Fish and wildlife news: special issue on children and nature

              U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Summer/Fall 2007

Fish & Wildlife News

Path to Discovery / 12 River Explorers / 16

Rx for Healthy Kids / 14 Linking Girls to the Land / 18

Special Issue

children & nature

2 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

Director’s Corner / 1

News Briefs / 3

Service Spotlight / 8

Science / 24

Around the Service / 28

Features

Departments In Their Own Words / 42

Our People / 45

Transitions / 45

Honors / 47

In Memoriam / 49

what’s inside

On the cover: Two children

explore the woods near the

National Conservation

Training Center in

West Virginia.

Steve Hillebrand / USFWS

Back to Nature / 8

Service employees are connecting

children with the land and with the

agency’s conservation mission.

By David Eisenhauer

Path to Discovery / 12

An innovative partnership in

Washington State helped blaze a trail

for all lifelong learners.

By Taylor Pittman

A Prescription for Healthy Kids / 14

Getting children outside is not just

about fun and games. Their health

may depend on it.

By Kyla Hastie and Shani Howard

River Explorers / 16

Class is in session at the

Upper Mississippi River National

Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

By Cindy Samples

Linking Girls to the Land / 18

By Jennifer Anderson

Senses in the Desert / 22

By Betty Mulcahy

Editor’s note: Connecting

children with nature is a

theme that clearly resonates

with Service employees.

We received about 100

submissions for this special

issue from all regions and

nearly every Service program.

To accommodate the high

volume of stories, we have

added a regular section

called Around the Service that

highlights events, programs

and activities in all Service

regions. Stories that did not

make it into the print edition

eventually will be included

in an online version of Fish

& Wildlife News, which is

currently under development.

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 1

from the director

Borrowing From Our Children

Growing up in the hills of Harlan County, Kentucky,

I never thought about the importance of connecting

with nature; it was as much a part of my life as

breathing. If I wasn’t up in the mountains chasing

squirrels, I was down on the Cumberland River trying

to fish and run trot lines or making boats out of old

car tops. Even though we didn’t have a lot of money,

I always felt rich.

For many kids today, however, exploring nature is fast

becoming a thing of the past. Time in the woods has

been replaced by time in front of a computer or

television screen; unstructured play has been replaced

by organized events run by adults; the art of

daydreaming has been replaced by a non-stop

schedule. Author Richard Louv, who writes about this

in his book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our

Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, believes one

of the biggest problems is fear: Parents are terrified

of “stranger danger,” and many view the outdoors as

more of a threat than a sanctuary.

The result is a younger generation that is less

active and less interested in spending time outside,

which can lead to a host of physical and emotional

problems. And you can bet kids who prefer virtual

reality to natural reality are going to have a tough

time understanding why they should care about

conservation.

So what can we do?

The Service has identified connecting people

with nature as one of its six highest priorities.

We have formed a Children and Nature Working

Group — including representatives from every region

and program — to identify ways to reach out to

communities and build awareness that “nature play”

is good for both children and adults.

This special edition of Fish & Wildlife News provides

a glimpse of what Service employees from coast to

coast are already doing to reconnect children with

nature. From the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay

National Wildlife Refuge, where youngsters sample

brine shrimp in the salt ponds or investigate bird and

plant life with their parents, to the Chesapeake Bay

Field Office, where students create schoolyard

habitats outside their classroom door, our land base

and our people are helping folks of every age to get

outdoors. But we can always do more. We should look

for opportunities to connect children and families to

nature as we go about our daily work and help them

share in our conservation mission.

Connecting people with nature should not be just

another box to check off on a performance plan; it

should be something we want to do, something that is

a part of us. Sometimes when I’m bass fishing on a

lake and the sun is just breaking over the horizon and

the birds begin to fly low across the water, I lay down

my rod and realize I didn’t come here to catch fish;

I came for the healing power of nature and to feel

better as a human being. I know many of you have

had similar experiences and have a strong desire to

help people — especially youngsters — rediscover

what Rachel Carson called a “sense of wonder”

for the outdoors. Now is the time for all of us to act

on that desire.

John James Audubon once said, “A true

conservationist is a man who knows that the

world is not given by his fathers but borrowed

from his children.” It is time for us to pay back

that loan and share the riches of nature with

tomorrow’s caretakers.

To learn more about the Service’s children and nature

initiative, visit <www.fws.gov/children>.

Director Hall with

youngsters during

a break at the

National Dialogue

on Children

and Nature at

the National

Conservation

Training Center in

September 2006.

Todd Harles / USFWS

2 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

guest column

No Child Left Inside

By Richard Louv

Leveraging its expertise, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service is already a leader in the growing public

movement to leave no child inside.

The future of children and conservation is at stake,

and this organization takes the outcome seriously.

Studies show that most conservation leaders credit

their commitment to the environment to two sources:

many hours spent outdoors, when they were children,

“in a keenly remembered wild or semi-wild place in

childhood or adolescence, and an adult who taught

respect for nature,” according to University of

Colorado environmental psychologist Louise Chawla.

I wonder how many of you reading this have a

personal story confirming her statement.

The famous biologist E.O. Wilson addressed this

in his memoir, Naturalist: “Most children have

a bug period, and I never outgrew mine.

Hands-on experience at the critical time, not

systematic knowledge, is what counts in the making

of a naturalist.”

Edmund Morris’ description of the boyhood years of

the presidential patron of conservation, Theodore

Roosevelt, suggests a similar genesis:

“Teedie’s interest in all ‘curiosities and living things’

became something of a trial to his elders. Meeting

Mrs. Hamilton Fish on a streetcar, he absentmindedly

lifted his hat, whereupon several frogs leaped out of

it.” A family maid protested the boy’s predilections:

“How can I do the laundry with a snapping turtle tied

to the legs of the sink?”

We may owe the existence of our protected national

wild lands to that turtle.

Unfortunately, today we see diminishing sales of

fishing and hunting licenses and a decline in

attendance at many of our national parks. If the gap

between children and nature continues to widen,

where will the future conservationists come from?

How will future natural scientists and nature

poets develop? What will happen to the political

constituency for our fish and wildlife, streams

and rivers, parks and refuges?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offers wonderful

opportunities for fishing, hunting, wildlife

photography and other outdoor experiences.

But the Service Directorate is determined to do

more — to create, in essence, a new national backyard.

Here are possibilities to consider:

Wildlife refuges close to urban area areas should be

expanded to provide kids with the hands-dirty, feet-wet

experiences that no classroom or digitally

simulated nature provides.

The Youth Conservation Corps should be expanded.

Conservation agencies should reach even deeper into

inner-city schools and neighborhoods to offer these

youngsters substantial and repeating experiences in

nature. These agencies could identify the kids with

nature talents, and then encourage and prepare them

for careers in conservation and the natural sciences.

As a tribute to Rachel Carson, the National Wildlife

Refuge System could designate certain areas as Sense

of Wonder Zones— special, safe places that would

encourage children to build tree forts and collect (and

release) bugs and turtles just as E.O. and Teedie did.

This is not to suggest that kids be allowed to damage

protected natural areas. But children cannot love

what they can never touch. As a matter of policy,

the conservation services should view the child-in-nature

as an endangered species, an indicator species

of the future — because if the young are not bonding

with nature now, who will care about the refuges in

the future?

Evidence suggests that children and adults benefit

so much from contact with nature that conservation

“can now be viewed as a public health strategy,”

says Howard Frumkin, Director of the National

Center for Environmental Health, Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention.

Think about that for a moment. This is a powerful

argument, one that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service is well positioned to make, and by so doing

will improve the health of children and the health

of the earth.

Richard Louv is the author of Last Child in the Woods:

Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder and

chairman of the Children & Nature Network

<www.cnaturenet.org>.

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 3

Service Expands Wildlife Forensics Lab

of Agriculture requirements

for containment of potentially

bio-hazardous materials entering

the United States; an expanded

state-of-the-art genetics lab;

a modern necropsy unit; new

offices and meeting rooms;

and an odor-free “bug room,”

where the lab’s domestic beetle

collection chews meat off

bones so scientists have

pristine skeletons to analyze.

“The expansion will really

enhance our ability to engage

with the national and

international wildlife forensics

communities,” said Ken Goddard,

director of the lab, which is

named after a longtime director

of the Service’s Law Enforcement

Program. “We simply didn’t have

the proper facility where we

could keep diseases contained so

we had to refuse some cases.”

The addition will be dedicated on

August 16, and the lab and new

facilities will be open for public

tours sometime in the spring.

“The forensics lab is essential to

our work in enforcing wildlife

laws and protecting resources

in this country and around the

world,” said Service Director

H. Dale Hall. “The lab helps

our special agents and wildlife

inspectors develop the evidence

they need to bring charges and

obtain convictions.”

Besides aiding the work of

Service law enforcement officers,

the lab, with a staff of 35 and

a 2007 budget of $3.5 million,

provides forensic support to all 50

state fish and wildlife agencies.

By treaty, it is the official crime

lab of the 172 signatory countries

of the Convention on International

Trade in Endangered Species of

Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and

the Wildlife Subgroup of Interpol.

With global illegal trade in wildlife

and related products estimated at

billions of dollars each year, the

lab has no shortage of work.

DNA analysis done by the lab’s

scientists led to the conviction of

U.S. Caviar and Caviar, Ltd., in

2001, resulting in a $10.4 million

fine — the most ever in a wildlife

trafficking case. In 2000, work

done at the lab led to convictions

for the illegal sale of smuggled

shahtoosh shawls made from

the highly endangered Tibetan

antelope. More recently,

genetics work by lab scientists

led to the 2006 conviction

of a Portland, Oregon, man

who admitted selling shavings

from the horn of a black

rhinoceros, one of Africa’s

most endangered species.

Authorities in Israel want the lab

to help them find out who has

been killing wild gazelles but

Goddard said they had to

decline because of the lack

of a containment lab. The new

Bio-Hazard III facility will

change that.

Among the many discoveries by

the lab’s scientists is a means of

distinguishing non-fossilized

ancient mammoth and mastodon

elephant ivory from modern

African and Asian elephant ivory,

utilizing the simplest lab

instrument known: a protractor.

After discovering that each

species has its own hemoglobin

molecules, lab scientists

developed a species

identification technique that

takes 15 minutes instead of up

to three days.

The lab’s scientists are starting

research on a means of

determining where an animal

is from by identifying the

stable isotopes in its body. This

technique will enable the lab

to determine the origin of an

animal or animal product,

thus confirming or contradicting

the information on an import/

export permit.

The new addition also features

a forensics garden designed

to educate the public about

wildlife forensics and provide

a protective buffer for the lab.

This scientific garden, one of only

four or five in the world (including

the one in France where

Leonardo daVinci is buried) was

designed by 14 graduate students

from the University of Oregon’s

Landscape Architecture School.

It will be planted this fall with

native plants.

“A walkway will take visitors

through the three-dimensional

garden showing the connection

of victim, suspect and crime

scene and leading to a solution,”

Goddard said. “This will be the

only one of its kind.”

Joan Jewett, External Affairs,

Portland, Oregon

news briefs

Since 1988, the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service’s Clark R. Bavin

National Fish and Wildlife

Forensics Laboratory in Ashland,

Oregon, has helped solve wildlife

crimes around the world,

resulting in convictions of caviar

and ivory smugglers, poachers

of rare animals and dealers of

forbidden “medicinal cures.”

In the process, the lab’s

scientists have developed many

of the advances in the field of

wildlife forensics.

But there were things the

lab couldn’t do, such as

accepting carcasses and

animal parts from overseas and

conducting toxicology work

that involved handling hazardous

materials such as poisons,

pesticides, blood pathogens

and other substances that can

carry diseases.

Now, thanks to a new $15 million

addition, that will change. The

world’s most comprehensive

wildlife forensics lab will truly

be able to serve the world.

The 17,000 square-foot addition

includes a Biological Containment

Area that meets Department

Clark R. Bavin National

Fish and Wildlife Forensics

Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon.

USFWS

4 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

news briefs

Hot Topic

Wildlife Service Web site, at

<www.fws.gov/international/

animals/polarbears>.

Concerns about the status of the

world’s polar bear populations,

driven by such actions as the

International Union for the

Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Polar Bear Specialist’s Group’s

2005 decision to change the

species’ conservation status from

“Low Risk” to “Vulnerable” and

the Service’s January 2007

proposal to list the polar bear

worldwide as “threatened” under

the ESA, have increased in recent

years in the face of observed and

predicted changes in the extent

and seasonal duration of sea ice.

These and other concerns stem

from the impacts of changing

world climate patterns, which

are especially visible in the

arctic regions.

The five nations participating

in the meeting are also

signatories to the landmark 1973

Agreement for the Conservation

of Polar Bears. That agreement

(which the IUCN’s Polar Bear

Specialist Group helped

champion) called for the member

nations to coordinate research

efforts, share information,

cooperate on the management of

migrating polar bear populations,

and continue to consult with one

another for the purpose of

providing increased protection

for the world’s populations of this

emblematic marine mammal.

In the spirit of the agreement,

Hall hopes this will be the first

of a series of annual meetings,

either by teleconference or

face-to face, the latter to rotate

The 95-degree heat at the

Service’s National Conservation

Training Center in West Virginia

provided a strange setting for a

meeting to discuss international

polar bear conservation.

Representatives from the five

“range states” (those nations that

host populations of polar bears;

the U.S., Canada, Norway,

Greenland, and Russia), most of

whom were more accustomed to

northerly climates, soldiered on

through the heat with good

humor. More than one, however,

was heard to compare the

beautiful Shepherdstown

outdoors to the inside of a sauna.

The delegates were gathered at

NCTC to discuss the management

and conservation of polar bears

across the Arctic region. The

United States delegation, lead by

Director H. Dale Hall (and

including representation from

Service, USGS, the Department

of State, the Alaska Nanuuq

Commission, and the State of

Alaska) was joined by similar

groups representing the other

four range states.

The attendees focused their

discussions on such pivotal

issues as sport harvest,

subsistence harvest, import/

export of polar bear parts and

products, polar bear research

and monitoring, and bear-human

interactions. Although not

intended to develop or change

policy, the meeting was intended

to serve as a starting point, and to

initiate information exchanges

leading to enhanced polar bear

conservation in all of these Arctic

nations. Reports presented by

countries during the meeting are

available on the Fish and

among the range-state nations.

Such gatherings would bring

together representatives who

serve at the directorate level of

their countries’ conservation

agencies, and provide a

companion structure to the IUCN

Polar Bear Specialist Group,

which is a group of scientists that

meets every three to five years.

The new series of range-state

directorate-level meetings

would serve as an international

forum able to take the findings

and recommendations of the

Specialist Group’s biologists and

translate them into coordinated

actions for the benefit of polar

bears worldwide.

“Each of the countries shares

the goal of ensuring healthy

polar bear populations for

future generations. This

meeting enabled experts and

policymakers to come together

and share ideas and I’m

extremely pleased at the

progress we made,” Hall said.

Bruce Woods, Media Relations

Chief, Anchorage, Alaska

Polar bear female with young.

Susanne Miller / USFWS

Delegates from the five polar-bear “range states” gathered at

NCTC in June to discuss cooperation in polar-bear conservation.

Bruce Woods / USFWS

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 5

managers typically have adopted

a confine-and-contain strategy

on the refuge using a combination

of ground and aerial suppression

tactics to keep fire from

spreading outside the swamp.

One of the endangered species

most at risk from the fire was the

Red-cockaded woodpecker,

which nests in upland areas.

There was concern the fires

might have damaged or destroyed

colonies of cavity trees used by

the birds; however, Refuge

biologists Dean Easton and Sara

Aicher inspected the colony sites

and discovered no evidence of

red-cockaded woodpecker

mortality. In fact, they found

ample evidence of post-fire

woodpecker activity. “We

discovered that some of the

birds re-nested after the fire.”

Easton said. “These are hardy

woodpeckers, which gives us

hope for their continued survival.”

The largest fire in refuge history

will benefit the swamp for

decades to come, Gillette said.

“Fire enhances the ecosystem

and is a primary force of nature

that sustains the diversity and

richness of a wide variety of plant

and animal species,” he said.

“Whether it is fast moving or slow

and creeping, fire in one form or

another makes the Okefenokee a

world-class resource and a

fascinating unit of the National

Wildlife Refuge System.”

Shawn Gillette, Refuge Ranger,

Okefenokee National Wildlife

Refuge, Folkston, Georgia

Okefenokee NWR heals from wildfires

Okefenokee Swamp Featured on New Postage Stamp

for postage for letters between

the U.S. and Mexico or Canada.

Through its support of the

Federal and Junior Duck

Stamp programs, the U.S.

Postal Service is an important

conservation partner of the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service. Sales

of the Federal Duck Stamp

have helped protect more than

5.2 million acres of wetlands for

national wildlife refuges.

The Postal Service is also

an active partner in the

Junior Duck Stamp program.

Each year, more than

30,000 schoolchildren from

kindergarten through twelfth

grade participate in the Junior

Duck Stamp program. Through

this unique program, kids learn

not just about ducks — but

also learn about conservation,

ecology, wetlands, waterfowl,

and more.

Joshua Winchell, Public Affairs,

Washington, DC

The most recent addition to the

Scenic American Landscapes

postage stamp series featuring

Okefenokee Swamp was

unveiled June 1 at the NAPEX

2007 stamp exhibition in

Northern Virginia.

This stamp depicts the still

water, cypress trees and yellow

cow-lilies of the Okefenokee

Swamp in southeastern Georgia

and northeast Florida, an image

that contrasted sharply with the

wildfires that raged this summer

on the Okefenokee National

Wildlife Refuge. Established in

1937, the refuge protects 402,000

acres of the 438,000 swamp.

The photograph on the stamp

was taken by José Azel. This

new $.69 First Class Mail

International stamp can be used

As of mid September, remnants of

wildfires that consumed about

85 percent of the 403,000-acre

Okefenokee National Wildlife

Refuge continued to smolder.

Refuge Ranger Shawn Gillette

said while no active flames are

present, some hot spots exist in

the thick layers of peat moss, and

it will take at least a two-foot rise

in the water table to extinguish

them. Because the hot spots are

contained in an isolated area,

Gillette said most of the

world-famous wildlife refuge

has reopened and visitors are

slowly returning.

“Visitation is starting to

increase,” he said, adding that

visitors are seeing more wildlife

than normal because the fires

have removed the thick

underbrush, and animals such

as black bear, bobcat, and deer

can now be better observed.

The Big Turnaround Complex of

wildfires spread into the refuge’s

native longleaf pine habitat,

which supports many endangered

and threatened species. Despite

the fire, Gillette said the majority

of the forested upland resources

were not significantly damaged

because of the aggressive and

successful prescribed fire

management program used by

the refuge to promote this

ecosystem.

Decades of experience have

demonstrated that wildfire cannot

be fought successfully inside

the Okefenokee Swamp. The

swamp’s sheer size and its

mosaic of habitat types render

traditional ground suppression

efforts impractical. Incident

Shawn Gillete / USFWS

Biologist Aicher monitors longleaf pine habitat at the refuge.

6 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

Internet Sleuths

news briefs

It’s true, said U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service Special Agent Ed

Newcomer, the Internet has made

wildlife crime easier — and easier

to hide. But the anonymity of

the online world has also

made it easier for wildlife law

enforcement agents to pose

as potential customers and to

catch people.

“What works for criminals also

works for us,” said Newcomer.

“The Internet provides anonymity

for everyone, and when we go

online, the people we’re after

have no idea who we are.”

Wildlife crime is a huge growth

industry, grown larger still by the

Internet. Most experts believe

that the global illegal wildlife

trade measures in the billions of

dollars, annually. Profits in this

illicit market are so huge that law

enforcement officers routinely

note that the black market in

wildlife is now the second largest

in the world, ranking only behind

the trade in illegal drugs. (In the

mid-1990s, an ounce of rhino horn

sold in Yemen for about $1,687 per

ounce, according to the World

Wildlife Fund — making it more

valuable than gold, which has a

current price of $667 per ounce).

Animals — including everything

from insects to bizarre objects

like footstools made from

elephant feet — have always

had aficionados in the more

developed Western countries.

The nations that are most likely

to have the most vigorous

On their first day at the hatchery,

agents collected the remains of

more than 200 heron carcasses in

various states of decay hanging

from trees and on the ground.

Under a dead pine tree, agents

found piles of bird bones.

They sent several heron

carcasses to the National Fish

and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory

in Ashland, Oregon where

scientists determined the cause

of death to be gunshot.

Resuming surveillance in the

early spring, agents collected

more heron and osprey

carcasses. They also found a

freshly killed immature bald eagle

under the dead pine tree.

Agents arrested Zak and Lloyd

and searched the hatchery,

seizing two rifles. As a condition

of their release, the court

ordered Zak to surrender 118

firearms and Lloyd to surrender

seven firearms.

Private Hatchery

Owner Sentenced

for Killing Birds

The owner of a private western

Massachusetts hatchery found

guilty of violating both the

Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA)

and the Bald and Golden Eagle

Protection Act for killing an

eagle and hundreds of other

birds has been sentenced to

six months in a halfway house

and five years probation with

no contact with weapons.

Michael Zak also must pay a

$65,000 fine, which will go to

the North American Wetlands

Restoration Fund.

In addition to shooting an

immature bald eagle, Zak also

killed hundreds of great blue

herons and ospreys over the

course of nearly 30 years.

The birds were feeding on

trout in the hatchery’s

unprotected raceways.

Northeast Region special agents,

led by case agent Tom Ricardi,

investigated Mohawk Trout

Hatchery in the fall of 2005 and

the spring of 2006 based on

a tip from Massachusetts

Environmental Police. Agents

conducted more than 30 days and

hundreds of hours of surveillance

from the woods surrounding the

Sunderland, Massachusetts

hatchery. Agents videotaped

Zak shooting at a heron and

Zak’s son-in-law Timothy Lloyd

shooting and killing an osprey.

They also observed Zak shooting

and killing a heron.

USFWS

In all, agents collected carcasses

of nearly 300 herons, 15 ospreys,

one red-tailed hawk and one

crow. For killing herons and

ospreys, the pair each pleaded

guilty to two Migratory Bird

Treaty Act violations and one

count of conspiracy, but Zak

requested a trial on the charges

of killing a bald eagle.

In April, following a six-day

bench trial, U.S. District Court

Judge Michael Ponsor found

Zak guilty of violating both the

MBTA and the Bald and Golden

Eagle Protection Act for killing

the eagle.

Lloyd was fined $1,500 and must

serve two years probation and

perform 200 hours of community

service.

Diana Weaver, External Affairs,

Hadley, Massachusetts

A Service special agent examines carcasses of an immature bald

eagle and an osprey killed on private hatchery property during

an investigation of bird shootings.

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 7

take a nature hike, or learn how

to become year-round

birdwatchers.

Web site visitors can use a site

locator to find places throughout

the Chicago Wilderness system

to take their kids, along with a list

teacher resources and the latest

news on current and upcoming

events and activities to get

children outside. The program’s

ultimate goal is fostering

generations of children who care

enough about nature to protect it.

conservation movements also Windy City Wilderness

have citizens with the most

disposable income. “That’s the

engine that really drives this

train,” said Newcomer.

The drive that pushes people to

buy such things as bird-eating

spiders, giant African scorpions,

poisonous snakes, macabre

furniture and other ornaments

made from animal parts is, said

Newcomer, as simple as the

desire to want something that

nobody else has. The buyers are

frequently people in upper

income levels who simply

seem to be taken by a novelty

of the moment. The crime is

compounded when the new

owners of live exotic creatures

become bored — and decide to

dump them in the wild. That has

helped place Florida at the top

of the list of states with invasive

species. California, where

Newcomer is based, has

its share.

How much illegal wildlife is

available on the Internet?

Newcomer said it’s difficult to

know; there is no authoritative,

dependable research. But as

someone who spends time

chasing Internet crime, he’s

confident the numbers run to

the thousands.

Newcomer thrives on the

challenge; he relishes telling the

story about how he and his

colleagues nabbed a man in

Los Angeles not long ago who

billed himself as “the world’s

most wanted butterfly smuggler.”

He sold Newcomer $14,000 worth

of protected butterflies and would

have sold him $300,000 worth,

if Newcomer had had the cash.

The smuggler is serving a two-year

sentence in federal prison.

The agents’ undercover work is

as much a battle of wits as

anything else; they must change

their tactics often — to fit the

changing tactics of the people

they are after.

Newcomer, who earned a law

degree before deciding he

wanted to be a wildlife agent,

isn’t discouraged. “Everything I

work for is incapable of dialing

9-1-1,” said Newcomer. “

Wildlife is resilient, but it’s not

inexhaustible. You worry about

reaching the end of the line. I

want every illegal wildlife dealer

who is online to think about one

thing: your next customer may be

a Fish and Wildlife Service law

enforcement agent.”

Ken Burton, Public Affairs,

Washington, DC

news briefs

More than 200 Chicago

Wilderness member

organizations, including the

Midwest Region’s Chicago

Ecological Services field office,

are forging a connection

between children and nature

with programs such as camping

trips, nature scavenger hunts

and birding hikes. Beginning

next year, Chicago Wilderness

members will begin offering all-new

programs as part of Leave

No Child Inside, the consortium’s

new effort to get kids outdoors.

The Leave No Child Inside

program kicked off June 16 at

Chicago’s Jackson Park, as

officials from the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, BP America

and the U.S. Forest Service

helped Chicago Wilderness

launch its effort to encourage

youth to explore the outdoors.

“Our nation has a great heritage

of outdoor activity and

stewardship,” said Robyn

Thorson, Midwest Regional

Director, at the kick-off event.

“Because we treasure the link

between people and nature

we’ve added Leave No Child

Inside and similar initiatives to

our agency’s national priorities.”

Leave No Child Inside offers

hundreds of year-round events

in nature accessible to millions

of children throughout the

region, and a Chicago

Wilderness Field Book to

encourage fun and educational

visits to local natural areas. The

Leave No Child Inside Web site

<www.kidsoutside.info> offers a

wealth of information on how to

connect kids and nature through

Chicago Wilderness programs,

lands and activities. Kids can

play “Bat and Moth,” find out

how to raise monarch butterflies,

Chicago Wilderness is a

partnership of more than 200

public and private organizations

working together to protect the

Chicago region’s natural spaces,

help conserve the diversity of

plants and animals, and enrich

local residents’ quality of life.

The partnership forms a natural

network spanning more than

300,000 acres of forests, prairies,

savannas, wetlands, lakes and

other protected open spaces,

in southeastern Wisconsin,

northeastern Illinois,

northwestern Indiana, and

southwestern Michigan.

Georgia Parham, External Affairs,

Bloomington, Indiana

A teen gets close to nature at the

Leave No Child Inside event

at Chicago’s Jackson Park.

USFWS

8 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

service spotlight

For years, Service employees have been connecting children

with the land and with the agency’s conservation mission.

Today those efforts may be more important than ever.

By David Eisenhauer

At four feet six inches, 9-year-old Lexi Monroe isn’t much taller than the clump of

native bunchgrass she is trying to plant. Her knees are sinking in mud and her shovel is

losing its battle with the hard-packed soil, but the freckled fourth grader is steadfastly

determined to get her plant in the ground.

Monroe and 36 of her classmates at

Rockledge Elementary in Bowie,

Maryland, are spending the warm spring

morning installing vegetation in the

school’s backyard “wetland” under the

guidance of Fish and Wildlife Service

biologist Carolyn Kolstad. The knee-high

trench behind the school serves as a

living laboratory where the youngsters

learn how to build habitat for local

wildlife and receive a first-hand lesson

in environmental conservation.

As director of the Chesapeake Bay Field

Office Schoolyard Habitat program,

Kolstad provides a combination of

biological expertise, onsite technical and

design assistance and hands-on training

for teachers and students — all the

necessary components for implementing a

successful student-led restoration project

on school grounds. The students are

involved every step of the way, from

planning and design through grant

writing, planting and community outreach.

To date, the Service has assisted

approximately 150 Maryland schools in

completing wetland, meadow, and forest

projects involving more than 30,000

students. An additional 50,000 to 60,000

students have used the restored habitat

For years, Service employees have taught

children about nature and respect for

natural resources while accomplishing

important wildlife habitat goals. But

today those efforts may be more important

than ever.

Mounting evidence shows an increasing

number of children are becoming

disconnected from nature, preferring to

spend time indoors immersed in a virtual

reality of television, video games, and

I-pods rather than explore the natural

reality outside their front doors. Author

Richard Louv, whose book Last Child in the

Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature

Deficit Disorder chronicles this trend,

argues that increased urbanization,

parental anxiety, residential development

restrictions and structured play have

kept children on a tight leash. This

separation from the natural world can

result in a host of physical and mental

ailments, Louv warns — from childhood

obesity to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity

Disorder — and erode future support

for conservation.

“If this gap between children and nature

continues to widen,” he asks, “where will

future conservationists come from?”

Sparking a Conservation Ethic

As the nation’s primary conservation

agency, the Service has a significant stake

in answering that question. Alarmed by

Louv’s conclusions and steady declines

in hunting and fishing license sales, the

Service, The Conservation Fund and >>

Lavonda Walton / USFWS back to nature

sites as part of an integrated curriculum

approach. Annually, the program provides

training for hundreds of teachers and

involves thousands of students in projects

on school grounds that create habitat for

wildlife, help to improve water quality and

provide outdoor classrooms where

students can interact with and observe

natural resources daily.

The Schoolyard Habitat program not

only teaches children about natural

systems, Kolstad says, but it also sows

seeds of conservation in their budding

young minds.

“This may be the first time some of these

students have ever planted a plant,” she

says. “The experience can forge a life-long

connection to the natural world.”

These kinds of lessons are taking place

at refuges, hatcheries, and Service field

stations across the country — from the

“Kids in the Creek” program, where high

schoolers in Chelan County, Washington,

assess stream health by identifying

aquatic insects to the Prairie Wetlands

Learning Center in Fergus Falls,

Minnesota, where students spend a

semester studying traditional subjects

in an outdoor learning environment.

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 9

Below: Service biologist Carolyn Kolstad, director of the Chesapeake Bay Field Office’s

Schoolyard Habitat program (here with students from Rockledge Elementary in

Maryland) explains thecacies of wetland plant plugs.

It’s gratifying to

know the passion

I have for the

outdoors is being

passed to the

next generation —

not because I tell

them they should

have this passion,

but because they

have been given

the opportunity

to discover it

on their own.”

Carolyn Kolstad

10 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

“With big issues like climate change

impacting our conservation mission, we

will need every American to become part

of the solution. Engaging children in our

conservation and restoration

efforts — from planting a tree to banding

a duck — gives them a sense of connection

to the natural world and personal

empowerment that they can make a

difference,” Lemon said. “Whether they

grow to be a biologist, a banker or a

mechanic, we will need them to be aware

and care about the natural world. That

starts with connecting them with nature

when they are young. When you see the

light in a child’s eyes when they come in

contact with a wild animal, you know that

you have kindled a flame in their soul.”

Making the Connections

As this issue of Fish & Wildlife News

shows, the Service hasn’t been sitting on

the sidelines when it comes to connecting

children with nature. Dozens of hands-on

conservation projects help restore

habitat and wildlife species and teach

children outdoor and scientific skills.

Service employees also regularly give

presentations at schools, provide

expertise on field trips, conduct training

for teachers, participate in summer

camps, and help develop curricula and

lesson plans that deal with natural

resource issues.

The Refuge System’s nearly 100 million

acres provide plentiful opportunities to

reconnect children and family with the

outdoors through the System’s “Big Six”

recreational uses — hunting, fishing,

wildlife observation, nature photography,

environmental education and

interpretation. Nearly 40 million visitors

enjoy refuges each year, and more than

300 refuges annually offer environmental

education programs for some 700,000

students and teachers. Likewise, many

hatcheries also provide excellent

recreational and educational opportunities

for schools and communities and regularly

host events to share the Service’s

conservation message.

Most programs and initiatives are done in

collaboration with a variety of partners,

including watershed groups, scouting

groups, refuge and hatchery friends

(Nature, continued)

Louv organized a national dialogue on

children and nature at the National

Conservation Training Center (NCTC)

in September 2006 to discuss the how to

reconnect a generation of youth with the

natural world — and secure the mental and

physical health benefits that go with it.

About 350 educators, health professionals

and conservationists participated in the

meeting, including Secretary of the

Interior Dirk Kempthorne, Service

Director H. Dale Hall, The Conservation

Fund’s President Larry Selzer, Executive

Director of the North American

Montessori Teachers’ Association

David Kahn and Yale University’s

Stephen Kellert.

“Fishing and just playing around in the

woods was an important part of my

childhood,” Hall says. “Our kids need to

have a chance to tromp through a woodlot

or muck around in a creek. That’s the

foundation of a healthy relationship with

the outdoors and a way to spark a

conservation ethic.”

In January 2007, the Service Directorate

listed connecting people with nature as

one of the agency’s six top conservation

priorities and created a national Children

and Nature Working Group of field and

regional office representatives from each

program to map a course of action for the

future. In December, the working group is

sponsoring a national workshop at NCTC

that will give Service employees new skills

and training to help children and families

develop strong life-long connections with

the natural world.

NCTC Director Rick Lemon, who leads

the Service’s Children and Nature

Executive Team, says the agency —

with its extensive land base and passionate

and knowledgeable employees — is well

positioned to help children reconnect

with nature. But while the Service

already provides public use

opportunities — ranging from hunting,

fishing, observing and photographing

wildlife, or simply exploring and

discovering connections to nature on

refuges — Lemon says an “even greater

and more focused effort is needed.”

service spotlight

groups, volunteers and junior naturalist

programs. The Service also regularly

teams up with national conservation

organizations such as Audubon, the

Recreational Boating and Fishing

Foundation, the National Wildlife

Federation and the National Fish and

Wildlife Foundation.

Lemon says he is encouraged by the wide

range of Service programs that connect

children with nature, but suggests the

agency needs to integrate existing and

new programs with its five other top

conservation priorities (National

Wildlife Refuge System, endangered

and threatened species, landscape

conservation, aquatic species, and

migratory birds) seek nontraditional

partners, incorporate new technologies to

reach kids and speak with one voice. The

Service’s children and nature initiative

will include:

n Develop a consistent message

and materials to raise awareness

within the Service and externally about

the importance of connecting children

to nature.

n Identify opportunities within each region

to connect children with nature. These will

be either new efforts or a refocusing of

existing efforts that better target children.

n Reach out to urban environments and/or

with traditionally underserved audiences.

n Identify national campaigns or develop

one Service-wide campaign to connect

children to nature.

Steve Hillebrand / USFWS

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 11

service spotlight

Links to the Outdoors

Here is a sampling of Web links for Service programs that

connect children with nature. This is not an exhaustive list

but demonstrates a range of activities designed to get kids

outside and teach them the importance of conservation.

Environmental Education

<www.fws.gov/educators/students.html>

<www.fws.gov/tennesseerefuge/kids corner.html>

<www.fws.gov/sacramento/ed.htm>

<www.fws.gov/nwi/educator.htm>

<www.fws.gov/chesapeakebay/schoolyd.htm>

<alaska.fws.gov/external/education/curricula.htm>

<www.fws.gov/midwest/pwlc/aboutus.html>

<alaska.fws.gov/external/education/camps.htm>

Endangered Species

<www.fws.gov/endangered/kids>

Recreation

<www.fws.gov/leavenworth/kidsfishingfun.htm>

<www.fws.gov/midwest/fisheries/kidspage.htm>

n Develop a Web site to provide a one-stop

source of readily accessible information,

outreach materials, curricula and lesson

plans and a community of practice where

practitioners can interact in posting

best practices, success stories, questions

and issues.

n Analyze existing training courses and

make adjustments and/or create new

courses to build competency in Service

employees to connect children with nature.

n Work with traditional and nontraditional

partners such as the healthcare

community, educators, technology and

medical companies to link efforts to get

children outside into nature.

“The core mission of the Service has not

changed,” Lemon says. “However,

stressing the wellness benefits from

connecting with nature in our outreach

message is a paradigm shift for the

Service; one that will surely reap

rewards in terms of increased advocacy

and conservation.”

Discovering the Passion

For Carolyn Kolstad, connecting children

with the outdoors is second nature.

She sits on the ground behind Rockledge

Elementary, encircled by a gaggle of

young onlookers as she explains the

intricacies of wetland plant plugs.

Kolstad describes the different plant

characteristics — roots, leaves, and in

some cases, flowers — and explains that

wetland plants have a unique ability to

live under water. Her words are sinking in.

“The Chesapeake Bay is a really good

resource,” says student Lisa Chen, 8, as

she carefully pats the soil around tiny

vegetation that will soon be submerged.

“The Bay gives you food and powers

the city.”

“Nitrogen and phosphorus makes

the fish die in the Chesapeake Bay,”

pipes in 10-year-old Taylor Peterson.

“A wetland is a natural filter. It gets

out all the chemicals.”

Kolstad’s duties as a teacher extend to her

role as a member of the Service’s Children

and Nature Working Group and her life as

a working mother. She says she spends

most of her “free time” with her 2-year-old

son playing outside and exploring the

universe of living things in her own

backyard. For her, connecting children

with nature isn’t a job; it’s a labor of love.

“The Service’s children and nature

initiative is important to me because I can

see the connection kids are making with

the outdoors,” Kolstad says. “I see it in

the eyes of children I’ve been fortunate

to meet in my experience at work, and

I see it in my own child’s eyes. It’s

gratifying to know the passion I have for

the outdoors is being passed to the next

generation — not because I tell them they

should have this passion, but because

they have been given the opportunity to

discover it on their own.”

For more information about the Service’s

children and nature initiative, visit

<www.fws.gov/children> or e-mail Janet

Ady, Chief, Division of Education Outreach

at the National Conservation Training

Center, at <janet_ady@fws.gov>

David Eisenhauer is a public affairs specialist

in Washington, DC. Additional reporting by

Claire Markgraf; Cathy Rezabeck, outreach

coordinator in Anchorage, Alaska; and Janet

Ady, Chief, Division of Education Outreach

at the National Conservation Training Center

in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

Refuges

<www.fws.gov/blackwater/kidpage.html>

<www.fws.gov/ridgefieldrefuges/adventure/index.htm>

<www.fws.gov/rockymountainarsenal/kids/kids.htm>

<www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/recEdMore.cfm?ID=33670>

<www.fws.gov/northeast/chinco/kids.htm>

<www.fws.gov/northeast/primehook/kids corner.html>

<www.fws.gov/saintmarks/education.html>

<www.fws.gov/northeast/patuxent/events.html>

<alaska.fws.gov/internettv/nwrtv/tetlintv/kids.htm>

Fish Hatcheries

<www.fws.gov/leavenworth/kc.htm>

<www.fws.gov/dalehollow>

Migratory Birds

<66.241.214.202/index.cfm>

<alaska.fws.gov/external/education/calendar.htm>

<www.fws.gov/duckstamps/junior/junior.htm>

<www.fws.gov/birds/urbantreaty.html>

<www.fws.gov/birds/imbd.html>

12 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

When Kathy Jacobson was growing up in California, she roamed Wildwood Regional

Park. “The defining moments in my life,” she recalls, “were watching a tarantula hawk

(a type of wasp) preying on a tarantula to use its body as a nesting site for her eggs.

I also loved walking through the park’s dry canyon for hours and seeing Chumash

Indian pictographs on its walls. They lent an air of magical human habitation and deep

rootedness in the land.”

Path to Discovery

Kathy Jacobson and Janet Strong

didn’t just help restore a mile of

riparian area on one of the biggest

salmon-bearing rivers in Washington;

they blazed a trail for lifelong learners.

Story by Taylor Pittman

Photos by Kathy Jacobson

Today Jacobson directs the Chehalis

Basin Educational Consortium (CBEC),

a partnership composed of Educational

Service District 113, the Washington State

Departments of Ecology and Fish and

Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

several school districts, Grays Harbor

College, the Chehalis River Land Trust and

Council. The primary purpose of CBEC

is to support the Chehalis watershed with

environmental education that meets the

state’s learning goals while addressing

issues in the watershed.

Jacobson and Janet Strong, Director of the

Chehalis River Bain Land Trust, were

instrumental in getting Discovery Trail on

the ground. The nature trail was built to

help people of all ages learn the importance

and value of the complex interrelationships

between the land, the Chehalis River and

the people who have inhabited the region

for decades.

The trail is the result of a partnership

between the City of Centralia and the

Chehalis River Basin Land Trust — a

collaboration built on a mutual desire to

protect wild salmon and to provide support

to the riverbanks from flooding by

planting thousands of native trees and

shrubs along the river. The 1.5-mile long

trail allows visitors to see a river-riparian

ecosystem in action: bald eagles nesting,

king fishers darting over the river in

search of fish, a jumping salmon. Each

trail station examines a different aspect of

a working biological system.

When Jacobson’s CBEC classes got

involved, science teachers expanded the

experiential education program from

students gathering data to planting trees,

producing a nature guide and writing

poetry about their experiences.

The Chehalis River.

The Discovery

Trail was built

to help people

of all ages learn

the importance

and value of

the complex

interrelationships

between the land,

the Chehalis River

and the people who

have inhabited the

region for decades.

Jacobson says the students’ “passion for

learning is obvious.”

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 13

“I learned to teach people to love the

earth and not to change the environment

for our needs.”

“If you live farther away from the harbor,

your pollution will take longer to get there,

but it will still get there.”

These lessons come from being outdoors,

up to their armpits in water, dirt and

trees. Jacobson and Strong didn’t just

help restore a mile of riparian area on

one of the biggest salmon-bearing rivers

in Washington; they blazed a trail for

themselves and others in becoming

lifelong learners and good citizens of

the land.

Taylor Pittman is an Information and

Education Specialist for the Western

Washington Fish and Wildlife Office in

Lacey, Washington

One teacher said, “This was the chance for

the kids to see first hand how what we

learn in school applies to the real world.”

“The students’ passion for learning is

obvious,” Jacobson says. “When students

participate in a real activity with real

consequences, the learning objectives are

being met and I never hear, ‘I’m bored.’”

Strong adds, “It is so rewarding to watch

the kids working with wheelbarrows,

shovels, their hands — they are so proud.

They’d come back with friends to take

walks. There’s no doubt in me that these

kids get a lot out of hands-on work.”

At year’s end, the Chehalis Student

Congress was held and students from all

over the watershed came together to share

and compare their data, participate in

workshops given by resource professionals

and view the art created. When asked

about the most important thing they

learned, students responded:

“I learned to take care of and watch what

we put in the rivers.”

By The Numbers

The Discovery Trail

Location Centralia, Washington

Length 1 mile

7,000 trees planted from 2003-06

22 tree species planted in the

last three years

700 participating students

20 participating teachers

100 participating parents

2,700 square miles of watershed

Two students record their observations.

14 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

A Prescription for Healthy

And besides, many kids will tell you they

don’t want to go outside. Why would they

choose the challenges of the outdoors

(“That’s boring mom!”) when they can be

easily entertained by TV, video games and

the internet?

But our highly structured lives, lived

primarily indoors, are not good for our

children’s health. Today we are raising

a generation of children who have lost

their connection with the outdoors.

It is a crisis that has become known as

“nature-deficit disorder.”

The result? In his book Last Child in the

Woods: Saving Our Children From

Nature Deficit Disorder, Richard Louv

shows that this disconnect may play a big

role in increased rates of obesity, Attention

Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD),

depression and stress in our children.

But today’s children will have very

different childhood memories.

Today, we lead busy and highly structured

lives. We get off of work and shuttle our

children to sports practice and music

lessons. Then we rush home in time to

feed them, help them finish homework and

get them into bed. This leaves them with

no unscheduled time.

When we do have some down time, most

of parents today don’t feel comfortable

letting our kids roam free through the

neighborhood without supervision. In fact,

experts estimate that a child’s range for

roaming and wandering today is one-ninth

of what ours was.

For many parents, some of our best childhood memories are of the outdoors. Whether

it was playing neighborhood freeze tag, building a fort in the nearby vacant lot,

splashing around in a creek, or riding our bike to the park, most of us had a lot of fun

playing outside. Our formative years consisted of hours of unstructured, outdoor play.

Getting children outside

is not just fun and games.

Their health may depend on it.

By Kyla Hastie and Shani Howard

Pediatric care providers are particularly

tuned into the problem of reduced time for

unstructured play. They’ve known for a

long time that getting children out and

moving about burns calories, lowering the

risk of childhood obesity. But new research

shows additional benefits of outside play.

A 2006 report from the American

Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) states

that free and unstructured play is

healthy — and in fact essential — for

helping children reach important social,

emotional, and cognitive developmental

milestones. Unstructured play, whether

indoors or outside, helps children manage

stress and become resilient.

Fortunately, “nature deficit disorder” is a

problem parents and communities can

solve. Spurred by the publication of Louv’s

book, a movement referred to as “No

Child Left Inside” is sweeping the nation.

Connecticut has launched a program to

get children and parents out to state parks

and provide more outdoor opportunities.

Flickr / AJ Schroetlin

Flickr / maxwell woods

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 15

Why Do Children Need

Nature and Play?

Research shows that children need to

spend time in nature for physical, mental

and emotional development. Here’s why*:

Nature reduces stress and lowers the risk

of depression. Many studies have shown

that a relationship with nature and animals

lowers blood pressure, reduces stress,

and wards off depression in both children

and adults.

Children work through issues by playing

outdoors. When something is troubling

you, how many of us have found quiet and

solitude in the outdoors? Nature has a

restorative, spiritual quality that enables

children (and adults) to think more clearly.

Outdoor experiences may combat Attention

Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Children with ADHD are restless, and have

trouble paying attention, listening, following

directions, and focusing on tasks. Studies

have found that TV may increase a child’s

likelihood of developing concentration

problems, but that nature experiences may

improve a child’s ability to listen and focus.

Children who spend more time outdoors

may reduce their risk of obesity and other

physical health problems. 40 percent of

five- to eight-year-olds suffer cardiac

risk factors such as obesity. Two-thirds

of American children can’t pass a basic

physical. There is a growing body of

evidence suggesting contact with nature is

as important to children as good nutrition

and adequate sleep.

“Nature smart” children have heightened

sensory skills. Outdoor environments

challenge, excite, and stimulate our

sense (while controlled, indoor electronic

environments tend to drown our senses

with noise and visual stimulation). Outdoor

experiences help develop our kids’ sense

of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch all

at once. Nature-connected kids tend to

pay more attention to the world around

them, often noticing things that others

miss. They also tend to do better on

standardized testing.

Outdoor experiences foster more creativity.

Natural spaces stimulate children’s limitless

imaginations. Children who connect with

nature may be more inventive and better

problem solvers due to the hands-on

learning that the outdoors provides.

Learn more about nature-deficit disorder

and the AP’s study on the importance

of play at:

<www.cnaturenet.org>

<greenhour.blogspot.com>

<www.aap.org/pressroom/play-public.htm>

Many school districts are restoring

previous cuts in outdoor playtime and

investing in outdoor classrooms where

children can learn through direct contact

with nature. And in some communities,

developers are rethinking how they build

neighborhoods to include areas where

children can play safely.

Health care providers are also addressing

this problem. As a result of the AAP

report on children and play, health care

providers have been given new guidelines

for patients and parents, which include

recommending that all children be

afforded ample, unscheduled, independent,

non-screen time to be creative, to reflect,

and to decompress. Health care providers

are also encouraged to be advocates for

developing safe spaces for children to play.

As Louv says, “Healing the broken bonds

between our young and nature is in

everyone’s self-interest, not only because

aesthetics or justice demands it, but also

because our mental, physical and spiritual

health depend upon it.”

Time is one of the most valuable resources,

so reserve some of it for your kids to get

outside and play. It’s not just for fun.

Their health depends on it.

This article was adapted from one that

appeared in the March/April 2007 issue of

Athens Parent magazine. Kyla Hastie is an

outreach and partnerships coordinator

for the Service’s Southeast Regional Office

in Atlanta. Shani Howard is a nurse

practitioner at Oconee Pediatric Associates

in Watkinsville, Georgia.

terri jacobson / usfws

16 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

Class is in session at the Upper

Mississippi River National

Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

By Cindy Samples

A Winona State

University

pre-service teacher

shows students

how to identify

macroinvertebrates.

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 17

A crew of fifth graders climbs aboard the River Explorer and soon the boat is filled

with excitement. Children on the top deck try out binoculars and learn where the

“head” is located (they love the captain’s “sailor talk”). One young boy named Jordan

asks if I am a “cop” and whether he can keep the pair of binoculars I hand him.

Today 30 students, parents, teachers,

pre-service teachers from Winona State

University have joined staff from the

Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife

and Fish Refuge to explore the refuge by

water. Captain Dick Karnath, a veteran

riverboat pilot who goes by the name

“Captain Kutch,” steers the boat away

from the dock and we are underway.

“How many of you have ever been on the

river?” I ask. Most hands go up. “How

many of you have ever been on the Upper

Mississippi River National Wildlife and

Fish Refuge?” Only a few hands go up.

Then I ask, “What is a refuge?” Young

Jordan replies that it is a “place where

animals are protected.” I point to a white

refuge sign and explain that on this refuge

people can hunt, fish, hike, boat, and watch

wildlife — so refuges are for people, too.

In collaboration with refuge staff,

Winona State University developed this

interdisciplinary program to use the river

refuge as a natural “classroom.” The River

Explorer is the conduit by which students

can explore a myriad of subjects from

poetry to sociology.

“Through our summer workshops,

teachers learn first-hand about the refuge

and then they get to bring their students

on a river field trip once school is in

session,” said WSU Chemistry Professor

Jeanne Franz. “That’s a great way to

connect the teachers and students with

this refuge. Surveys from the workshop

indicate that the teachers and student

teachers are much more likely to

incorporate the Refuge into their

curriculum as a result of traveling

through the refuge with a refuge staff

member onboard.”

I instruct the crew to view an eagle nest

with their binoculars. One student

exclaims, “I see two heads!” Another

says, “Look there’s something in the

water is that a beaver?” “It’s a river rat!

It’s a muskrat.”

Noah, one of the Winona State

University pre-service teachers, shows

the students how to use their “Discovery

Scopes” and teaches them how to

identify macroinvertebrates. “Those

guys are really important to the animals

on the river,” he says. “Fish eat them,

ducks eat them, and you’re going to

discover what they look like. They are

tiny so you need the Scopes to see and

identify them. Let’s go overboard.”

The children comb the river’s edge

scooping up water. Soon there are shouts

of, “Oh my goodness, it’s moving, I found

a bug! Look there’s a worm thingy in

here! Ranger Cindy what is this?

I got a baby dragonfly in here! Look at

mine — it’s a baby mosquito!”

All too soon the children are back on the

boat as we motor upriver to the lunch

stop and canoe launch. The water is cold

today, so they will stay in their canoes

and avoid the temptation to swim.

After a day on the river refuge, the River

Explorer docks at Winona, Minnesota

and the children file off one by one.

Jordan, the young boy who asked if

I was a cop looks up at me and says,

“That was awesome.”

WSU sociology professor Todd Paddock

says the students’ day on the river

reinforces their connection to nature and

helps the understand the importance of

conserving the Upper Mississippi’s

natural treasures.

“I had a class of 28 students sign up for

my sociology class. When I told them the

class included a weekend trip on the river

refuge and that they needed to be ready to

get wet and muddy, the class size dropped

to nine,” Paddock says. “It just shows why

I need to get them out on the river. Next

time I won’t say anything about water or

mud. I truly believe that once they get

their feet wet it will create a connection

and they’ll begin caring about and for the

river refuge.”

Cindy Samples is a Refuge Ranger at

Upper Mississippi River National

Wildlife and Fish Refuge

Cindy Samples / USFWS

flickr / daisy baxter Cindy Samples / USFWS

18 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

By Jennifer Anderson

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 19

One morning in early June, a group of about 10 Girl Scouts in rubber boots and

waders revisited a wetland area they helped create a year earlier through a

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service partnership.

Each year, this innovative partnership is encouraging

more than 35,000 Girl Scouts to work with agencies to identify

conservation and outdoor projects in their communities.

provide them with opportunities to restore

native habitats, expose them to careers in

the outdoors and help them understand

their roles as caretakers of the land.

The Shawnee Council’s Camp White Rock

project was launched in 2004 when the

Service agreed to help restore land the

Girl Scouts use for educational purposes.

The Council applied for a $3,000 Linking

Girls to the Land grant, funded by the

Girl Scouts’ Elliott Wildlife Values Project,

U.S. Forest Service, EPA and Fish and

Wildlife Service, making the Shawnee

proposal among 20 that year to receive

the competitive grant. Jodi Schwarzer,

national manager of Linking Girls to the

Land for the Girl Scouts, explained that

the Council’s proposal appealed at a

national level because it carried an

educational component likely to result

in the partnership lasting beyond the

scope of the immediate project.

Partners for Fish and Wildlife State

Coordinator John Schmidt from the West

Virginia Field Office, joined by members

of the state Department of Natural

Resources, visited the site and developed a

preliminary design for the creation of the

wetland. An archaeologist with the U.S.

Department of Agriculture in Morgantown

determined the land contained nothing of

archaeological significance, and in April

2006, the U.S. Corps of Engineers issued

a Clean Water Act permit for the wetland

reconstruction, clearing the way for the

project to proceed. >>

The girls, all middle- and high-school

aged, were taking inventory of the

native grasses and invasive species

growing in the wetland, built on their 140-

acre Camp White Rock outdoor classroom

in Hampshire County, West Virginia. An

abundance of dragonflies, deer, raccoons,

frogs and other creatures once scarce in

the area are now drawn to the marsh. “If

we expose children to the beauty of nature,

they will be more inclined to treat the

natural world with respect and work to

protect it,” said Sue Jarvis, chief operating

officer for the Girl Scouts of Shawnee

Council in West Virginia.

The partnership between the Shawnee

Council and the Service is not unique.

Across America, Girl Scout councils are

joining together with Service biologists to

restore nature. They are planting native

grasses, pulling invasive weeds, studying

wetland habitats and planning

conservation projects on their privately

owned and public lands.

Begun in 1995 between the Girl Scouts of

the USA and several federal agencies

including the Fish and Wildlife Service,

Environmental Protection Agency and

Bureau of Land Management, the Linking

Girls to the Land partnership encourages

more than 35,000 Girl Scouts each year

to work with agencies to identify

conservation and outdoor projects in their

communities. The partnerships not only

enhance Girl Scout leadership skills and

their appreciation for nature but also

Girl Scouts search for macroinvertebrates

at Ditch Creek in the Grand Teton

National Park, Wyoming.

A cold, wet day at Daubenspeck

Community Nature Park in Indianapolis

doesn’t deter these girls from hauling

mulch and planting trees.

Jodi Stewart Deborah Ellman Schwarzer / Girl Scostu of hte USA

20 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

Prairie Partnership

In Iowa, where 99 percent of the native

prairie land has been lost to development

and agriculture, a Girl Scout-Fish and

Wildlife partnership led to the restoration

of prairie habitat on the 340-acre

Girl Scout Camp Conestoga, near

New Liberty, Iowa.

The project got its start in 2004 when Girl

Scout council staff member Hillary Blevins

approached Kraig McPeek, biologist with

the Rock Island, Illinois Ecological

Field Office, and explained that the Girl

Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western

Illinois had already restored two plots

totaling 11 acres and were interested in

restoring a third.

McPeek’s office is experienced in working

with both private landowners and

nonprofit organizations and was eager to

help the Girl Scouts restore some of their

property, both for educational purposes

and to protect wildlife. The partnership

received not only a $2,500 Linking Girls

to the Land grant but also obtained an

$1,800 grant through the Partners for

Fish and Wildlife program, to purchase

native prairie seed. McPeek described the

six-acre plot as “marginal old pasture”

running along a hillside and overrun with

poison ivy and other invasive grasses,

trees and shrubs.

A contractor already on-site repairing

roads for the Girl Scouts cleared the land

and seeded it with a mix of 50 different

grass and flower species, all native

to Iowa. Unlike the two other plots

previously restored as either all grasses

or all flowers, the six-acre plot offers a

mix, which should add to the girls’

understandings of native vegetation

and the different species they attract,

McPeek said.

Although construction is complete, this

partnership has also not ended. Service

biologists are teaching the Girl Scouts

about how fire and other wildlife

management techniques are used to care

for the prairie, and plans are underway to

expand the curriculum to include one-day

seminars on identifying butterflies or

other prairie-related topics hosted by

Fish and Wildlife Service biologists.

Within two months, heavy equipment

operators from Canaan Valley National

Wildlife Refuge and the West Virginia

Field Office, in just one day, completed

construction of a short dike and spillway

to create approximately a half-acre of

wetland within Camp White Rock under

the direction of Al Rizzo, state coordinator

of Partners for Fish and Wildlife in the

Chesapeake Bay Field Office. Fish and

Wildlife Service biologists seeded and

mulched the area, and the water was

allowed to fill in naturally.

“The girls benefit because they are learning

the science behind what these agencies are

doing and developing real connections to their

public lands. This type of hands-on involvement

leads to a genuine and life-long commitment

to care for our planet.”

Jodi Schwarzer, national manager of the Linking Girls to the Land program for the Girl Scouts

The Girl Scouts have been exploring the

wetlands since they were developed and

going out monthly since January, said

Jarvis, of the Shawnee Council. They are

observing wildlife, looking at microscopic

organisms and learning to identify the

native and invasive species.

The partnership already is proving itself

sustainable; establishment of the wetland

led to a $32,600 grant awarded to the

council this past June from the West

Virginia Commission for National and

Community Service. The funds are to be

used to develop outdoor educational

programs on marsh ecosystems.

Future goals include having the Service

teach the girls about wetland habitats and

their importance in the ecosystem.

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 21

Because of the success of the project,

McPeek is confident the partnership will

not only continue but enable his office to

use the Camp Conestoga project as an

example for other landowners and

organizations in Iowa that would like to

pursue habitat restorations.

Just as the land benefits, so do the girls.

“They are learning the science behind

what these agencies are doing and

developing real connections to the public

lands,” stated Schwarzer, Linking Girls to

the Land National Manager. “This type

of hands-on involvement leads to a

genuine and life-long commitment to

care for our planet.”

Jennifer Anderson is a freelance writer

living in Falls Church, Virginia

Going Wild

When lifelong field ecologist Julie

Concannon, an environmental

contaminants team leader for the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service in Portland, Oregon,

became leader of a local Girl Scout troop

in 2005, she couldn’t wait to get the girls

out in nature.

But her expectations crashed when

several of the 11- to 14-year-olds showed

up for a camping and hiking trip along

muddy trails in flip-flops and cotton pants

and with Teddy bears in tow.

“I realized on that first camping trip that

connections to the landscape take time

and are experienced differently by each

girl,” she recalled.

Elaborate outdoors plans gave way to

learning the basics such as how to use

a compass, pack a backpack, cook in a

Dutch oven and keep an adequate supply

of food and water at all times — even in

the city.

Co-leader Cynthia Carlton shows

Zoe Naimo how to use a compass.

The girls will have to decide on the

project — whether it’s pulling invasive

plant species, restoring a riparian area

or countless other possibilities — and the

location. Some projects may be pricier

than others, but all are doable as long as

the girls are motivated and creative in

their fundraising. As Concannon put it:

“Their opportunities are limited only by

their imaginations.”

But are the girls ready to do their part

for the planet? When Concannon asked,

15-year-old Girl Scout Lindsey Carter

replied, “I would do it because it makes

me feel good inside.”

Even the youngest of the troop, 11-year-old

Zoe Naimo, said: “I would do anything to

save nature.”

Jennifer Anderson

After nine months of “basic training,” the

girls asked to go on a “real” camping trip.

To Concannon’s delight, they were ready to

connect with a wild landscape. She decided

to push the girls to the next step, applying

in June for a Linking Girls to the Land grant

to partner with the National Wildlife Refuge

System in the Northwest and Pacific Islands

to restore a part of nature.

Julie Concannon / USFWS Anne S. Fege

A Service biologist teaches Girl Scouts

about insects in their local environment.

22 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

“How much farther do we have to go?”

the girl behind me asks.

“How long do we have to walk?” her friend

chimes in.

“This could be a very long hike,” I think as

I lead 20 third graders along the Painted

Desert Trail at Imperial National Wildlife

Refuge north of Yuma, Arizona. The trail

is just over a mile, and we’ve barely begun.

“We have quite a ways to go,” I tell

the girls.

“Good! Because this is so fun!”

Big cities offer many choices and

opportunities that are unavailable in a

remote town the size of Yuma. Children

from Yuma have no zoo and few museums.

Their connection with nature is limited,

and they may be only vaguely aware of its

significance. They may live in the desert,

but they don’t live the desert.

Imperial National Wildlife Refuge offers

the chance to experience what these

children learn in the classroom. Today we

are awakening their senses to the desert

that surrounds them.

“We’ll look for signs of water,” I told the

hikers before we stepped onto the trail.

But when I asked them what those signs

might be, they merely stared at me.

Senses in the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge

is an oasis of life and learning

for thirsty young minds.

By Betty Mulcahy

Now we stop at a dry wash striated by

occasional water flow. I ask if anyone sees

signs of water. Several point to the cracked

dried mud. “That’s right. And what about

erosion on the hillside? Does anyone know

what erosion means?”

“We’ve discussed this in class,” the teacher

is quick to remind the pupils as they peer

up at the deep grooves, beginning to

connect what they’ve only read or heard

about with what they are now witnessing.

We walk down a wash to a wide, flat space

populated with cactus, creosote, palo

verde, and numerous other plants. As I

cup my hands around a creosote branch,

breathe on it and inhale, I invite the class

to join me. The children surround the bush

and inhale the acrid odor.

“It smells like rain!” several announce.

They know from experience something I

had to learn on my first trip to the desert.

I smile at their discovery. When I ask why

none of the plants have large leaves, they

eagerly recall what they’ve learned at

school. It’s becoming real for them.

One young girl brings me a leaf she has

plucked from a brittlebush. “Why is this

soft?” she asks. The bush will regrow the

leaf, but it has piqued the girl’s curiosity.

She is paying attention to details.

“As we walk, let’s look for holes where

animals live,” I tell the group. Intrigued,

the students locate a hillside riddled with

various sized and shaped burrows.

“There are some tracks!” one declares

after investigating the entrances to these

homes. Increasingly, the children are

honing their observation skills. They begin

seeing signs and details that I miss.

And I begin to understand why people

teach. Igniting excitement and awareness

in these students has augmented my

own senses.

“Now see if you can count the number of

colors in the rocks as we walk,” I say. Soon

we stop again to investigate the different

shades. They come up with “reddish-orange”

and “pinkish-brownish-whitish”

and “purple-maroon” and “green.”

One child comes up with “blue.”

“Blue?” I ask. But then I realize that

some of the dark gray could appear blue.

I’ve learned something.

After climbing a steep incline, we stop

at the highest point of the trail.

“Does anyone see a sign of water in

the distance?” I ask.

Answers of erosion and caked mud

abound. “Look farther,” I insist.

“Way in the distance.”

“It’s green,” one child offers.

Then someone spots the ribbon of blue.

“That’s the Colorado River,” I say. “If you

were a bighorn sheep, that’s where you’d

have to go for a drink. How many of you

would want to travel that far just to

Chuck Mulcahy / USFWS

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 23

Desert

drink?” Most shake their heads. One,

however, offers to walk the six hilly, rocky

miles right now. I admire his enthusiasm.

When we descend again to the wash,

I ask the group to sit on the gravel.

“Close your eyes and listen,” I say. “Each

time you hear a different sound, hold up

a different finger.”

I give the children one minute of silence

with their eyes closed. It must seem an

eternity, but not one makes a sound except

for an occasional foot crunching the little

stones. “Open your eyes,” I say when time

is up. “What did you hear?”

One child heard an insect buzzing in her

ear. Another heard the wind through the

trees. Still another heard an airplane in

the distance. “I heard a lion roar,” one

proclaims. I don’t dispute it. Imaginations

have been sharpened this morning.

We’re coming to the end of the hike, and I

have heard few if any complaints. “I want

to stay here,” one boy says.

“Aren’t you hungry?” his friend asks.

“Yes. But I’d rather stay here than eat.”

I don’t try to hide my satisfaction. Making

a difference in a child’s life, I find, also

makes a difference in mine.

Now the children are continually pointing

out signs of water and animal burrows

and colors in rocks. They are excited with

their discoveries.

When we round one more hill, the parking

lot comes into view. A boy in front of the

line marches toward the bus. “This is the

most funnest field trip I ever been on!” he

declares. “Even better than Sea World!”

I wonder if this child has ever been to Sea

World. Nevertheless, I stop him long

enough to give him a hug. This is one of

the most funnest things I’ve ever done too!

Chattering with new awe, the children

board the bus. I may have awakened their

senses, but they have awakened my sense

of wonder.

Betty Mulcahy is a Volunteer Interpretive

Naturalist at Imperial National Wildlife

Refuge in Yuma, Arizona

Chuck Mulcahy / USFWS

Imperial National Wildlife Refuge offers children the chance to experience what they learn in the classroom.

The author teaches young

conservationists about life in

the desert.

Illustrations by Tim Knepp

Black-footed Ferret

American Alligator

kids coloring page

California Condor

Share this pull-out section

with a child to further his or

her interest in nature.

Polar Bear

Emperor Penguin

Sea Turtle

Gray Wolf

kids coloring page

Bald Eagle

26 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

science

Traditional caches are located all over the

world. But since leaving behind a cache in

federal wildlife refuges is illegal, there’s

another component to geocaching that

entices participants to these wonderful

wildlife areas: Virtual caching.

With a virtual cache, participants use

clues, GPS waypoints and landmarks to

get themselves to a particular spot in the

reserve. Clever virtual caches can include

amazing scenic spots, lesser-known public

trails, key bird watching spots, locations of

natural mineral deposits, or other natural

wonders. It’s low-impact treasure hunting

at its best.

To assist local cachers, rangers at the

Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife

and Fish Refuge in Minnesota created a

special virtual cache with multiple

locations and questions. When cachers

complete the entire circuit, they return to

Treasure Hunting

Geocaching — a new-age combination

of orienteering and hide-and-seek —

gets families around the world out

and hiking together.

By Kathleen M. Reilly

Janell Lovelace’s three-year old son,

Bram, is an experienced treasure hunter.

And we’re not just talking pretend

treasures, either. Bram hikes through

forests and down trails until his parents’

Global Positioning System (GPS) lets his

family know they’re getting close to the

treasure they’re seeking. Once they’re

close enough, Bram rummages among the

fallen leaves and peers into tree stumps,

until — eureka! Hidden treasure!

The Durham, North Carolina family is

part of a growing worldwide trend —

geocaching. This new-age combination of

orienteering and hide-and-seek gets

families around the world out and hiking

together. Here’s how it works: Someone

hides a treasure box (“cache”) and notes

its coordinates — its unique position on the

globe. Then, they post those coordinates

online at <www.geocaching.com, along

with an optional clue. Other geocachers

can then use their own GPS systems to

track down the cache.

It’s not as easy as it sounds, though.

The GPS will only get you so close, and

then it’s up to old-fashioned detective

work to find the cache itself, usually a

sealed rubber container or army ammo

box. Inside, treasure hunters will find

a logbook to sign and date, and an

assortment of trinkets to choose from.

They then replace the loot with a trinket

of their own — small toys, CDs, movies,

books, and such — and carefully hide the

container back in the same place for the

next player to find.

photo collage / fred mcwilson

the headquarters to report back and

collect a reward. Cachers have been

amazed at the wildlife they’ve spotted and

thrilled to discover new trails they’d

previously overlooked.

For families, geocaching is just the ticket

to get outdoors and explore nature —

what kid could resist a treasure hunt? An

added benefit of virtual cache: It helps

kids really look closely at nature’s beauty

as they work the clues and seek out

natural landmarks.

For your first few caches with the kids,

look for caches that are easy to find and

in easy terrain (they’re clearly marked

online). If you’re choosing your

destinations from the online site, read

through the log entries to see if other

people have had a lot of difficulty getting

to the cache. Bushwhacking with young

children can be a quick way to a

frustrating outing.

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 27

Many geocachers keep a backpack just

for geocaching, loaded with what they

need, so they can just grab it and go when

the urge for adventure hits. Stock your

bag with your GPS unit, a local map,

flashlight, bug sprays, pens, small first

aid kit, and binoculars for checking out

the nature scenes.

Geocaching is not only fun, but it’s a great

way to get out and exercise as a family,

too, says Maria Nardini, fitness manager

of the Duke Health and Fitness Center

in North Carolina. “When you’re hiking,

especially in that kind of environment,

there’s going to be a variety of terrain,”

she says. “It’s a variety of ways to

challenge the body. You may be climbing

a steep hill, which is an interval

workout, and then return to flat

ground, where you’re getting a good

cardiovascular benefit.”

One of the best rules of geocaching gives

kids a hands — on way to care for the

environment, too: Cache In, Trash Out.

In an effort to preserve and improve the

natural areas of the world, geocachers are

asked to tread lightly on the land — and

actually help improve it, too — by bringing

along a bag to remove any litter you come

across in your outings. It’s not only

Jamie Harper / USFWS

A Saint Mary’s University (Minnesota)

student shows high schoolers from

Riverway Learning Community Charter

School how to use a GPS unit.

Using their GPS device, two young

geocachers close in on the “treasure.”

Kathleen M. Reilly

Geocaching returns a sense of outdoor

adventure to a world dominated with

indoor entertainment.

Kathleen M. Reilly

For families, geocaching is just the ticket

to get outdoors and explore nature.

What kid can resist a treasure hunt?

helping the environment, but it’s setting

a great example for your children.

“We’ve carried out dozens of bags of

trash from public parks over the past

year,” Lovelace says.

Getting out in search of treasure returns

a sense of outdoor adventure to our world

dominated with indoor entertainment,

and families across the country are

enthusiastically jumping into geocaching.

And it’s helping their families grow closer,

too. “A family that does this kind of

activity together is likely to support each

other in other types of activities, too, and

will continue to do so long-term,” says

Nardini. And that’s one treasure you’ll

always keep close.

Kathleen M. Reilly is a freelance writer in

North Carolina. She and her family are

avid geocachers.

28 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

example, is regularly offered at

Patuxent National Wildlife

Research Refuge. Teachers

leave the workshop with an

interdisciplinary curriculum

guide covering science, math,

social studies, physical

education, environmental,

music, art and education.

Erika Scarborough, education

specialist at John Heinz at

Tinicum National Wildlife Refuge

in Philadelphia, concluded that

training teachers would give

them ownership over the content,

thus better engaging the many

urban students who come to the

refuge. Scarborough offers

“pre-field trip orientations”

one Saturday a month so that

teachers can return with their

students and lead their own

activities.

Heinz Refuge also offers a wide

variety of other courses and

workshops for teachers of all

grade levels throughout the

school year, covering everything

from wetlands, biodiversity,

energy, trees and songbirds.

A nominal fee is charged and

participants earn continuing

education credits.

The workshops build confidence

and knowledge among teachers,

who are often as unfamiliar with

green spaces as their students.

Scarborough remembers one

teacher involved in a hands-on

activity who said she had “never

seen a real live frog.” One student

who came to the refuge said it

was the “first time she ever

planted something that wasn’t in

a paper cup.”

Further west, new professional

development projects for

teachers focus on a single

location or a single species.

The Matagorda Island Teacher

Workshop Cooperative Initiative,

which involves staff and Friends

of Aransas and Matagorda Island

at Aransas National Wildlife

Refuge has created an annual

workshop that shows teachers

an array of learning opportunities

on Matagorda Island.

Twelve teachers attended the

first workshop in November 2006,

sleeping in a bunkhouse on the

island and spending two days

with naturalists from the refuge

and local partner organizations.

They tried their hand at birding,

observing the ecology of beaches

and marshes, stargazing and

photography. Teachers earned

continuing education credits and

received curriculum guides that

enable them to meet Texas public

school requirements to educate

middle and high school students

about coastal resources.

Tonya Stinson, environmental

education specialist at Aransas

National Wildlife Refuge, was

the prime mover behind the

teacher initiative. The Friends

organization provided financial

and administrative support.

Stinson believes it’s important

for successful professional

development initiatives to fill a

need that hasn’t already been met

and take advantage of as many

local partners as possible.

At Sevilleta National Wildlife

Refuge in New Mexico, an effort

to provide educators with

information about the endangered

Mexican gray wolf led to design

of an education outreach

program focused on the wolf. In

2005, several retired teachers

volunteered to help the refuge

create an educator’s guide.

The guide includes activities

for pre-school through twelfth

grade and will eventually be

available online.

In the “Build a Wolf” lesson, for

example, elementary students

learn about wolf adaptations as

they dress up in a costume that

includes large teeth, ears, feet

and a fluffy tail. Middle school

students play a hunting game to

learn about predator/prey

relationships. High school

students become members of a

fictitious “Wolf Reintroduction

Team;” they must decide where

and how to reintroduce Mexican

gray wolves and then defend

their recommendations.

More than 150 guides have been

distributed to educators, from

those who teach in public,

tribal and parochial schools

and those who provide home

schooling. Last year, the refuge’s

wolf outreach program reached

more than 650 students and

100 teachers, according to

Kimberly King-Wrenn, visitor

services professional at Sevilleta

Refuge. “While the Mexican

gray wolves are still searching

to find their place in the

southwest,” says King-Wrenn,

“wolf education has found a

home at Sevilleta Refuge.”

Karen Leggett, NWRS

Communications, Washington, DC

around the service

Heinz Refuge Environmental Education Specialist Erika

Scarborough teaches a Project WILD workshop to local teachers.

They are on the deck of the Cusano Environmental Education

Center, which opened to the public in January 2001.

Bill Buchanan / USFWS

headquarters

Teaching the Teachers

A biology teacher suggests that a

student try working for the Youth

Conservation Corps in the

summer. An elementary school

teacher teaches children to write

poetry on a refuge. Another

conveys math concepts by asking

students to calculate how many

acres need to be planted to feed

migratory birds on a refuge.

Engaging the next generation

means not only encouraging

young people to think of

conservation careers but also

educating them to become

knowledgeable citizens

enthusiastic about conservation.

That often starts with teachers.

Many refuges offer professional

development programs for

teachers. They are often created

by private nonprofit organizations.

Many of these programs are

being correlated to new public

school curriculum standards.

A Project Wild course created

by the nonprofit Council for

Environmental Education, for

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 29

exploring a rocky stretch of the

Potomac River shoreline provided

many opportunities for discovery,

reflection and sharpening photo

skills. Additional nature

experiences and image-making

occurred during a day-long field

trip to Patuxent Research Refuge,

where the campers witnessed

and photographed the refuge’s

conservation work.

Unlike many environmental

education programs where time

outdoors is limited or omitted

entirely, the campers spent most

of their time in nature. And by

having one of their photographic

prints framed and exhibited in a

public forum at NCTC last fall,

each camper could share his or

her view of the outdoors through

the camera lens. Perhaps the

photo camp’s most visible

measure of success is the fact

that half of last year’s participants

signed up for the session

conducted at NCTC this summer.

This summer’s camp session was

expanded to six days. In addition

to the field trip to a national

wildlife refuge, the campers also

visited the National Zoo’s

Conservation and Research

Center in Front Royal, Virginia.

There they learned about the

important conservation work

done by zoos. National

Geographic photographer Steve

Uzzell visited with the kids and

provided tips on nature

photography as a potential

career. NCTC’s Matt Poole and

Bill Wallen, an experienced

nature photographer and

volunteer for the Potomac River

National Wildlife Refuge Complex,

served as the primary instructors.

Because the basic model of the

photo camp is so easily

adaptable, NCTC developed a

video-based case study of the

camp session in July and August.

The case study and other

resources comprised a new “tool

kit” that will be made available to

national wildlife refuges and

other Service field stations that

have an interest in starting their

own local nature photography

programs for kids and their

families.

The success of the Digital Nature

Photography Day Camp supports

the idea that technology can be

used to facilitate meaningful

connections between children

and nature. During a focus group

that was conducted in

conjunction with NCTC’s

conference about children and

nature, one student spoke to the

spirit of the day camp when she

urged adults to “take those

activities which we enjoy...and

move them outside!”

Matt Poole, Conservation

Land Management, National

Conservation Training Center,

Shepherdstown, West Virginia

around the service

Nature Through the

Looking Glass

Television, video games,

computers and other forms of

technology are frequently blamed

for keeping children inside. But

these same technologies can

also open a door to nature for

kids growing up in a digital age.

This premise led to the genesis of

the Digital Nature Photography

Day Camp, an innovative

educational partnership between

the National Conservation

Training Center (NCTC), Potomac

Valley Audubon Society and

Nikon USA.

Eight high school students

participated in the inaugural

session of the camp at NCTC

during summer 2006. The goal of

the five-day camp was to directly

engage children in a variety of

nature-based experiences in the

course of practicing newly

learned photography skills. Live

raptors from Cunningham Falls

State Park in Maryland provided

the opportunity for the students

to practice wildlife photography

“up close and personal.”

Simple, unstructured time spent

investigating a butterfly garden,

wandering NCTC’s trails, and

Fun on the Water

Boating and fishing are great

ways to spend time outdoors,

experience new places, learn

about different types of wildlife

and connect children with

nature — whether at home or in

the classroom.

Formed in 1997 by congressional

action to address a trend in

declining angler and boater

participation, the Recreational

Boating and Fishing Foundation

(RBFF) offers grants for boating

and fishing programs, free

educational materials and

extensive “How to” and “Where

to” information for first-time

anglers and boaters.

The National PE Grants

Initiative — or PhyshED —

engages kids in the classroom,

providing grant funding to PE

teachers to design and deliver

boating and fishing as part of

their regular physical education

curriculum.

Texas educator Mark Fobian has

used the RBFF grant to help his

third-, fourth- and fifth-graders

learn fish anatomy, filleting and

cooking. His students collect

insects, identify them through >>

Craig Springer / USFWS

Mat Poole / USFWS

30 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

The Service has a partnership

with the Coevolution Institute,

the nonprofit administrator for

a collaboration known as the

North American Pollinator

Protection Campaign (NAPPC).

Through NAPPC, more than 100

government, private, university,

and nonprofit organizations are

working to promote the health of

resident and migratory North

American pollinators. NAPPC

partners have created a variety

of educational products on

pollinators. The most exciting

is Nature’s Partners:

Pollinators, Plants and You:

a comprehensive pollinator

curriculum for grades 3-6. The

curriculum is available online

<www.nappc.org/curriculum>.

NAPPC also has a Web site with

tools helpful to educators, such

as information on gardening for

pollinators, things children can do

to help pollinators and fact sheets

on pollinators and wildlife. These

documents and links are located

in the “Resources” section of the

<www.pollinator.org> .

For more information contact

<dolores_savignano@fws.gov>

or visit <www.fws.gov/

pollinators>.

Dolores A. Savignano,

Division of Environmental Quality,

Arlington, Virginia

Learning About the

Birds and Bees

What do raspberries, chocolate,

and almonds have in common?

Besides being best-selling ice

cream sundae toppings, they are

also foods from plants that

require pollinators. Raspberries

are typically pollinated by bees,

as are almonds. Chocolate is

pollinated by a small fly called

a midge.

Pollinators are critically important

to both the ecosystem and the

U.S. economy. More than 75

percent of the flowering plants

rely on pollinators, and honey

bees alone are responsible for an

estimated $15 billion worth of

pollinator services to agriculture

in the U.S. Many of our fruits,

vegetables, and nuts, as well as

other food products rely on

pollinators. Pollinators include

endangered and threatened

species, such as the long-nosed

bat, and migratory birds, such as

the ruby-throated hummingbird.

Activities centered on pollinators

are a great way to connect

children to nature, and questions

can be explored with little or no

equipment required. For example,

how are wind-pollinated flowers

distinguished from animal-pollinated

flowers? What does

the color, shape or smell of a

flower tell us about its pollinator?

What happens if pollinators are

not available?

Information on pollinators can be

combined with tips on good

nutrition, since diets high in fruits

and vegetables (foods dependent

on pollinators) are healthy.

Without animal pollinators, our

diets would be much more limited

and less flavorful. We are not the

only animals whose diets include

animal-pollinated food. Fruits and

berries are a component of the

diet of many birds and some

mammals, such as bears.

children with nature. From

there, we can teach them how

to properly care for these

precious resources.”

RBFF offers other programs and

resources aimed at piquing

children’s interest in outdoor

activities. The Passport to Fishing

and Boating Program, which

many organizations use to plan

events throughout the year and

during National Fishing and

Boating Week in June, provides

materials to enable even non-anglers

and boaters to introduce

the sports to kids and families.

To help newcomers get started,

RBFF also offers downloadable

tip sheets on kids and freshwater

fishing, basic boat care, fishing

terminology, how to tie knots and

more. These materials may be

downloaded at <www.RBFF.org>.

RBFF’s TakeMeFishing.org Web

site hosts a database with more

than 11,000 locations to boat and

fish. Site visitors can search by

state, region or zip code to get all

the information they need to plan

a day on the water, including

“Family Friendly Hot Spots” —

places to fish and boat that make

it easy to take the family. The

site also features the Kids

Fishing Hall of Fame, where

parents, friends and relatives

can honor the accomplishments

of junior anglers.

For more information about

RBFF programs that help

connect children with nature,

visit <www.RBFF.org>.

Stephanie West, Recreational

Boating and Fishing Foundation,

Alexandria, Virginia

(Fun, continued)

microscopes and determine

water quality. They also

measure, tag and release their

fishing catch and log all the

information online.

“With many parents working

two jobs and kids engaged in

computers and videogames, they

don’t have the opportunity to get

outdoors,” Fobian says.

Another grant program

introduces kids to fishing and

boating in a family setting at local

parks. RBFF and the National

Recreation and Park Association

(NRPA) created the Take Me

Fishing™ Community Grants

Initiative that helps local park

and recreation directors offer

instruction and loaner equipment,

and provide convenient access

to safe, public fishing and

boating facilities.

According to RBFF Education

and Outreach Manager Jim

Stewart, “Providing meaningful

introductions to these activities

at safe, family-friendly public

facilities can help spark and

sustain children’s interest and

participation, and expose these

activities to families of all

backgrounds and incomes.”

Kathy Spangler, NRPA’s director

of national partnerships, says the

grant program raises awareness

about more than just boating and

fishing. “Public lands don’t exist

without stewardship, and people

of all ages need to understand

how to conserve them,” she says.

“We see the programs as a

valuable first step in reconnecting

around the service

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 31

students release their salmon fry

into the wild, wondering where

they may end up.

In addition to in-class learning,

many of these classes have

“adopted” nearby streams where

they take field trips to test water

quality, wade in the water looking

for water bugs, and learn about

soil composition and how it

factors into plant growth for

particular habitats. Students also

are learning valuable testing

techniques and data collection

skills that are reflected in their

journal entries. Service learning

projects are woven into other

class projects during the school

year, such as tree planting, trash

removal and trail work. Stream

adoptions are a cooperative

effort with other federal agencies

and local conservation districts.

Cheri Anderson, Information

and Education Manager,

Underwood, Washington

Salmon in the Classroom

Sixteen fourth- and fifth-grade

classes throughout Washington’s

Columbia River Gorge are

learning about the extraordinary

world of the Pacific salmon by

raising the endangered fish in

their classrooms. The “Salmon

in the Classroom” program is

provided by the Service’s

Columbia Gorge Information and

Education Office. During the past

eight years, students have come

to anticipate the “fish lady” who

frequents their classroom to

teach them all sorts of interesting

things about salmon and lead

them on outdoor adventures.

The schools also do their part:

teachers decorate their

classrooms with stuffed and

colored salmon; children’s

literature about salmon crams

book shelves; school walls are

adorned with unique art and

stories about salmon; music

classes teach songs with salmon

themes; and several of the

schools hold evening showcases

to allow parents to see and hear

what their children have learned

about this miraculous fish.

The course begins with a visit to

the Spring Creek National Fish

Hatchery so students can see

salmon spawning. The eggs

collected from these adults are

later taken to classrooms for

students to observe. During the

next few months, students write

daily journal entries, use math to

compute hatch dates and percent

survival, and learn about the

importance of habitat and the

salmon’s amazing ability to adapt

to its environment. As the young

salmon grow, students begin

feeding them daily. They continue

to observe and document the

species’ growth and survival.

The program culminates when

Washington Ecological Services

Field Office in Washington State.

It is a great example of an

adaptable outdoor learning

experience that not only connects

students to nature but instills

respect for watersheds for

years to come. It also meets

Washington State academic

learning targets and provides

teacher planning and event

logistical guidelines. The program

is the result of a 12-year

partnership of agencies and

organizations, including the Fish

and Wildlife Service, Chelan

County Conservation District,

U.S. Forest Service, Cascade

Analytical, Washington State

Department of Ecology,

Washington State Conservation

Commission and various schools

and communities.

The Kids in the Creek curriculum

won first place in the Interpretive

Media Awards Competition at the

2006 conference for National

Association for Interpretation

(NAI). The competition promotes

excellence in the delivery of

natural, cultural, and historical

interpretation.

Susan Blair and Corky Broaddus,

Leavenworth National Fish

Hatchery, Leavenworth,

Washington; Judy DeLavergne,

Ecological Services,

Wenatchee, Washington.

around the service

Cheri Anderson helps a

student from Whitson

Elementary inWhite Salmon,

Washington monitor water

quality on Jewett Creek

as part of a larger stream

adoption program.

pacific

Kids in the Creek

The “Kids in the Creek” program

in north central Washington State

has helped connect children with

local watersheds for more than a

dozen years.

Each spring, hundreds of high

school students pull on waders

and slip into an outdoor

classroom — a cold mountain

stream. For one day, students will

experience what it is like to be a

biologist. Most of them have

never been this close to nature.

They collect and identify aquatic

macroinvertebrates, map

stream features and fish habitat,

measure stream flow and

temperature, analyze chemical

characteristics, identify riparian

plants, and observe and identify

watershed geology and

boundaries. At the end of the

class, students present land

use plans to actual planning

commissioners. The innovative

curriculum gives students and

teachers a better understanding

of watersheds and the critical

role of human land management

practices.

The Kids in the Creek program

was created by the Leavenworth

National Fish Hatchery, Mid-

Columbia Fisheries Resource

Office, and the Central

USFWS

Students participating

in Kids in the Creek

test water quality on

Icicle Creek.

Jim Anderson

32 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

ESA 101

Biologists at the Service’s

Arizona Ecological Services

Office (AESO) teamed-up with

Thunderbird High School in

Phoenix, Arizona to create a

year-long pilot curriculum

that introduces urban public

high school students to the

Endangered Species Act (ESA)

and the plight of Arizona’s

threatened, endangered, and

sensitive species.

Three classes of freshman and

sophomore accelerated biology

students were asked to

individually choose a native plant,

animal, or invertebrate species

to research and integrate into

a year-long project and final

oral presentation. This pilot

curriculum also includes a

history of the ESA and how this

pioneering legislation has been

used to conserve and recover

listed species.

Section 7 of the ESA is used as a

framework in this curriculum. The

curriculum requires each student

to complete several individual

writing assignments during the

academic year addressing

historical and current threats to

their chosen species and the

current status of their species.

It also requires students to create

a hypothetical proposed action

affecting their species, the

environmental baseline in the

area of their proposed action,

and their recommendations on

how to minimize effects to their

species. In essence, each student

completes a biological opinion on

their chosen species.

In addition, students were

required to contact or interview

professional biologists in

the public, private, or academic

sectors to hone communication

skills and get additional

information on their project.

around the service

This pilot curriculum was

designed as a “backdrop” to

integrate other major topics

that are covered in the

Glendale Unified High School

District’s accelerated biology

curriculum throughout the

school year. Topics include

cell biology, cellular respiration,

photosynthesis, genetics,

evolution, ecology, animal

behavior, biochemistry, and

mammalian physiology. The fact

that many or all of these topics

pertain directly to issues affecting

students’ chosen species

reinforces their understanding of

the connectivity of ecosystems

and the cause and effect

dynamics of actions on the

landscape.

As an attempt to reconnect urban

students with nature, several

students were granted the

opportunity to join AESO

biologists in the field to learn

more about native ecology and

wildlife and gain insight into the

professional careers of Service

biologists. For example, students

participated in native fish electro-shocking

surveys in a pristine

canyon stream, conducted Yuma

clapper rail surveys in marshland

habitat; conducted nocturnal

ranid frog surveys and

identification; conducted northern

Mexican gartersnake surveys;

and collected specimens for a

captive propagation and release

conservation project.

Jeff Servoss, Ecological Services,

Phoenix, Arizona

Jef Servos / USFWS

Bernard NWR, provides

opportunities for students to

discover the ecology of a

bottomland forest and the impact

invasive species have on the

natural environment.

Fueled by local partnerships, the

DEP program has encouraged

involvement by new schools and

organizations during its 12-year

history. A Nature of Learning

grant to the Friends of Brazoria

Wildlife Refuges enabled

Northside Elementary School in

Angleton, Texas to incorporate

multiple field trips to the refuges

into their fourth grade curriculum.

The year-long program integrates

nature into all subject materials.

A Coastal Management Plan

grant from Texas General Land

Office was instrumental in

providing environmental

education equipment and

displays for the Discovery Center.

The Cradle of Texas Chapter of

the Texas Master Naturalists

supports the program and is the

source for most of the trained

volunteer docents. Nearly 2,000

volunteer hours were donated by

these volunteers during field trips

in 2006.

Jennifer L. Sanchez, Project

Leader, Texas Mid-Coast NWR

Complex, Angleton, Texas

USFWS

southwest

DEEP in the Heart of Texas

Volunteers, partners and staff at

the Texas Mid-Coast National

Wildlife Refuges bring the

Discovery Environmental

Education Program (DEP) alive.

Thousands of students and adults

experience nature each year in

this intensive hands-on outdoor

education program coordinated

by Texas Mid-Coast Training

Technician Bryan Adams. DEP

enables children to experience

the Texas Gulf coast much as it

was before the arrival of humans,

and they are often amazed at

what is outside their front door.

Headquartered at the Discovery

Center at the Brazoria NWR, the

DEP program allows students

to discover a multitude of

invertebrates in a freshwater

pond; touch and learn about

reptiles; examine ways in which

water chemistry affects life; and

learn about the importance of

wetlands to the fisheries of the

Gulf of Mexico. The Discovery

Center allows students to bring

samples from the wild into a

laboratory setting and conduct

experiments and observations

they could not make in the field.

The Discover Outpost, at the

Hudson Woods Unit of San

Students from Thunderbird

High School in Phoenix,

participate in a Ranid frog

survey on Hassayampa River

in Maricopa County.

The DEEP program

allows students to

discover a multitude

of invertebrates in a

freshwater pond.

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 33

is a reality. Now in its fourth year,

this unique partnership between

the Service and the Fergus Falls

Independent School District 544

brings 100 students each school

day to the Prairie Wetlands

Learning Center.

The students are taught primarily

by two school district teachers

housed at the Prairie Wetlands

Learning Center, supplemented

with field, instructional, and

planning support from Service

environmental educators. Two

indoor classrooms house 25

students each, but those

classrooms are often empty while

the students spend time in their

true classroom: the 325 acres of

prairies and wetlands right

outside their door.

For students in a traditional

classroom, a typical day includes

reading textbooks and answering

questions; for students in the

Prairie Science Class, a typical

day includes reading the land and

asking questions. Prairie Science

Class teachers and staff at the

Prairie Wetlands Learning Center

use the seasonal changes and

rhythms of the prairie wetland

ecosystem to bring lessons to life.

National, state, and local

education standards are

incorporated in daily activities

and long term studies. Students

summarize and reflect on their

learning through writing and

literature assignments such as

describing their impressions of

the monarch butterfly or scientific

reports on the process of

capturing and banding ducks.

Fractions and percentages take

on new meaning as students

study them in the context of plant

cover on a wetland or invasive

species on a prairie tract.

By studying famous naturalists

such as Aldo Leopold, Rachael

Carson, Lewis and Clark, and

midwest

A Classroom Without Walls

Take a moment and think back to

when you were in fifth grade. You

probably had a typical classroom

with rows of desks and a

chalkboard in the front. If you

were lucky, your classroom had

a window or two facing outside,

and if you were really lucky, your

desk might have been near a

window. Maybe your classroom

even had an aquarium or two.

The only time you got outside

was for recess, to climb on the

monkey bars or play a game

of kickball.

Now imagine something

completely different. Every day of

the school year, you take a short

bus ride to the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service’s Prairie

Wetlands Learning Center. You

still spend two hours learning

science, applied math, writing,

and health — but not just from a

textbook. You learn math by

measuring the wing of a duck

you’ve just banded, or by

recording the length of the seed

head on a native plant such as

big bluestem. You experience

science firsthand by capturing

aquatic invertebrates and

comparing what you find in

different wetlands, or making

sound maps on the prairie. You

write about changes that occur

throughout the year in your one-meter

prairie plot, or create a

haiku about your experience

tracking a mink across the marsh

on snowshoes. And as far as

health goes, well, you’re outside

walking and exploring every day.

Sometimes it doesn’t feel like

learning at all — but it most

certainly is.

For fifth graders in the Prairie

Science Class in Fergus Falls,

Minnesota, the second scenario

around the service

Byrd Baylor, students discover

different ways to observe nature,

sharpen their observation skills

and deepen their sense of

wonder about the natural world.

This unique educational

partnership is proving that using

the environment as an integrating

context for traditional subject

areas works for students,

teachers, and parents. The first

three years of the program were

formally evaluated, and the

results have been positive.

Evaluations have shown that in

the Prairie Science Class,

students learn science, applied

math, and writing at least as

effectively as their counterparts

in the traditional fifth grade

classroom. Their motivation for

learning, attitudes towards the

environment and stewardship

behavior improve. But perhaps

the proof is best heard from the

students themselves:

“It’s made me a better thinker

because it helps you take the

time to think. Like if you are

outside and looking at tracks, you

think about what the animal was

doing and why it was there,” said

one student. “In the weather, you

think about how the temperatures

have changed. Yesterday the

humidity was 88 percent and

today it was 100 percent. And you

think about the difference and

what affect that will have.”

“It changes your attitude,” said

another student. “In fourth grade

I got detention all the time. This

year I haven’t had any detention.

I stay out of trouble because I

have more to do. I like coming

to school this year.”

Thanks to bonding money

directed to the City of Fergus Falls

from the Minnesota legislature,

the PWLC visitor center will be

expanded to include four

additional classrooms.

Construction is slated to begin

this summer, and Prairie Science

Class enrollment will double in

fall 2008.

For more information about the

Prairie Science Class, visit

<www.fws.gov/midwest/pwlc/

prairie_school.html> or call

218/736 0938.

Laura A. Bonneau, Visitor

Services, Prairie Wetlands

Learning Center, Fergus Falls,

Minnesota

USFWS

For students

in the Prairie

Science Class,

a typical day

includes reading

the land and

asking questions.

34 / Fish & Wildlife News Summer/Fall 2007

The program culminated in the

SEDS Bookfair. Teachers,

parents, students and onlookers

helped the Service raise more

than $400 to buy wildlife books for

Lee Expressive Arts School’s

media center.

“SEDS is a long-term

commitment by our office

towards ensuring future

conservation in Missouri,” said

Missouri Ecological Services

Field Supervisor Charlie Scott.

“We hope to expand this program

into more and more schools in the

near future.”

Ashley Spratt, Ecological

Services, Columbia, Missouri

around the service

Roberts also introduced

endangered Topeka shiners to the

school’s new aquarium, which

was donated by the Service.

Students were surprised to know

these endangered minnows can

be found in creeks right in their

own backyards.

Biologist Jill Utrup introduced

students to raptors and birds of

prey, and told the children about

recovery efforts that saved the

bald eagle from extinction.

Toward the end of the

presentation, the students were

surprised by visitors from the

MU Raptor Rehabilitation Center,

who brought two real birds of

prey, the great-horned owl and

American kestrel.

Planting SEEDS

The Missouri Ecological Services

Office’s SEDS program

(Students, the Environment, and

Endangered Species) brings fish

and wildlife biologists and the

endangered species they work to

protect into the classroom to

educate students about wildlife

and environmental conservation.

The program was unveiled at Lee

Expressive Arts School in

Columbia, Missouri during

National Environmental Education

Week. Service biologist Heidi

Kuska took a class of fifth graders

to an outdoor park to introduce

them to the world of caves and

karsts and the bat species that

call them home. Back in the

classroom, Sybill Amalon from

the U.S. Forest Service

introduced the students to

“Chewbacca” and “Pinky,”

two brown bats.

“The bat felt really hairy and the

wing was kinda smooth, but

kinda rough,” said 11-year-old

Tarus Moore.

Service biologist Andy Roberts

took students back to the time of

the dinosaurs, unveiling a shovel-nosed

sturgeon in a mobile tank

in the school’s media center.

The shovel-nosed sturgeon is a

close relative to the prehistoric

and endangered pallid sturgeon

and features the same sharp,

moustache-like barbells along

its mouth.

Service biologist Andy Roberts shows a shovel-nosed sturgeon

to two Lee School fifth graders.

Rick Hansen / USFWS

southeast

World of Discovery

We all have seen children

enthralled when someone brings

out an animal or when they are

exploring the natural world on our

public lands — that wide-eyed

look of discovery and sense

that this experience will stay

with them for a long time, if not

a lifetime.

The SEWE (South Eastern

Wildlife and Environment

Education) Earth Stewards

program is giving students along

the coast of South Carolina

multiple discovery moments and

an understanding and respect for

the mission of the National

Wildlife Refuges found in their

own backyards.

Cape Romain NWR became a

part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service’s Earth Stewards project

in 1998. Since then, SEWE Earth

Stewards has become a vibrant,

growing environmental education

project in conjunction with the

SEWE Visitor and Environmental

Education Center and the SEWE

Association, the Friends group for

South Carolina Lowcountry

Refuge Complex (Cape Romain,

Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin, and

Waccamaw refuges).

The initial project focused on

fifth-grade students in a local

rural school. After looking at the

state educational standards for

that age, the SEWE Association

decided to highlight freshwater

wetland habitats that are

abundant in the coastal plain and

are important areas for many

Summer/Fall 2007 Fish & Wildlife News / 35

“It’s never boring,” said 16-year

old Stephanie Dorsainvil. Josette

Kaufman, Marshall Foundation

executive director, says the

project also introduces urban

youth to the Everglades. “We

hope that giving them a positive,

hands-on experience will help

them develop an interest in the

wetland wilderness in their

backyards.”

One photo from each child

will be in an exhibit traveling

around Palm Beach County

later this year.

Karen Leggett, NWRS

Communications, Washington, DC

Loxahatchee

Through the Lens

Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee

National Wildlife Refuge helped

40 students from low income

schools become amateur

photographers during the annual

Trail Spruce-Up volunteer event

sponsored by the Arthur R.

Marshall Foundation.

“The Everglades through the Eyes

of Children” project is funded by

the Palm Beach County Cultural

Council. Students ages nine to 17

learned basic photography from

skilled mentors and then took

pictures of people and nature

around the refuge.

migratory birds and threatened

and endangered species. The

SEWE Association hired a

teacher to put together the

program curriculum and to guide

the group through initial classes

with students. Eventually, the

program featured a set of

cross-curriculum lesson plans

that included a field trip to a

swamp for hands-on learning

activities. Since 2000, the

program has grown from the

initial school with 50 students to

eight elementary schools with

approximately 650 students

and one middle school with

60 students.

What do SEWE Earth Stewards

do? Throughout the eight-week

curriculum they read books on

animals and their habitats; write

stories and poems; calculate

water absorption rates in wetland

experiments; discover animal

adaptations and behaviors; and

identify flora and fauna of

swamps and learn about

interdependence. Since Cape

Romain NWR is composed of salt

marsh and barrier islands and

only accessible by boat, the

SEWE Association worked with

the Francis Marion National

Forest (where the SEW