Project WILD a K-12 conservation education program focusing on wildlife, fostering responsible action toward natural resources

Project WILD and Project WILD Aquatic are national award-winning conservation and environmental education programs emphasizing wildlife, designed for educators of kindergarten through twelfth grade, and sponsored by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Interdisciplinary: Project WILD activities are interdisciplinary and supplementary activities to enrich subjects, concepts and skills already taught in classrooms, summer camps, scouting, and at home.

Teacher Friendly: Activity guides were designed and tested by teachers. Each activity includes objectives, methods, background information, step-by-step directions, discussion ideas and potential extensions for further learning. Graduate credit is available through the University of Alaska.

Free to Educators: Workshops are free to educators. Each participant will receive the Project WILD Activity Guide and the Project WILD Aquatic Guide, including over 150 activities. Workshop materials and additional handouts are provided by ADF&G.

Great for Schools & Communities: Six- to 15-hour workshops are conducted during inservice days, in the evening, or on weekends. Community members are strongly encouraged to participate and present local knowledge relating to wildlife. School districts provide food and lodging for a trained workshop facilitator. All other costs for the workshop are provided by ADF&G.

Correlated to State Standards: All activities are correlated to Alaska's State Content Standards using a rating system. The guide, Alaska Correlations, is available in hard copy and on the web.

Project WILD Activity Guides: Presented in lesson-plan format, activity guides include objectives, methods of teaching, background information, available references, materials lists, and ways to evaluate learning.

The guides help incorporate wildlife-related concepts into classroom curriculum. Each activity is designed to teach one or more of the following concepts:

• awareness and appreciation of wildlife,
• human values and the wildlife resource,
• habitat and ecological systems,
• wildlife conservation,
• cultural and social interaction with wildlife,
• environmental issues and trends,
• alternatives and consequences,
• ecological systems, and
• responsible human actions.

Each guide (also available in Spanish, Proecto de Vida Silvestre) includes grade level, subject areas, topic and skill development, as well as a glossary of terms.

Past Workshop Locations:

Workshops are offered throughout Alaska. Communities include Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Togiak, Haines, Wainwright. Slots are available for several other communities. Contact John Tysontoday to schedule a workshop in your community.

Alaska workshops are held in communities across the state.

Sample Workshops:

Alaska Content Standards workshops

In 1999, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game was awarded an Environmental Education and Training Partnership Grant (EETAP). The grant provided funding to correlate Project WILD and Project WILD Aquatic to the Alaska State Content Standards and to integrate the standards into all future workshops for teachers.

Alaska Correlations is available on the web. In 2002, Alaska Correlations wil be updated to reflect extensive revisions in Project WILD and the Alaska Wildlife Curriculum.

Workshops designed to cover specific standards are available for groups of 12 or more educators. Topics are not limited to science. Project WILD addresses a broad spectrum of disciplines. Contact us for more details.

• Alaska Correlations
• Department of Education State Content Standards
• Environmental Education and Training Partnership (EETAP)

Depth Workshops

In 2002, we introduced courses designed to give teachers more depth in background information and knowledge. These workshops are targeted at specific grate levels and curriculum frameworks. They include

1st grade 2nd grade 6th grade

Animal Interactions Alaska Plants (with Project Learning Tree) Alaska's Ecosystems

While workshops include Project WILD, Alaska Wildlife Curriculum, and Project Learning Tree, the focus is on providing background content information for teacher readiness.

Week-long, graduate-credit Project WILD program

Teachers of the St. George School participated in a 15-hour Project WILD workshop. The workshop included:

• Project WILD and Project WILD Aquatic
• Alaska Wildlife Curriculum
  • Alaska's Tundra and Wildlife
  • Alaska's Ecology
  • Wildlife for the Future
• US Fish and Wildlife Service's Learn About Seabirds Curriculum

Teachers and other invited community members participated in activities which focused on the St. George ecosystem and related wildlife issues. Classroom activities with students were conducted throughout the week. Activities were co-taught by educational specialists from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and classroom teachers. Teachers and students participated in field trips to view and identify wintering birds.

To complete the graduate course, teachers planned and led activities from each program's activity guides with their students in the weeks following the workshop. The graduate level course (ED593) was offered through the University of Alaska, Aleutians/Pribilof Center.

School Districts hosting these programs are asked to provide food and housing for the facilitator.

For more information contact:

• US Fish & Wildlife Service
  • Environmental Education Programs
  • Shorebird Sister Schools Program
• Alaska Wildlife Curriculum
• University of Alaska
• Whiskers (An ADF&G Steller Sea Lion and Fur Seal Data Base Program)
• Alaska Natural Resource and Outdoor Education Association

Project WILD can also partner with other organizations and programs to offer a uinique workshop for your community.

Project WILD/Alaska Wildlife Curriculum combined courses

These workshops combine activities from both programs giving educators in-depth, hands-on experience with Alaska's wildlife and ecosystem educational materials. Teachers spend time planning the integration of activities into lesson plans and units. The role of State Content Standards is included in these workshops.

Teachers will also investigate teaching kits that support the activities in Project WILD and the Alaska Wildlife Curriculum.

Project WILD/Project Learning Tree combined workshops for graduate credit

For communities interested in both the Project WILD and Project Learning Tree Programs, workshops can be set up back-to-back or on two consecutive Saturdays. Combined workshops are available for graduate credit through the University of Alaska.

For more information, contact either the Project WILD coordinator, John Tyson, or the Project Learning Tree coordinator, Matt Weaver, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, 550 West 7th Ave., Suite 1750, Anchorage, AK 99501 (907/269-8481).

Project WILD workshops for scout leaders

North Carolina has created correlation guides for scout leaders who have completed a Project WILD workshop. These guides provide activity ideas for scout leaders to use in helping scouts achieve their recognitions. Scout leaders completing the Project WILD workshop receive:

• A Correlation to Girl Scout Recognitions
• A Correlation to Cub Scout and Boy Scout Requirements
• Project WILD Activity Guide
• Project WILD Aquatic Activity Guide

Workshops are focused on scouting situations with adaptations for varying group sizes and environments.

Scout Correlation Guides may also be ordered from Celeste Wescott Maus, North Carolina Project WILD coordinator (919/733-7123).

Workshops that integrate Native knowledge with Western science, and schools with community

These workshops are designed by a Project WILD facilitator with teachers, Elders, and other community members. Workshops are typically 15 hours in length. Community members are asked to participate in the teaching of these cooperative workshops. The focus of these workshops may include:

• The Native language of your community
• Traditional uses and relationships with wildlife
• The importance of Elders and other story tellers in the classroom
• Outdoor class session ideas and considerations
• Wildlife issues in the region
• Other topics determined by your community

For an example of an integrated workshop, read the Galena workshop report.

These workshops take time to plan. Anyone in a community may begin the process by contacting the Project WILD Coordinator John Tyson) or a Regional Coordinator for the Alaska Native Knowledge Network.

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Project Wild also has a National Project Wild internet site.

For more information, or to schedule a workshop in your community, contact: