Technology can be both a blessing and a curse in the classroom. Although technology can provide greater access to information and increase student engagement, if screen time replaces time spent outside, then students stand to lose awareness and connectivity to the surrounding natural environment. This article describes how Google Earth can foster student awareness of their local environment, while still preparing them for success in the 21st Century. A four-day unit involving fifth-grade students as they went into to the school yard, and made observations in nature journals, researched about various school yard species, and then connected discoveries to Google Earth is described. This unit was conducted with fifth graders, but it can be easily modified for any grade level.