Educators can learn to capture students' attention with birds at Volo Bog
Volo Bog State Natural Area will offer a Flying WILD Educator Workshop from 9:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Saturday, June 29. Registration is $29, which includes a curriculum book, materials, lunch and snacks.
Birds are easy to observe, captivating students' attention and pulling them into the joy of learning. Flying WILD is a curriculum that teaches science, math, social science, and art, and includes community outreach and service learning components too.
Teachers, nature center educators, youth group leaders, home school parents, environmental organization volunteers, librarians and others are invited.
The curriculum, geared to middle school learners but adaptable up and down, features over 40 student-tested, standards-based activities. From active games like the Just Ducky Ring Toss, Bird Olympics, JeopBirdy & Bird Bingo, to quiet, reflective activities like Adaptation Artistry and Bird Sleuth, Flying WILD's interactive, interdisciplinary real-world learning activities accommodate a multitude of learning styles.
Topics range from bird biology, identification, and ecology to bird conservation service-learning activities. The program promotes greater environmental stewardship through monitoring projects and exciting bird festivals that are organized by the students for their friends, school or community.
The Flying WILD curriculum is at the heart of Volo Bog State Natural Area's International Migratory Bird Day Festival each spring.
Flying WILD at Volo Bog State Natural Area is conducted by two facilitators: IDNR Natural Resources Coordinator Stacy Iwanicki and IDNR Youth Program Naturalist Volunteer and retired middle school teacher Judi Downey.
Flying WILD was developed by the Council for Environmental Education and is now sponsored by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources at Volo Bog State Natural Area.
Find a registration form at www.FriendsofVoloBog.org or request one at dnr.volobog@illinois.gov or (815) 344-1294.
Volo Bog State Natural Area is at 28478 W. Brandenburg Road, Ingleside.