WILD Monthly Email

Amphibian Week 2023 is May 7-13, 2023! Learn more about ways to celebrate Amphibian Week from Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation! Read on for ways to learn about frogs and toads in Iowa. There are a wide variety and number of amphibians that make Iowa their home. Many of these animals are secretive and... Continue reading→

Much of our understanding of science comes from interpreting visual images. The images that accompany scientific writing can enhance our knowledge of a subject and can add more precision to our perception. Drawings that accompany field notes offer researchers several paths which to interpret their experiences. Incorporating drawing into research improves one’s observation skills. This... Continue reading→

April is National Poetry Month! Celebrate with a study of nature poetry! Start by reading nature poems. Depending on the age and level of students, make a study of the mechanics of poetry and how to write different kinds of poetry. Check out the list of books tagged ‘environmental writers‘ in our book database to... Continue reading→

Learn more about Iowa invasive species as we celebrate National Invasive Species Awareness Week February 20-26, 2023. What are invasive species? Invasive species are species of organisms that are not native to an ecosystem and which cause harm. Invasive species generally grow and reproduce quickly, and spread aggressively with the potential to cause harm to... Continue reading→

Why a school garden? School gardens provide hands-on learning in a wide variety of disciplines including science, math, language arts, and visual arts. Being involved in school gardens gets students active, engaged, and teaches them important life skills such as responsibility. School gardening of fruits and vegetables also positively influences students’ health and nutrition attitudes... Continue reading→

Looking back over the past year using observations of the natural world, you can start to see seasonal changes. Each week, each month, and each season brings newness to our environment. Most folks grounded by our environment are actually students of phenology or nature’s calendar. Phenology is considered a measurement of life cycle events in... Continue reading→

Famous Conservationists with Iowa Ties! To understand Iowa’s early conservationists we need to examine the world in which they grew up. Many of our early conservationists were growing up when Iowa’s landscape was at the pinnacle of change.  Iowa’s natural areas were being altered and destroyed and wildlife was being hunted with little regulation. As... Continue reading→

Does the sight of a spider cause you to run from the room? Do you feel panicked at the very thought of an animal encounter? If so, you might be one of the many Americans who have an animal phobia. Whether these fears stem from urban legends or real-life encounters, it’s normal to be scared... Continue reading→

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→

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→

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 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→

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→

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→

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→

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→

“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→