What are environmental cues?

Environmental cues are signals from the world around us that help living things know what to do next.

Imagine you're a little plant in your garden. You don't have a watch or a calendar, but you can still know when it's time to grow bigger or when it's time to sleep, all because of environmental cues!

Think of environmental cues like the sun saying, "Hey, it’s morning!" or the rain whispering, "Time to rest." These are things in the environment that tell living things what to do. For example, when the days get longer and the sunlight gets brighter, that's a cue for some plants to start growing leaves again.

You might feel this too! When it’s dark outside, you know it’s time to go to bed, just like how many animals hibernate or sleep during the night. These are all examples of environmental cues, helping both people and nature stay in rhythm with the world around them.