Stepping Outside: National Wildlife Refuge System Offers Opportunities to Combat “Nature Deficit Disorder”

Today’s kids have a world of on-demand entertainment at their finger tips. From YouTube to iPods, hundreds of television channels and virtual reality video games, it’s no wonder that childhood has become sedentary.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, one of the world’s oldest conservation agencies, has a host of programs that provide kids with engaging and fun places to get outside and reconnect with nature. The Service recently launched its “Let’s Go Outside” program to encourage a new generation to learn the wonders of nature and perhaps become tomorrow’s wildlife biologists. Here are just a few programs:

Birds Help Students Make the Connection
More than 700 4th and 5th graders in Oregon have an appointment this spring to scout for shorebirds along the coast, dig up invertebrates, and help pick up litter from local estuaries. It’s all part of the Shorebirds: Migratory Superheroes Program, a hands-on learning experience. The program is centered on learning about arctic-nesting shorebirds along their migration routes along the Pacific flyway. It integrates an interactive curriculum with field experiences, engaging students in science learning.

Students build awareness and understanding of how their own community's wetlands are part of the healthy chain of habitats for migratory birds. The program consists of five classroom sessions; by spring, the students are ready to apply what they’ve learned. In April and May, they come to local national wildlife refuges to see wetlands and study migrating shorebirds along the Oregon coast.

Journalists wishing to cover student field trips should see the field trip schedule and call Dawn Grafe or Alexis Will at Oregon Coastal Refuge Complex, (541) 867-4550.

Schools and Refuges: a Natural Partnership
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge/Wetland Management District, just down the street from the Mall of America, is home to bald eagles, river otters, migratory birds and a variety of other wildlife. The Refuge Partners Schools program engages students from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area in classroom activities, multiple field trips and research assignments throughout elementary school. Refuge park rangers and teachers together give students science-based natural world experiences that also meet Minnesota State Educational Standards.

In addition, Minnesota Valley Refuge offers summer environmental education internships for college and university students. Interns assist refuge staff in a variety of educational projects, including curriculum development, staffing the visitor center and assisting with special events.

For additional information contact Beth Ullenberg at (952) 858-0712, beth_ullenberg@fws.gov.

Connecting Children and Nature, Alaska Style
Kenai National Wildlife Refuge takes full advantage of the stunning outdoor resources and educational opportunities of Alaska. Each year, approximately 2,500 students from central Alaska participate in programs ranging from kindergarten classes exploring animal senses to college students studying the history of snowshoeing as a low-impact form of recreation. Kenai Refuge’s environmental education team had developed seven curricula that meet Kenai Peninsula Borough School District standards.

Kenai educational programs are Animals and Their Senses (grades K-1), Role of Predators in Nature (grades 2-3), Wetlands and Wildlife (grade 4), Role of Fin in the Alaska Ecosystem (grades 4-5), Winter Ecology Program (grade 6), and Leave No Trace (grades 5-6). In addition, Kenai Refuge has partnerships with a broad spectrum of youth groups, including Brownie troops, Boy and Girl Scouts, and 4-H and Campfire Kids.