Using pickers and instructive charts, students will sort and weigh different types of garbage to create data sets to analyze. What kinds of habits can we work on to reduce our waste? NC Math Standards Correlation: NC.3.MD.3
	4th Grade - Wanderin’ about Watersheds? Students will learn how rivers help to shape the land. They will have hands-on activities to build out a mountain range and then “rain” will form the rivers. Watch to see where the rain goes and pools. What happens when we have pollution in our communities? Where will it go when it rains? NC Science Standards Correlations: ESS.4.2
	5th Grade - Wrapping Up the Food Web Students will complete the 1st Semester Vermicomposting Experiment by harvesting the worm castings and disassembling their worm hotel. They will investigate the ecosystem by looking for and identifying producers, consumers and decomposers in this hands-on Food Web wrap up. EOG Science Review

NEW THIS SCHOOL YEAR...CURRICULUM KITS
Need to enrich science time? We have kits that include everything you need for the following lessons.

Water Cycle Game- Incredible Journey
Use our kit to send your students on the journey of a water drop. They will be surprised to see the “cycle” in action is not circular! Comes with options for indoor or outdoor set up and instructions. Pairs great with 5th grade water cycle curriculum, but can be used for any grade with ability to read and follow instructions independently.

Common Water
How is water used and shared by people over time? In this kit you will have the opportunity to see how water resource use has changed as demand by society has increased. What happens if water is polluted? The kit includes sponges and food coloring with instructions. Makes a great addition to social studies/community discussions.

Litter Clean Up
Do you have a group interested in a service project for Earth Day or want to beautify school grounds before a big event? Check out a kit that includes garbage bags, litter pickers and a scale. Return all items along with your record of how much litter your team collected! Send in pictures and we will shout you out on socials (as allowed).

FIELD TRIP STOPOVERS
Extend your field trip with a visit to one of our self-guided educational experiences!

StoryWalk® at Rankin Lake Park
Begin your journey at the boathouse and follow the short, paved path to the pavilions while enjoying a featured environmentally themed children's book. The StoryWalk® combines reading, movement, and nature for a fun learning experience.

Chronolog Time-Lapse Stations
Explore our Chronolog stations to see how local landscapes change over time. Visit one at the Rankin Lake Park bridge between the parking lots, and another along the Avon Creek Greenway near Lineberger Park

Pollinator Census

Chronolog

Chronolog: Community Science in Gastonia

See Nature Change Over Time

Have you ever wondered how a creek, streambank, park, or natural area changes over time? Now you can help us document those changes!

Keep Gastonia Beautiful, in partnership with the City of Gastonia’s Storm Water Utility Division, has seven Chronolog stations located throughout the city. Chronolog is a community science project that uses time-lapse photography to document changes in our natural spaces over time. Each time you visit a Chronolog station, you can take a photo from the designated location and submit it to the Chronolog platform. As more photos are collected, they are compiled into a time-lapse sequence that allows residents, scientists, and City staff to observe and better understand changes in the environment.

How It Works

Find a Chronolog station at one of our participating locations.
Take a photo from the designated spot, following the visual guide on the stand.
Follow the instructions on the stand to submit your photo to Chronolog using the site-specific code.
Watch the changes over time as your photo becomes part of a growing collection of community observations.

Your participation can help document changes such as streambank stability, erosion, vegetation growth, water conditions, and other environmental changes. The information collected can provide a valuable visual record for community members, scientists, and City departments.

Explore Our Chronolog Locations

Visit a Chronolog station while you're enjoying one of Gastonia's parks, greenways, or natural areas and become part of this community science effort.

KGB 101 Avon Creek at Lineberger Park

KGB 102 Kaglor Creek at Rankin Lake

KGB 103 Highland Greenway

KGB 104 Linwood Springs

KGB 105 Coming soon..

KGB 106 Bethesda Oaks Trail

KGB 107 Schiele Museum Nature Trail Bridge

Why Community Science Matters

We all spend time outdoors—walking on a greenway, visiting a park, exploring a creek, or simply enjoying nature. Community science gives everyone an opportunity to contribute to our understanding of the environment. You don't need to be a scientist to make a difference. One photo may seem small, but thousands of observations collected over time can help tell a much bigger story.

By participating at a Chronolog station, you're helping create a visual record of Gastonia's natural spaces and contributing information that can help us better understand, monitor, and care for our community.

Take a photo. Share what you see. Help us watch Gastonia change over time.

Storywalk

NC Forest Service Grant

Logo for NC Forest Service

Hudson Boulevard Tree Maintenance and Planting Project

The City of Gastonia has been awarded funding for this project, which was provided through a USDA Forest Service Urban & Community Forestry Grant from the North Carolina Forest Service, Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the USDA Forest Service. This institution is an equal opportunity employer.

The goal of our tree inventory is to improve the health, safety, and long-term sustainability of trees along Hudson Boulevard. Hudson Boulevard is one of Gastonia's primary transportation corridors, carrying thousands of vehicles each day and serves as an important gateway into the community. Over time, aging trees, storm damage, and vehicle impacts have resulted in dead and declining trees, hazardous limbs, remaining stumps, and noticeable gaps in the tree canopy. The Hudson Boulevard Tree Maintenance and Planting Project will include a comprehensive tree inventory and assessment, removal of dead and hazardous trees, stump grinding, soil remediation, and replanting with appropriate tree species selected for long-term success in the corridor environment. The project will also include the development of tree maintenance, planting, and post-planting care plans to help ensure the continued health of the corridor's urban forest.

In addition to improving safety and appearance, healthy trees provide numerous benefits to the community, including shade, stormwater management, improved air quality, wildlife habitat, and enhanced neighborhood character. Phase 1 of this project began in July 2027, which started with a tree inventory of all trees in the right-of-way and median along Hudson Boulevard from Robinwood Road to Davis Park Road.

We anticipate applying for Phase 2 of this grant to address all the items discovered from the inventory, including pruning, removing, and replacing trees. Throughout the project, the City will provide opportunities for public engagement, including project updates, educational materials, Tree Commission discussions, and a community survey to gather input on corridor improvements.

Project Goals

Improve safety by removing dead, damaged, and hazardous trees.
Restore and enhance the tree canopy along Hudson Boulevard.
Improve the appearance of a major gateway corridor.
Increase the long-term health and resilience of the City's urban forest.
Educate and engage residents in the value of urban trees and sustainable corridor management.

Get Involved

Residents will have opportunities to learn about the project, provide feedback through a public survey, and follow project progress through the City's website, social media channels, and Tree Commission meetings.

Hudson Blvd Planting plan visual

Offices for Keep Gastonia Beautiful are located at the Garland Municipal Business Center at 150 S. York Street on the second floor.

Contact Information

Garland Municipal Business Center

150 S. York Street, Gastonia, NC 28052

(PO Box 1748, Gastonia, NC 28053-1748)

704-869-1938 (office)

704-866-6067 (fax)

{{{_source.title}}} {{#_source.showPrice}} {{{_source.displayPrice}}} {{/_source.showPrice}}