Educator Workshop “Takes Flight” at National Lakeshore

Date: March 24, 2015
Contact: Wendy Smith, 219-395-1987

On Friday, May 8, area educators are invited to attend a “Flying Wild” educator workshop at the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The workshop is featured as a part of the 2015 Indiana Dunes Birding Festival and will run from 12:30 - 4:30 p.m. Teachers, pre-service teachers, naturalists, birders, scout leaders, and youth leaders are invited to try their hands at creative new activities they can use to teach about birds and bird conservation. Participants will also learn about bird research and monitoring projects being conducted by Indiana Dunes State Park Interpretive Naturalist Brad Bumgardner. A variety of citizen science projects will also be featured.
 
All workshop participants will receive Flying Wild: An Educators Guide to Celebrating Birds, a book designed to provide activities that teach about birds, their migration, and actions people can take to help birds and their habitats. The Guide features three sets of activities: one designed to be led by teachers, another by volunteers, and a third by students. All 45 activities focus on learning about birds through hands-on activities, contests, and games.
 
The workshop is being conducted in partnership with the Indiana Audubon society, Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife, Indiana Dunes State Park, the Great Lakes Research and Education Center, and the Dunes Learning Center. There is a $35.00 fee to cover the cost of educator guides and program fees. Pre-registration is required and registration is limited. For more information or to register, visit duneslearningcenter.org or call [phone] by Friday, May 1. www.nps.gov/indu

“Flying WILD”, introduced in 2005 by the Council for Environmental Education, introduces elementary, middle, and high school students to bird conservation through standards-based classroom activities and environmental stewardship projects. Not only does the program provide teachers with excellent educational activities they can conduct with their students, but it also encourages schools to work closely with conservation organizations, community groups, and businesses involved with birds to implement bird conservation projects, and even conduct school bird festivals.

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is part of the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 407 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.