VCCD to offer training resource

Local News

Discussion

December 20, 2008

Workshop to help educators teach on birds

BY BARBARA GREENBERG The Commercial-News Sat Dec 20, 2008, 10:10 PM CST

DANVILLE — The outrage generated by the recent threat to close Kickapoo State Park and other state parks highlighted the important role these natural refuges play in the lives of residents.

Environmentalists have long recognized how parks allow for conservation of native plants and animals and also provide educational opportunities for adults, as well as children. The Vermilion County Conservation District will sponsor in January one such opportunity, an educator-training workshop called Flying WILD.

A new partnership of Lincoln Park Zoo, Illinois Audubon Society-Flying WILD and the Environmental Education Association of Illinois will bring the workshop to Kennekuk County Park.

Lara Darling, educator with the Vermilion County Conservation District, serves on the board of the Environmental Education Association of Illinois. She was one of 20 people selected for the facilitator training workshop conducted this summer at Lincoln Park Zoo.

“I was one of only two people selected from east central Illinois,” Darling said. “This is the first time this course has been offered in this area.”

Darling described the program as providing “interactive, interdisciplinary, standards-based activities to help students understand the importance of migratory birds and their conservation.”

She said the program is targeted for grades 5-8, but could be easily adapted to other levels. It also could be used in indoor settings.

“This isn’t a bird identification class,” Darling said. “It’s a way to teach about birds using other subjects.”

Jo Skoagland coordinates the Flying WILD program for the Illinois Audubon Society.

“Education is part of our mission at the society,” Skoagland said.

“Flying WILD is a program about topics like bird anatomy and bird migration,” she said. “We introduce a concept and follow it with a series of short activities that help students understand the concept.”

Skoagland said the Audubon group has noticed increased interest in nature.

“Lately there’s been a resurgence of parents who want their children involved in something besides sports,” she said. “People are more into the environment. They want their kids to learn about it, too.”

Before any of this can take place, the trainers must be trained. Darling will hold the first local workshop Jan. 15. Registration is due Jan. 8.

Participants will receive “Flying WILD: An Educator’s Guide to Celebrating Birds,” which can be considered a how-to book for implementing the program.

The workshops will be as hands-on as the students’ programs. Educators practice putting on the activities the book describes. Those range from how parent birds feed their young to how to put on a bird festival.

Text Only

Local News

City rummage sale nears
May 28, 2012
Chase ends in crash
Hoopeston Police Department chased a 16-year-old driving through McFerren Park early Sunday, with the chase ending at the base of a tree.

May 28, 2012
Community Briefs
The Danville Lions Club will meet at noon Tuesday at the Days Hotel, 77 N. Gilbert. The topic: “Know Your Lions.”

May 28, 2012
Community Calendar
Memorial Day ceremonies at area sites — 8:30 a.m., Curtis G. Redden gravesite in Spring Hill Cemetery; 9 a.m., World War I monument; 9:30 a.m., Korean War Memorial on Hazel; 9:30 a.m., Maj. Kenneth Bailey gravesite in Spring Hill Cemetery; 9:30 a.m., Jewell Whyte family site in Spring Hill Cemetery; 9:30 a.m., at the lagoon at the VA for all service people lost at sea; 9:45 a.m., Women’s Memorial behind the Vermilion County War Museum; 10:45 a.m., all veterans’ groups gather at the Danville National Cemetery.

May 28, 2012
Tropical Storm Beryl strengthens, nears U.S. coast
Tropical Storm Beryl was wrecking some Memorial Day weekend plans on Sunday, causing shoreline campers to pack up and head inland and leading to the cancellation of some events as the storm approached the southeastern U.S.

May 27, 2012
CASA seeks volunteers
May 27, 2012
Classes transition online
May 27, 2012
Dad welcomes baby — while a world away
Like most fathers, Brandun Schweizer wanted to witness his first child’s birth. There was just one problem, however — he was thousands of miles away in Afghanistan.

May 27, 2012 2 Photos
Veterans ask people to pause
Although the Memorial Day weekend is a time for picnics and pool parties, veterans’ groups hope people pause to remember those who gave their lives in the line of duty, as well as others who have died.

May 27, 2012
Martha Stewart learns family’s roots
Television viewers have been treated to two series lately dealing with genealogy.

May 27, 2012
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Discussion

VCCD to offer training resource

Workshop to help educators teach on birds

Site Map

Contact Us