| |
 |
Proceeds from the Colorado Lottery, through Great Outdoors Colorado, help fund Project WILD activities. |
 |
|
Project WILD (WILD) is one of the most widely-used conservation and environmental education programs among educators of students in kindergarten through high school. More than one million educators have been trained in this interdisciplinary, teacher-friendly curriculum since 1983!
Project WILD's roots in Colorado run deep—the curriculum had its beginnings in Colorado and many of the primary writers were here on the Front Range. The curriculum has been field tested, repeatedly, and there are over 40 studies demonstrating its effectiveness in student learning. (To learn more about the curriculum, visit the national Project WILD Web site.)
Colorado's Project WILD has developed partnerships with the Colorado chapters of Project Learning Tree (PLT) and Project WET (WET) to further help educators teach students fundamental conservation
and environmental concepts across many disciplines and subjects. Collaborating in this way makes all of these programs better by providing more teaching options, enhancing teacher effectiveness through subject matter and activity-based teaching methods, and increasing student interest and performance. Combined, the programs reach into all aspects of our natural world—wildlife, landscapes, water, agriculture, and human population.
Get started—or expand your skills—today! Locate the right workshop for you (from basic to advanced) from offerings for Project WILD, WET, or Learning Tree on the Workshops page. Most are offered for continuing education credit through the Colorado School of Mines' Teacher Enhancement Program (credit may also be available from other Colorado universities). And, almost the best part: All project activities are correlated to the Colorado Model Content Standards through the searchable, online database, Colorado Correlations.
To help you 'stay in touch' and up-to-date about workshop offerings and the latest in conservation education, Colorado Connections (the newsletter of WILD, PLT, WET, and FLP) is mailed free of charge to project-trained teachers. Find workshop schedules, timely articles, and helpful ideas in every issue. Connections is also made available online, so feel free to take a peek!
New Project WILD Resource
Second language learners are a significant part of the school age population in Colorado. According to Colorado Department of Education statistics for 2006, about 13% of Colorado public school students have a language background other than English, and are currently being served or monitored by either a bilingual or ESL program. These students could benefit if subject matter classroom teachers were trained in some of the concepts and techniques that are particularly apt for second language learners, along with methods for evaluating and adapting educational materials and activities.
If you are a teacher of students learning English as a second language, learn how you can use Project WILD (and Project PLT) techniques and activities for your students!
Become a Project WILD Facilitator
Workshops are led by highly trained, talented, and motivated volunteers referred to as facilitators. Facilitators receive specialized training to enable them to teach workshops, and advanced training opportunities are offered during the year, including an annual facilitator's conference.
Teachers who have taken at least two workshops may apply to become a volunteer facilitator. To learn more about what is required to apply, the application process, the benefits of being a volunteer facilitator, and a link to the application, go the Becoming a Volunteer Facilitator page.
Already a volunteer facilitator? Go to the Workshop Planning page for forms and other useful information.
For more about any of these programs, please contact a Division of Wildlife regional education coordinator or state Project WILD Coordinator, Tabbi Kinion.