WILD Monthly Email

oak tree

Signs of Fall

Lead students on a walk through a wooded area, schoolyard, local park, or neighborhood sidewalk to look for signs of fall and investigate why leaves of deciduous trees change color. Point out the differences between deciduous and evergreen trees. Ask students to look for signs that indicate winter is approaching and have them record their... Continue reading

journal

Sketching and journaling

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

journaling

Nature Poetry

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

garden

School Gardens

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

acadian flycatcher

Phenology at Play

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

beneficial bees

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

barn owl

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

field trip

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