Laboratory courses are important in development of environmental culture of students when studying scientific subjects at higher education institutions. They allow students to study natural objects and phenomena as well as seasonal variations and people’s efforts in improvement of the environment in natural conditions. During the laboratory courses students start to learn nature in a variety of its forms, in its development. They also learn to identify interrelations of its phenomena. This article is devoted to the problem of development of environmental culture of the pedagogical university students when studying scientific subjects. In solving this issue special attention is paid by the authors to the developed laboratory course which is implemented as part of the integrative course “Iunyi issledovatel” (“Young Researcher”).The course is targeted at formation of environmental knowledge in the field of environment management and protection in students of pedagogical institutions of higher education.