Wild Idea For Idaho Teachers

Wildlife education

Since it was founded in 1984, Project WILD has attracted 69 percent of Idaho’s active teachers to workshops that help them incorporate wildlife in their curriculums.

The workshops, conducted by the Idaho Fish and Game Department, are open to educators and youth group leaders interested in using wildlife as a teaching tool, said Chrystal Roder, University of Idaho Fish and Wildlife Department coordinator.

The materials are designed to fit into a school’s curriculum for teaching everything from science to composition, anthropology to home economics and government to social studies.

Instead of using apples and oranges, it uses wildlife, said John Gahl, Idaho Fish and Game education supervisor.

Of the Idaho teachers who have participated, 97 percent use Project WILD materials in their classrooms, Roder said.

Students can learn graphing through bears, listening through birds, analysis through grasshoppers, research through whales, measurement through spiders, observation through salmon.

Three Project WILD workshops are scheduled this spring. Each workshop includes a Friday evening and Saturday session as follows:

March 3-4, Ponderosa Elementary, Post Falls.

March 17-18, Fernan Elementary, Coeur d’Alene.

May 12-13, University of Idaho Clark Fork field campus.

Pre-registration and a $5 deposit are required. Info: (208) 769-1414.