Project WILD
The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is the Maine sponsor of this award-winning program. Workshops are offered to teachers and other educators interested in integrating wildlife and conservation education into their daily lesson plans. Through 2007, over 7,200 educators had enthusiastically participated in over 310 WILD workshops throughout Maine. Check out the National Project WILD website at: www.projectwild.org
Project WILD is a set of 100 multidisciplinary wildlife and conservation activities targeted at grades K-12. Project WILD is currently used in all 50 states and internationally, and is sponsored by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Activity guides are available upon completion of a 6-hour teacher workshop, which is full of hands-on activity participation, background information on Maine wildlife, with a variety of handouts, posters and prizes.
Project WILD activities are correlated to the original Maine Learning Results in math, science, language arts, social studies and visual/performing arts and are available at: www.state.me.us/ifw/education or to participating workshop teachers in CD format.
Project WILD activity guides are available to classroom teachers, outdoor educators and youth leaders only after completing a six-hour teacher workshop.
Upcoming Project WILD and Aquatic Workshops
Project WILD Basic Workshop
When: Friday April 10, 2009
Where: Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, 342 Laudholm Farm Road, Wells, ME 04090. See Driving directions.
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Fee: $25 teachers, $15 college students (payable on the day of the workshop).
- Hands-on, K-12 multidisciplinary wildlife/conservation activities focusing on wildlife and their habitats. Learn about bear, deer, owls, ethics, habitats and more. Receive the 100 activity guide, plus a variety of posters, handouts, and prizes.
- Bring your lunch and beverages; please dress for the weather.
- To register, please contact Suzanne Kahn Eder, Education Director at (207) 646-1555, ext 116 or email suzanne@wellsnerr.org with your name, address, phone number, and email address.
- Deadline for registration is Monday, April 6, 2009 at 5:00 pm.
- A minimum of 15 people are needed to run this workshop. Limit 30.
WILD Links: Activity correlations to Maine Learning Results in math, science, language arts, social studies and visual/performing arts are available. Visit the web site for the links to over 140 Project WILD and Aquatic WILD activities.
WILD LINKS is available to teachers who participate in a WILD or AQUATIC workshop in book form.
WILD LINKS was developed by Maine classroom teacher consultants in partnership with the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance, and funded by an Outdoor Heritage Grant. Look for TREE LINKS, (Project Learning Tree) and WET LINKS, (Project WET) in book form.
Workshops
Please Note: Project WILD Basic, Aquatic, Adventure Bound, Wild School Site and Flying WILD Teacher Workshop fees will rise to $25 per person beginning January, 2007.
- include background information about Maine's wildlife and natural resources,
- provide hands-on WILD experience with activities that address every subject and skill area, and
- assist participants with integration of WILD activities into their curriculums.
WILD workshops are conducted on a statewide basis by trained volunteer facilitators. Workshops are scheduled year around at a variety of locations.
A workshop can be scheduled for an entire school district, an individual school, as a part of college methods courses, at conferences; on in-service days, professional days, early-release days, weekends or during vacations.
WILD workshops are designed so teachers become familiar with the activities and their multidisciplinary use in the classroom.
- Teachers actively participate in a wide array of WILD activities
- learn of other Maine conservation education resources
- receive current wildlife information and teaching updates
- learn how Project WILD is linked to the Maine State Learning Results
Registration
A $25.00 per person registration fee for Basic and Aquatic WILD, and WILD School Sites, is the only charge associated with the workshops.
For more information, contact: Lisa Kane, Project WILD Coordinator Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife 284 State St. 41 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333 (207) 287-3303 or email Lisa Kane. For more information on a National level please visit www.projectwild.org.
Teachers say that Project WILD is:
- Easy to use.
- Adaptable to various time frames, activity sites, and subject areas,
Fun and exciting.
- Easily integrated with other subjects.
- Full of activities that can be done in class, the schoolyard, nearby parks, or on field trips.
- Highly adaptable to different grade levels, student populations and learning styles.
- Active learning for all students.
- A catalyst for other initiatives and extension activities.
- Responsible action.
- Students start to see that care and responsibility have meaning.
- Wildlife information is presented in layman's language, and is not overwhelming.
- Untrained science teachers immediately receive usable information, skills, and activities.
- Teachers enjoy using Project WILD, finding the wildlife and conservation information stimulating to them as adults and enthusiastically received by their students.
- Teachers give high praise to Project WILD's 'learning by doing' orientation to workshops and report reaching all students at all ability levels with Project WILD.
Get involved! Experience the activities! Practice teach! Take home new ideas and resources you can use immediately!
WILD School Sites
What can we do for wildlife?
What can we do to improve our environment?
How can we create a place for learning where our actions benefit wildlife?
- Guide your students to take responsible action and improve their communities for people and wildlife, beginning on the school grounds.
- Inventory your site for plants and wildlife.
- Review your mapping skills.
- Create detailed maps of the different components of your school site.
- Plan successful wildlife habitat enhancement projects that complement integrated learning for all grade levels.
A wildlife tracking plot, a tree plantation, a groundwater monitoring station, a butterfly garden, a weather center, an archeological plot, a plant nursery or arboretum, nesting boxes and more!
Project WILD is outstanding teacher workshops. 99% of participants report that Basic, Aquatic and School Site workshops are either excellent or good.
WILD K-12 activities are organized around a conceptual framework addressing these major themes:
- Awareness and appreciation of wildlife
- Human values and wildlife
- Wildlife and ecological systems
- Cultural/social interaction with wildlife
- Wildlife issues and trends
- Alternatives and consequences
- Wildlife, ecological systems and responsible human actions.
Project WILD is designed to prepare young people for decisions affecting people, wildlife and their shared home - earth.
Project WILD Goal: To assist learners of any age in developing awareness, knowledge, skills and commitment to result in informed decisions, responsible behavior, and constructive actions concerning wildlife and the environment, upon which all life depends.
