Coweeta LTER scientists and staff provide middle school, high school, and community college students "hands on" field and laboratory research experience. This "Schoolyard" initiative has been funded annually since the 1998-1999 school year by a supplemental grant from the National Science Foundation to the core Coweeta LTER grant. This initiative is to formally provide instruction, field research experiences, and data summary and analysis experiences to K-16 students and instructors using Coweeta LTER research projects as an example. The overall goal of the Schoolyard LTER initiative is to impress the importance of long-term research and environmental awareness into the curriculum of K-16 science instructors.