Education and Outreach

The Alpena Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office conducts a variety of outreach activities, from presenting information to local conservation organizations to introducing school groups to fishing. We develop and distribute materials to inform and educate people about fish and wildlife and natural ecosystems. We also staff Service booths at a number of outdoor shows and festivals in northeastern Michigan. For more information about our outreach activities view our accomplishment reports or please contact our Outreach Coordinator - via email or phone (989-356-5102 x14).

Helping Children and Families Connect with Nature

The Alpena FWCO is developing a pilot program in cooperation with Alpena Public School District personnel, to incorporate outdoors experiences into the elementary school curriculum. The program will create “nature acres”, places on school grounds for kids to experience the natural world, at each of the schools and provide Service staff as resources for teachers to assist with the curriculum. Wilson Elementary School, located within the Alpena Public School District, has volunteered to pilot the program. read more >

Recent Activities

New! Alpena FWCO Assists Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary with Ground Water Display

Fisheries Biologist Adam Kowalski attended a kids free activity day at the National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan on March 21, 2009. The focus of the activities was ground water. Alpena FWCO obtained a ground water model from Michigan Sea Grant to take to the event. Children were allowed to assist with the model while Kowalski talked of how ground water moves and the effect of dumping pollutants on the ground. read more >

New! Alpena NFWCO Invited to Talk with Students at Wilson School

Fisheries Biologists Adam Kowalski and Heather Rawlings were invited to talk to 2nd grade students at Wilson Elementary School in Alpena, Michigan. Kowalski and Rawlings talked about the food chain in general and the feeding habits of many different animals. Kowalski then talked about the specific feeding habits of black bears to prepare students to play an animal habitat game. The game consisted of several different colors of paper spread over a large area representing different food items, water, space, and shelter. The students became black bears having to forage (collect different colored pieces of paper), and each student had to collect 80 lbs of food to survive in the game. However, there was not enough food (paper) for all the bears (students) to survive. The game helped students understand the importance of quality habitat for the survival of animals. read more >

New! Students from Livonia Stevenson and Clarenceville High Schools Learn About Careers in Fisheries

Fishery Biologist James Boase traveled to Livonia, Michigan on May 26 and 27 to present information about the daily life of a fishery biologist. Three 1-hour sessions were held with over 90 students participating. During each session, Boase presented a 30 to 40 minute summary of fishery research work currently taking place in Southeast Michigan. Following the presentation, students were given an opportunity to ask questions and discuss their career goals. read more >


Resource Materials

Working with Kids to Conserve Fish and Wildife Fact Sheet - (pdf - 1.2 Mb)

Useful Websites

Let's Go Outside Website - http://www.fws.gov/letsgooutside/

Kids and Educators Website - http://www.fws.gov/habitatconservation/kids.html

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