Fish and Wildlife Service

Find Ways to Celebrate Rachel Carson in the Rachel Carson Centennial Toolkit

What is the toolkit?
One-stop shopping! The toolkit provides guidance on developing special events and outdoor activities to celebrate Carson’s work as a conservationist, connect children with nature, and inform the public about how we can all build on Carson’s legacy.

The toolkit includes hands-on activities and environmental education programs you can share with local youth groups and ideas for hosting a special event. Toolkit contents are arranged in broad categories, so you're sure to find something that meets your interests.

The Toolkit contains:

Information on how Rachel Carson impacted natural resources
Ideas for hosting special events
Environmental education programs and outdoor activities for school-aged children
Additional resources

We encourage you to take advantage of the toolkit for ideas on how you can participate in our nationwide celebration of Rachel Carson, a pioneering public servant and employee of the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Why should you care about the Rachel Carson centennial?
Her centennial birthday provides an excellent opportunity to continue her legacy and instill a new sense of environmental stewardship in the next generation.

Rachel Carson was first hired by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) during the Depression to write radio spots on marine life. The series was titled “Romance Under the Waters,” and marked the beginning of her legacy as a conservationist. During her 15-year career with the Service, she wrote pamphlets and bulletins on conservation, one of the most well-known being “Conservation in Action,” a series about exploring wildlife and ecology on our national wildlife refuges.

During her free time, Carson also wrote books about her government research, translating highly technical scientific research into laymen’s language. Her books were very popular with the public, and she became famous as a naturalist and scientific writer, so much so that she resigned from the Service to devote herself completely to her own writing. She continued to write books to inspire people to connect with nature, and explore the wonders of the natural world. But it was her last book, Silent Spring, about the dangers of chemical pesticides such as DDT that sparked the environmental movement in America.

Carson’s birthday provides a wonderful opportunity to connect your community to the same values and passion that inspired Rachel Carson to devote her life to the field of fish and wildlife conservation.

Your efforts can foster a sense of environmental stewardship in the next generation of conservationists.

If you have any questions on the toolkit or would like additional information, please contact Valerie_Fellows@fws.gov