Project WILD and Aquatic WILD are time-proven effective activity guides that support teaching in and learning about the environment. Project WILD uses wildlife as the basis to teach concepts while Aquatic WILD helps us explore and understand water, aquatic habitats, and animals that depend on aquatic environments for survival. The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is the home to Project WILD, Growing Up WILD, and Aquatic WILD.
In the mid-1990s, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) developed supplements to both Project WILD and Aquatic WILD with Iowa-specific information, links, book lists, and additional information. This supplemental information will help Iowa educators, both formal and non-formal, prepare for using WILD activities with their students. ICEC provides these WILD Resources in a collaborative partnership with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Interested in attending Iowa Project WILD Training?
Iowa Project WILD training, Online Training Modules
Iowa Supplement to Aquatic WILD
This supplemental information will help Iowa educators, both formal and non-formal, prepare for using Aquatic WILD activities with their students. The Iowa supplement to Aquatic WILD was completed by the Iowa DNR Aquatic Education Program in 1989, with updates in 1998 and 2002. A major update to the Aquatic WILD guide was completed in 2013.
Suggested resources to Aquatic WILD are divided into the four topics below! Related Aquatic WILD activities are listed with each topic. Note that some activities have additional information to adapt to Iowa.
Iowa's Aquatic Habitats Iowa's Aquatic Life
Iowa's Aquatic Ecosystems Human Impacts
Additional resources to support using Aquatic WILD!
- Aquatic WILD Correlations to the NGSS PE
- The Aquatic WILD Guide also has great online resources for individual activities, including In Step with STEM, WILD Work, student pages, and additional resources.
- Thanks to Wisconsin’s Project WILD, Project Learning Tree, and Project WET for developing a children’s environmental literature bibliography (last updated 2005) and is available as a PDF here.
Download these handy resources for sharing with other teachers, staff, administrators, and parents!
- Benefits to taking children outside (This includes a separate page of bibliography)
- Considerations before stepping out the door
Links to local resource people!
- Find staff (likely a naturalist) from your local Iowa county conservation board or search the Iowa Association of Naturalists website for listing of resource people by type of agency, Guide to Interpretive Services.
Iowa Supplement to Project WILD
This supplemental information will help Iowa’s formal and non-formal educators prepare for using Project WILD activities with their students. The first supplement was completed by the Iowa DNR Aquatic Education Program in 1996, with an update completed in 2002. A major revision to the Project WILD guide was completed in 2018 (4th Edition).
Suggested resources to Project WILD are divided into four topics below! Related Project WILD activities are listed with each topic. Note that some activities have additional information to adapt to Iowa.
Iowa's Wildlife Iowa's Wildlife Habitats
Iowa Wildlife Management Human Impacts on Wildlife
Additional resources to support using Project WILD!
- Project WILD (4th Edition) Correlations to NGSS Three Dimensions: DCIs, SEPs, and CCCs
- Project WILD Correlations to the NGSS PE (3rd Edition)
- The Project WILD Guide has these great online resources for individual activities, including In Step with STEM, WILD Work, student pages, and additional resources.
- If you are still using the previous (3rd Edition) Project WILD Guide, this PDF has all the ‘copy me’ pages!
- Thanks to Wisconsin’s Project WILD, Project Learning Tree, and Project WET for developing a children’s environmental literature bibliography (last updated 2005) and is available as a PDF here.
- Growing Up WILD correlations to NGSS PE
Download these handy resources for sharing with other teachers, staff, administrators, and parents!
- Benefits to taking children outside (This includes a separate page of bibliography)
- Considerations before stepping out the door
Links to local resource people!
- Find staff (likely a naturalist) from your local Iowa county conservation board or search the Iowa Association of Naturalists website for listing of resource people by type of agency, Guide to Interpretive Services.