Educator Resources

Listed below are resources and information to prepare for a visit to the Atlanta Botanical Garden or to enhance classroom activities.

Schoolyard Edible Gardens
Garden Discovery Activities
What is an Amphibian?
Wetlands & Pitcher Plants
Tropical Rainforest
Deciduous Forest
Deserts

Schoolyard Edible Gardens

Georgia is a wonderful place to grow fruits and vegetables year-round! In this guide you will find a list of suggested activities for each month of the year and also two school-year garden designs for inspiration. With this information, you will have a few building blocks to begin your very own fall or spring edible garden. More Information

Garden Discovery Activities

Garden Discovery Activities are a great way to learn more about nature and the Garden. These activities can be done individually or with a self-guided group during a visit to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Each activity is educational and encourages participants to experience the Garden in a new way. More Information

What is an Amphibian?

Amphibians are a diverse and exciting class of animals that include frogs, toads, salamanders, newts and caecilians. The term Amphibian comes from the Greek word amphibious. Amphi means “both” and bios means “life”. Those names refer to the two lives that many amphibians live – one in water during their larval stage and the other on land during their adult stage.

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Wetlands & Pitcher Plants

Wetlands are wet habitats that have moist, saturated soils and water tolerant plants. There are many types of wetlands throughout the world including swamps, bogs, marshes and peat lands. In fact, 13% of Georgia’s land area is considered a wetland. Wetlands often exist in holes in the landscape or along the edges of streams, rivers, lakes or oceans. Many meat eating or carnivorous plants live in wetland habitats.

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Tropical Rainforest

The Garden features indoor collections of tropical rainforest plants from around the world. Tropical rainforests are wet, warm habitats with dense tree cover that receive more than 80 inches of rainfall a year. This habitat is located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn where average temperatures are warm and days are long. Because of the consistent mild and humid conditions, tropical rainforests have incredible plant and animal diversity. Many scientists believe that 50 percent of animal and plant species live in tropical rainforests – which account for only 6 percent of the world’s land surface!

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Deciduous Forest

The Temperate Deciduous Forest is a habitat defined by four seasons, moderate amounts of precipitation and trees that loose their leaves in the fall called deciduous trees. The average temperature in a Temperate Forest is 50°F and the habitat receives approximately 30-60 inches of precipitation per year. Georgia receives about 50 inches of rain a year and the average temperature in Atlanta is 61°F. 66% of Georgia’s land is forested, which is double the national average!

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Deserts

Deserts are defined by dry conditions and extreme temperatures. They can be very hot during the day and cold at night. Some deserts even receive snowfall! Most deserts receive less than 25 inches of precipitation a year compared to approximately 50 inches of precipitation per year in Atlanta. Water is the predominant controlling factor for life in a desert and most plants and animals that live in a desert have special adaptations to the lack of water. More Information