Project WILD

Flying WILD!

Flying WILD is an exciting environmental education program of the Council for Environmental Education (the creators of Project WILD) designed for middle school students. The materials introduce students to bird conservation through hands-on classroom activities and school bird festivals. Workshops are fun, dynamic sessions providing participants with a 358-page guide that includes 43 activities, everything you need to know to plan and conduct bird festivals, service-learning projects, and appendices covering cross-curricular connections, key bird education resources, glossary, and topic index. Activities are grouped as teacher-led, student-led, or volunteer-led, and list national science education standards, cross-curricular connections, and follow-up questions to assess learning objectives.
Funded by Return a Gift to Wildlife contributions. 3 hours.

What is Project WILD?

The goal of Project WILD is to help teachers and youth leaders prepare students to develop problem-solving skills in exploring responsible human actions toward wildlife and the environment.
Project WILD is an award-winning education program designed for teachers and youth leaders of students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Project WILD helps students learn basic concepts about wildlife and their needs.
Project WILD is an interdisciplinary and supplemental education program that can be used to enhance all subject areas.

Project WILD is used indoors and out in urban, suburban and rural environments.
In NYS, Project WILD is administered by the Department of Environmental Conservation. DEC is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and maintaining a quality environment. Project WILD has reached over 35,000 educators and over one million students since its 1985 New York introduction.
Project WILD and Aquatic Project WILD workshops are offered in three-hour sessions and may meet the requirements for in-service training and college credits.
Project WILD and Aquatic WILD are FREE workshops funded in New York by the Return a Gift to Wildlife program.
Project WILD and Aquatic WILD activity guides correlate to the NYS Learning Standards.
Participants of workshops also receive additional resources materials relating to wildlife and the environment.

Benefits for Educators

Use a variety of teaching methods: discussion, role-playing, guided imagery, to accommodate various learning styles.
Receive user-friendly activity guides keyed to all curricular topics and subjects.
Exchange creative ideas with our peers in an enjoyable, hands-on workshop.

Benefits for Students

Discover relationships between classroom curriculum and the natural world.
Learn how to think, not what to think about wildlife and the environment by evaluating choices and consequences.
Develop skills and attitudes starting with awareness and appreciation and leading to responsible human action.
Enjoy themselves while learning.

Project WILD Background

Project WILD and Aquatic WILD instructional activities were written by classroom teachers for teachers.
Project WILD is offered in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and in several other countries.

Advanced Teacher Workshops

Wild School Sites-Action Education

Continuing beyond the basic WILDS, WILD School Sites projects guide students in responsible environmental action through habitat improvement projects while fulfilling curricular goals.
A free, four hour WILD SCHOOL SITES Workshop may be scheduled at your school for WILD-trained educators and other involved school and community resource people, parents and student leaders (ideally 12 to 15 people).
Receive 55 page WILD SCHOOL SITES: A Guide to Preparing for Habitat Improvement Projects on School Grounds.

Other In-depth, Content-focused Workshops

Advanced teacher workshops will be available to WILD-trained educators from your regional DEC Environmental Education Center:
- Air Quality
- Endangered Species
- Backyard Wildlife
- General Ecology
- Solid Waste
- Water Quality

How to Get WILD

Project WILD and Aquatic WILD Workshops are available to teachers and youth leaders:

Free of charge
In three-hour workshop
At locations across the state, or
At your school district

For information on Project WILD workshops contact the NYSDEC Center that serves your area or the State Coordinator for Project WILD, Laura Carey.

NYS WILD Coordinator
Ms. Laura Carey
Rogers EEC
2721 Route 80
Sherburne, NY 13460-4507
projwild@gw.dec.state.ny.us
607-674-4017 x626