Welcome to

Welcome to
WILDLIFE IN LEARNING and DESIGN
Co-sponsored in Michigan by the
Department of Natural Resources and Environment
(DNRE)
and the
Michigan Alliance for Environmental
and Outdoor Education (MAEOE)
Copyrighted, printed and supported by the
Council for Environmental Education (CEE)
Growing Up WILD Early Learner… Project WILD K-12…Science and Civics 9-12… .
Project WILD Aquatic K-12…Advanced Workshops
Why are we here?
To give today’s children a
chance to reverse current
trends.
Children between the ages of 8
and 18 years spend an average of
nearly 6.5 hours a day with
electronic media.
Rideout, V. and Hamel, E. (2006). The Media Family: Electronic
Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Their
Parent. Kaiser Family Foundation. (Note: Remember this was
published in 2006 think of how much bigger Facebook, Iphones
and Ipads have become since then)
Children under 13 spend only 30
minutes per week outside in free
style play.
Louv, R. (2007). Mother Nature: Raising Healthier Kids. (interview
with) USA Today.
Children who play outside in
natural settings are less likely to
suffer obesity an less likely to
contract diabetes.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2007. CDC funds
registries for childhood diabetes. Press Release from CDC/ National
Center for Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion.
Studies have shown that stress
levels fall within minutes of
seeing green spaces. Even a view
of nature helps reduce stress in
highly stressed children. Children
with these views also
demonstrate increased
attentional capacity.
Wells, N.M. & Evens, G.W. (2003). Nearby nature: A buffer of life
stress among rural children. Environment and Behavior (32) 6,
pp775-795.
Children who have regular
opportunities for
free/unstructured play in the outof-doors demonstrate greater
levels of creativity, cooperation,
conflict resolution and leadership.
American Institutes for Research, (2005). Effects of Outdoor
Education Programs for Children in Califormia. Submitted to the
California Department of Education, Sacramento, CA
Students who play and learn in
outdoor settings perform better
on tests, have higher grade point
averages (GPAs) and cause fewer
classroom disruptions.
Chawla, L & Escalante, M. Student (2007). Gains from Place-Based
Education. University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences.
Project WILD is:
• An interdisciplinary
conservation
education program
emphasizing wildlife.
• One of the most wildlyused conservation and
environmental
education programs.
• Is based on the premise
that young people and
educators have a vital
interest in learning
more about the natural
world.
Project WILD is International
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47 States (not AZ, HI, IL)
Puerto Rico
District of Columbia
Canada
Czechoslovakia
India
Japan
Iceland
Sweden
Project WILD’s Mission
Provide wildlife-based conservation
and environmental education that
fosters responsible actions toward
wildlife and related natural resources.
– Teaches students of all ages HOW to think,
NOT what to think!
DNR Mission
• "The Michigan Department of Natural
Resources is committed to the
conservation, protection,
management, accessible use and
enjoyment of the State's natural
resources for current and future
generations."
DNR Goals
• Revitalizing, Expanding and Diversifying Our User
Base
• Being a Great Place To Work
• Promoting Stewardship of Michigan’s Natural
Resources Through Education, Awareness and
Action
• Restoring, Protecting and Managing Our Natural
Resources via Ecosystem Management
• Providing Quality Public Outdoor Recreation
• Securing Long-Term Sustainable Financial Support
Project WILD’s Goal
Assist learners in developing
awareness, knowledge, skills, and
commitment to result in informed
decisions.
– Take students from AWARENESS to ACTION
A brief history of WILD…
• 1983 Project WILD premieres
• 1987 Project WILD Aquatic Guide released
• 1992 Elementary and Secondary Guides updated
and combined into one K-12 volume; Aquatic
Guide updated
• 1999 Spanish Supplement of Project WILD Activities
and Correlations to National Education Standards
• 2000 Updates of WILD and Aquatic WILD including
25 new activities and new learning framework
released.
• 2006 The Project WILD program reaches the one
million mark for educators trained since 1983.
• 2009 The premier of Growing Up WILD for early
childhood educators.
Project WILD is…
• Interdisciplinary and
supplemental
• Designed for
students K-12
• Utilizes multiple
learning styles
Social
Studies
Art
Math
PE
Science
ELA
Music
Educational Stages
Solutions
Participation
Skills
Attitude
Knowledge
Awareness
Teaching HOW to think, not
WHAT to think!
• Present facts
• Maintain Objectivity
• Provide Guidance
• Evaluate Choices
• Make informed
decisions
Who Uses Project WILD?
• Classroom Teachers
• Preschool/Daycare
Educators
• Museum/Science
Center/Nature Center
Teachers
• Youth Organizations
• Home school
• University Professors
• Resource Agency
Educators
The Guides
• Over 100 Project WILD
activities
• 50 WILD Aquatic
activities
• Interactive
• Multidisciplinary
• Only available through
workshops
• Includes conceptual
framework
• Cross-referenced
• Correlated to
standards
Three Sections of the K-12
Guides
• Ecological Knowledge
• Social and Political Knowledge
• Sustaining Fish and Wildlife Resources
Organization of Activities
• Objectives
• Method
• Background
information
• Materials
• Procedures
• Evaluation
suggestions
• Recommended
grade levels
• Subject areas
• Duration, group size
and setting
• Key terms
Organization of Activities
• Objectives
• Method
• Background
information
• Materials
• Procedures
• Evaluation
suggestions
• Recommended
grade levels
• Subject areas
• Duration, group size
and setting
• Key terms
Additional Materials
New!
Delivery Network for Education
Project
WILD State
Coordinator
Project WILD Contacts
• Your Facilitator
– YOUR NAME
– YOUR EMAIL
• Michigan Project WILD
– Natalie Elkins
– www.michigan.gov/michiganprojectwild
– [email protected]
• National Project WILD
– www.projectwild.org
– [email protected]