Page Index: Music Resources | Words and Chords to EE Songs (many California Outdoor School Naturalist originals!)
Banana Slug String Band - Local Santa Cruz Rockers, SMOE, AEOE, played at numerous conferences (Jones Gulch, Spring 2003, Jones Gulch, Spring 1997, Walden West, Spring 1991, workshops, Howard Bell Award winners! Definitely the most prolific producers of Environmental Ed and Science songs! They don't have a lyrics page, but I have a few of their songs in the list below. You really need to see them live, if you haven't!
Bill Oliver ("Mr. Habitat")
Bill Oliver's Environmental Songbook, including Recycle City, Bring Your Own Bag (B.Y.O.B.), Habitat (Have to Have a Habitat), Don't Release That Balloon, Beach Buddy, Food Chains, Humu-Humu-Nuku-Nuku-A-Pu-A-'A, Queen Invicta, Don't Burn Down the Farm, Welcome Back, Black-Capped Vireo, and Turtle Island
Bungee Jumpin' Cows - Another Wild and Crazy Bay Area Science Band! AEOE Conference entertainment numerous times - Westminster Woods, Spring 2001; SCICON, Spring 1998; Foothill Horizons, Spring 1995;
BJC Lyrics, including Alien Gobbler, Arachnidae, The Banana Slug Song, Bloodsucking Friends, Bubba (the Frog), Dancing with the Insects (Bailando con los Insectos), Earthquake, Fire!, Food Chain Gang, Groty Toes, Gusano (I am a Worm), Laws of Physics, National Champion Judger of Cows, One of These Days, Road Pizza Party, Rock of the Earth, Shark’s in the House, Termite Flatulence, Tornado Twist, Undertakers (Decomposers), We Don’t Wanna Go, and We Sail the Winds
Order their music from Acorn Naturalists or call (888) 434-COWS
Dana Lyons - AEOE Spring Conference enertainment at Palomar in 1996
Words and Chords including My Country, Cows With Guns, RV, Swimming In The Big , I'd Go Anywhere to Fight for Oil To Lubricate the Red White & Blue, The Company's Been Good To Me, Drop of Water, Turn of the Wrench, TV God, Song For River Phoenix (If I Had Known) , Kevin's Song, June Is a Comin', Willie Says, Animal, Recycle Wrap, Singles, WTO, Turn of the Wrench, Drop of Water, TV God , Canada Geese, Animal, The Tree, Circle the World
Rhymin' Reason - These teachers from southern Califronia made their debut at the 2002 AEOE Statewide conference talent show in Malibu! Now they've got an album, and have played at the 2003 Statewide Conference and the southern Fall Conference in 2003 as well. We like to claim them as our very own...
Chords and Lyrics including Water, Who's on the Menu, (Dragonfly), Tortle and Turtoise, Coyote, Veggies and Fruit, Treehouse, Slow Down, Storm Drain Boogie, Sound of a Mosquito, Bargain Daze and Eco-Logic
Walkin' Jim Stoltz - AEOE Spring Conference entertainment at Thousand Pines in 2000
Wild Wind Lyrics including Web of Life and Just One Mosquito and Oh What a Life, among many, many others.
Words and simple chords for EE Songs - These are provided for your
personal or educational use only.
Please
support the artists by purchasing their music and hearing how they are really
supposed to be sung! (see links above)
NOTE: These are mostly from my personal files, which I created for Green Meadows and LACOSS song books. Others were sent in by AEOE Members who have written songs, others are links to the artists' website. Some may not be in the version you know, as it seems all outdoor schools like to add their own twist to songs! Some have been heavily modified to suit the sites where they are from, including additions of new verses and major lyric changes. And I've heard most played in more than one key, so the chords may not be the same, either. Most are probably not in the original key/chords they were written in and may even be full of errors. Feel free to transpose and improvise as needed!
(Oh and there are SO many great songs out there! If you would like to contribute, please send an email to the webmaster!)
Jacob Sackin, who presented a workshop at the 2002 Spring Conference in Malibu ("I Want a New Song") sent in this collection of great originals and adaptations: Jacob Sackin's Song Collection included are The Snake Song (sung to the tune of Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes by Paul Simon), Silent Sping (sung to the tune of I Will Survive), Dirt, by Phish (with some lyric changes by Jacob), Outdoor School I (welcome) and Outdoor School II - Last Day (for week beginnings and endings - both sung to the tune of Farmhouse, by Phish), Tube Feet (to the tune of Heavy Things, by Phish), and Web of Life (to the tune of Cup of Life, by Ricky Martin). Jacob has worked at Foothill Horizons, ENH and San Joaquin Outdoor Schools, and these songs came out of those teaching environments. His song "The Last Day of Outdoor School" (Outdoor School II) is used as a closing song at two ENH sites and two San Joaquin sites.
Patrick Costelo of Camp Arroyo uses The Rock Song, to introduce geology concepts to kids. Patrick wrote it for the curriculum at Camp Arroyo.
Paul Mazzei, aka Palm, of San Joaquin Outdoor School along with another past Naturalist from San Joaquin, Shagbark, submitted the following songs after the Fall 2005 conference: Anemone, Ode a la Marsh, and Silly Salamander.
Loren Schneider has presented workshops on geology at AEOE Conferences, was a Naturalist at LA County Outdoor Science School, and is currently teaching high school science. While at LACOSS, he wrote several original songs for the program, including The Water Cycle, The San Andreas Fault (as we know it) (sung to REM's The End of the World (as we know it)), and The Rock Cycle Rocks On.
Songs by other LACOSS Naturalists: I am the Water Cycle (H2O), by RT Hawke, Single Cells, by Anita Arnold, Black Oak variation Pine Tree, by Chris Trammel, and Banana Slug variation, Western Grey Squirrel, by Michael Kauffmann and Mitch Block
The Naturalists of Westminster Woods wrote Wild Salmon and have performed two different versions of it as skits at Spring Conference Talent Shows.
SCICON was the source/inspiration for some more outdoor ed classics: Big Blue Marble, by Michelle Martin, Scat Makes the World Go Round, by Michelle Martin, Banana Slug variation, and Salamander (unknown - if you are a SCICON naturalist and can send me the words and author, I'll post it!)
Past AEOE Webmaster, Maggie Wolfe, wrote another Black Oak variation, Big Tree (about Giant Sequoias, while at Green Meadows Outdoor School) and Nocturnal Animals (sung to the tune of "The Addams Family")
The Banana Slug String Band - well, most are AEOE members! San Mateo Outdoor Education where Mark Nolan and Steve Van Zandt are directors is an AEOE institutional member, and AEOE honored the Banana Slug String Band with the Howard Bell Award in 2003 - so maybe we can claim them as AEOE Originals!
Water | Soil | Geology | Plants | Animals | Night Hike/Astronomy | Silly | Rounds | General | Stewardship | Opening/Closing
I am the Water Cycle (H2O), by RT Hawke (LACOSS Naturalist)
Ode a la Marsh, by Palm, San Joaquin Outdoor School (from the fall northern AEOE conference, 2005)
The River Song, by the Banana Slug String Band
The Water Cycle, by Loren Schneider (LACOSS Naturalist)
Water Cycle Boogie, by the Banana Slug String Band
Compost Cake, by the Banana Slug String Band
Decomposition, by the Banana Slug String Band
Dirt, by Phish (with some lyric changes by Jacob Sackin)
Dirt Made my Lunch, by the Banana Slug String Band
Single Cells, by Anita Arnold (LACOSS Naturalist)
The Rock Cycle Rocks On, by Loren Schneider (LACOSS Naturalist)
The Rock Song by Patrick Costelo (Camp Arroyo Naturalist)
Row, Row, Row your Rock... (unknown)
The San Andreas Fault (as we know it), by Loren Schneider (LACOSS Naturalist)
Black Oak and variations (Tan Oak, Pine Tree (by Chris Trammel), Big Tree (about Giant Sequoias, by Maggie Wolfe, Green Meadows)
Inch by Inch
Miracle Photosynthesis, by the Banana Slug String Band
Anemone, by Shagbark and Palm, San Joaquin Outdoor School (from the fall northern AEOE conference, 2005)
Banana Slug, by Kevin Beals of the Bungee Jumpin' Cows; Variations: Salamander (SCICON), Western Grey Squirrel (LACOSS)
Habitat, by the Banana Slug String Band
I am an Animal, by Dana Lyons
Lizards, by the Banana Slug String Band
SCAT and variations
Scat Makes the World Go Round, by Michelle Martin, SCICON
Silly Salamander, by Palm, San Joaquin Outdoor School (from the fall northern AEOE conference, 2005)
The Snake Song by Jacob Sackin (sung to the tune of Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes by Paul Simon)
Tube Feet by Jacob Sackin (to the tune of Heavy Things, by Phish)
We Like Newts (round and fat) by an outdoor school naturalist who played an awesome funk guitar at a northern fall conference a while back... anyone know this person or song, I'd love to add it here (and any of his other songs - he was great!)
Web of Life by Jacob Sackin (to the tune of Cup of Life, by Ricky Martin)
Wild Salmon! by Naturalists of Westminster Woods, as sung in the 2000 Spring Conference Skit Contest
Wild Thing, music by Chip Taylor of the Troggs, words adapted by outdoor school naturalists
Bats Eat Bugs, by the Banana Slug String Band
Going Into the Night, by the Banana Slug String Band
Nocturnal Animals, by Maggie Wolfe (sung to the tune of "The Addams Family")
This Island Earth, by Paul Cooper of The Nylons
Brown Air, by the Banana Slug String Band
Everything Needs a Home, by the Banana Slug String Band
Habitat, by the Banana Slug String Band
Ode a la Marsh, by Palm, San Joaquin Outdoor School (from the fall northern AEOE conference, 2005)
Recycle Wrap, by Dana Lyons
Silent Sping by Jacob Sackin (sung to the tune of I Will Survive)
Solar Energy, by the Banana Slug String Band
The Tree, by Dana Lyons (who now has a children's book based on this song!)
Web of Life by Jacob Sackin (to the tune of Cup of Life, by Ricky Martin)
Big Blue Marble, by Michelle Martin, SCICON
Outdoor School I (welcome) by Jacob Sackin (for week beginnings - sung to the tune of Farmhouse, by Phish)
Outdoor School II - Last Day by Jacob Sackin (for week endings - sung to the tune of Farmhouse, by Phish)
This Island Earth, by Paul Cooper of The Nylons
(all of the songs on this page are kid-friendly - sorry, Rooty, no "cuss words"!)
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