GAME COMMISSION OFFERS PROJECT WILD PROGRAMS FOR EDUCATORS
With summer recess for schools just around the corner, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is announcing a series of upcoming Project WILD workshops for educators and Scout and youth group leaders this summer throughout the state.
Project WILD is an award-winning, international, hands-on conservation education program. Started nearly 25 years ago, Project WILD focuses on wildlife and the environment and how humans interrelate with both. WILD provides educators, primarily kindergarten through 12th grade, with interdisciplinary activities that help address state and national education standards and help educators comply with mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act. WILD's materials are scientifically sound and use educational practices proven to be effective.
The basic 500-page, K-12 Project WILD Guide has more than 120 activities to help educators teach skills from observation to synthesis using a variety of environmental-related topics. The activities have been designed so educators can easily incorporate them into almost any classroom curriculum and nearly any subject, such as science, reading, English, social studies, math, civics, physical education or art.
WILD's mission is to provide wildlife-based conservation education that fosters responsible action. WILD's goal is to develop the awareness, skills, knowledge and commitment that are necessary for people to make informed decisions and act constructively and responsibly toward wildlife and the environment.
WILD is one of the most widely used conservation and environmental education programs among K-12 educators. Recognized as the nation's most successful wildlife education program, WILD is bringing hundreds of thousands of students from awareness to action as conservationists worldwide each year.
Theresa Alberici coordinates the program in Pennsylvania through the Game Commission's Bureau of Information and Education. She works closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Education as well as prominent conservation and environmental education organizations throughout the state and the country. Her dedication to wildlife and environmental awareness, along with her talents in creating curricula and ability to work with educators have earned her recognition from the state Department of Education and Pennsylvania's conservation education community.
"Educators leave Project WILD workshops with a renewed appreciation of wildlife and are excited about how they're going to share what they've learned with their students," Alberici said. "This year, wildlife agencies nationwide celebrated one million educators 'Gone WILD.' More than one million educators have been trained in the program since Project WILD originated in 1983.
"Project WILD isn't about teaching kids what to think about wildlife; it's about teaching kids how to think about wildlife and giving them the skills they need to become responsibly active citizens who recognize the importance of wildlife and the environment. The milestone of training one million educators means that, through Project WILD, more than 53 million people worldwide have experience in thinking responsibly about natural resources. Last year alone, state wildlife agencies ordered more than 65,000 guides for distribution to educators across the country, reaching 1.8 million students with information on wildlife conservation."
For a listing of Project WILD workshops scheduled for the coming months, as well as additional information about Project WILD-related programs, visit the Game Commission's website (
www.pgc.state.pa.us) and click on the "Educator Workshops" icon in the center of the homepage.
