Help 50 Title 1 Classrooms Meet Wildlife Up-Close!

Hi Friends!

I can't believe the school year is almost over and that summer is right around the corner. As our busy spring wraps up with the end of the school year, our summer is just getting started. This past spring, we visited over 10 Title 1 schools in the Triangle area in North Carolina because of YOUR donations. We're headed to our last school program today and it just so happens to be one that was funded by the donations from our GlobalGiving project!

While the school year is technically over for many students this week, that doesn't stop our efforts to continue to reach the students in our community who may not get the chance to see much wildlife during their summer camps. We will be visiting at least 7 different summer camp sites with the Durham Public School System over the next two months. All of these sites will be receiving a Title 1 discount as more than 75% of their campers will fall into the Title 1 category. Even though summer camp is a completely different and unique learning environment than the traditional classroom, students will still walk away from our programs with a renewed sense of wonder about wildlife and feel empowered to continue learning about them for years to come.

One of my favorite and most shocking stories from our Title 1 visits comes from a school we visited in Garner, North Carolina. We visited for three separate programs so that all of the 4th graders at the school would get the chance to learn about wildlife. In North Carolina, 4th and 5th graders typically learn about how animals and plants are connected through food chains, so our programs fit right into this essential NC Science Standard. During one of these programs, I brought out our very noisy red-shouldered hawk, Willow. As she normally does, she made her call when she came out of her box and immediately got the students' attention. After some excitement and a chance to take in the realization that there was a real hawk in their classroom, the students became enamored with Willow.

As we began talking about Willow, I mentioned that red-shouldered hawks are one of the most commonly seen and heard hawks in North Carolina. To my surprise, almost all of the students responded with "I've never seen a red-shouldered hawk before" or "I've never heard that call outside before". This came as a shock to me as Garner is far enough away from the City of Raleigh where there are plenty of fields and farms where red-shouldered hawks would live. I was suprised to learn that these students might not have had the chance to truly hang out in the woods and listen to the sounds of the forest. This conversation with the students reaffirmed that our programming is creating a unique learning environment for students who may never get the chance to experience wildlife on their own.

We're excited to continue to visit students over the summer and can't wait to share our stories with you!

Noelle Dalhouse

Links:

• https://www.piedmontwildlifecenter.org/animal-encounters