One Gift Campaign
Are you an employee of the State of Iowa and a supporter or conservation education in Iowa? The One Gift Program gives State of Iowa employees the opportunity to contribute to participating charitable agencies through payroll deduction. More than 350 charitable agencies offer much-needed assistance to Iowans throughout the state. When you contribute to the... Continue reading→
ExCom nominations for 2023-2025 term
The call for nominations for ICEC ExCom is now open! ICEC is looking for individuals interested in joining the leadership of ICEC. ExCom is a volunteer board of directors working together with members and partners to provide opportunities for Iowa’s conservation and environmental educators to learn, build relationships, and creatively collaborate. Nominees must be members... Continue reading→
Birding
Bird watching is a great way for children and teens to become aware of birds. Birds can be found anywhere, all year round. You can feed birds outside your window, watch birds at school, a nearby park, or at home, you can listen for birds, or even use birdy subjects for your next sketch! Consider... Continue reading→
Keeping Classroom Animals
Animals can be a wonderful resource to enhance learning and understanding in the classroom. Many children today have limited exposure to wildlife and animals. Having an animal in the classroom allows children to observe and study an animal first hand. It allows for the observation of animal life cycles and behaviors. Classroom animals also teach... Continue reading→
Become a wildlife scientist
Wildlife scientists study wildlife to learn how they live and interact with the environment. These scientists may focus on one wildlife species or a group of species during their studies. They record observations made with their senses and other tools. Help your students learn how to record observations with a science notebook. See Lesson 1.1... Continue reading→
Celebrate Iowa’s Catfish
Celebrate National Catfish Day (annually on June 25) by learning more about Iowa’s most abundant and widely distributed sport fish. Catfish are opportunistic bottom feeders that are active at night. They eat all types of living or dead animal and plant material and are most often attracted to odoriferous or “smelly” morsels of food. They... Continue reading→
Native Pollinators
What is Pollination? Pollination is the process where plants receive pollen from other plants of the same species so they can reproduce and form seeds. Many plants are pollinated by animals, and most of the animal pollinators are insects. The relationship between plants and their insect pollinators is beneficial to both the plant and the... Continue reading→
Endangered Species Day
Celebrate Endangered Species Day (20 May 2022) by learning more about Iowa endangered and threatened animals and plants. Find more information about Iowa’s Wildlife Resource Base here and scroll down to “Current Status of Wildlife in Iowa.” Iowa’s wildlife has changed tremendously since Euro-American settlement (160 years ago). Many species have been extirpated. Others’ populations... Continue reading→
Resources to help with field investigations
Outdoor experiences in nature increase students’ problem solving abilities and motivation to learn in social studies, science, language arts, and math. Conducting field investigations help students become systems thinkers, learn the skills of scientific inquiry, and understand that science doesn’t only happen in a laboratory or classroom. Field Investigations: Using Outdoor Environments to Foster Student... Continue reading→
Counting Birds for Science
Bundle up, grab your binoculars and head out to count birds for science! Join in on the 2022 Great Backyard Bird Count. Simply tally the numbers and kinds of birds you see for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count, February 18-21, 2022. Count birds in as many places and... Continue reading→
Teaching outdoor skills courses scheduled
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is sponsoring six courses on how to teach outdoor skills for K–12 teachers, naturalists and other educators this spring and summer. Courses filled quickly in 2021, so register early to secure your spot. Hands-on sessions (indoors and outside) will provide introductory skills instruction and development, teaching materials and... Continue reading→
Phenology or Signs of the Seasons
“Many of the events of the annual cycle recur year after year in a regular order. A year-to-year record of this order is a record of the rates at which solar energy flows to and through living things. They are the arteries of the land. By tracing their response to the sun, phenology may eventually... Continue reading→