Project WILD Newsletter:Late Summer 2018 Edition

Late Summer Edition 2018 Inside This Issue A Message from the Coordinator The New WILD Guide: Wow! Growing Up WILD Grant Awarded! An FWC Resource for WILD Educators Can I Request a WILD Workshop? Yes! Workshop Calendar How do I Become a Project WILD Workshop Facilitator? Wildlife and Climate Change Webinar Hunting and Project WILD What Are Teachers Saying about Project WILD? WILD and Social Media

A Message from the Coordinator Dear WILD Ones, This summer has been an adventure! The Project WILD office, including the packing/shipping room, has relocated twice. We're settled in now, though, and adjusting to our new “habitat!” Wildlife is adapting all the time, too, at times due to ecosystem dynamics, often due to human impacts. I listened to a biologist describing the evolution of songbird vocalization due to urban noise pollution - birds sing at higher amplitudes to survive. Project WILD curricula are valuable because they take the learners through ecological study, to social-political connections, to human impacts and action.  The new Project WILD guide, along with STEM and Career Connections for each lesson, have added numerous new topics including light pollution. This can be adapted easily to include discussion of noise pollution. But, the WILD curricula do not offer the solutions to the human impact issues. This is the task of learners. We can’t even imagine what they will invent. So we must keep nurturing and empowering the educators and students to get outdoors. Project WILD workshops do this. Last year the estimated Project WILD youth outreach totaled 124, 000. Thank you workshop facilitators and educators! Let’s keep getting Florida WILD.   Anita Forester Project WILD Coordinator New! 850-404-6089 anita.forester@myfwc.com WILD Ones Everywhere Project WILD New Guide Workshop Participants and Facilitators At Mosaic NEST in Manatee County June 19, 2018 The New WILD Guide: Wow! It was long overdue and it's a total revamp - Project WILD has updated its Project WILD Guide. Investigations, better background information, STEM, updated images, additional species, new lessons, an expanded index - too much to mention here!   A new guide webinar is available if you would like to learn more about the changes. Guides are provided free of cost to workshop participants and active facilitators. Growing Up WILD Grant Awarded! Do you ever wonder how the Florida Conserve Wildlife vehicle tag funds are used? Some of the proceeds support Project WILD. Project WILD received a Conserve Florida Wildlife License Plate Grant Award to purchase curriculum guides and support materials for Growing Up WILD Workshops this year!  Learn more about the Conserve Florida Wildlife License Plate. An FWC Resource for WILD Educators Do you want to adapt Project WILD lessons to incorporate local species? The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has tons of information about birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and more at MyFWC.com. Check it out! Can I Request a WILD Workshop? Yes! Just have at least 5-10 interested educators and give us 4-6 weeks notice. Project WILD educational material is available to educators who attend 3-6 hour workshops offered by certified leaders. Project WILD workshops are useful to the classroom teacher as well as non-formal educators including: scout and club leaders, nature centers, museums, zoo and aquarium staffs, park rangers, and home school parents. Workshops types include Project WILD, Aquatic WILD, Flying WILD, Schoolyard Wildlife, Black Bear, and Growing Up WILD. Please see the calendar below for dates of upcoming workshops and facilitator leadership trainings already available. Or, contact Anita Forester for a workshop request form or to answer questions--we want you WILD! Anita.forester@myfwc.com  Workshop Calendar Attention Facilitators:  SAVE the Date for the NEXT  Call of the WILD: December 7-9, 2018 Camp Ocala  How do I Become a Project WILD Workshop Facilitator? If you have attended Project WILD workshops and are interested in leading your own workshop, then we're ready for you. The next Project WILD Facilitator Training (also known as Train the Trainer) is scheduled for Sept. 22, 2018, at the Loxahatchee River Center in Jupiter, Florida. Being a Project WILD Facilitator means: Recognition as a leader in Florida’s environmental education community. Professional development opportunities, including an invitation to the annual facilitator awards recognition weekend - Call of the WILD.   Support from and networking with other volunteer facilitators. Interested in attending the Sept. 22, 2018, Train the Trainer? Inactive facilitators also are encouraged to attend and reactivate! For an application, please contact: anita.forester@myfwc.com  Note: Only a few spaces remaining! Deadline to register is Sept. 1, 2018.  (pictured left: Dawn Miller-Walker, WILD One Facilitator, and a National Marine Educator of the Year) Wildlife and Climate Change Webinar Hunting and Project WILD Project WILD curriculum provides opportunities to learn about hunting and conservation. Every hunting adventure is an opportunity to gain new understanding about wildlife and their habitats, while building outdoor skills. And when the trip afield is successful, it means prolonging those treasured memories by cooking healthy, locally-sourced meals. Hunting is a pathway to clean eating for many Floridians. Wild game meat is unprocessed and contains no preservatives, hormones or antibiotics. Plus, it’s a lean source of healthy protein that’s lower in calories and saturated fat than other red meat. Making and sharing a delicious wild game feast with friends and family underscores another important part of hunting: socialization. The telling and retelling of outdoor adventure stories and experiences with loved ones is considered by many to be one of the most important parts of hunting. Hunting is so much more than the harvest. The purchase of a hunting license directly supports conservation and also contributes in a less obvious way. Every hunting license that’s bought is factored into a formula that determines the amount of Wildlife Restoration dollars a state receives. This federal grant funding supports research, education, access to public lands and conserving a range of wildlife including species that are not hunted. Learn more about becoming a new hunter in Florida! What Are Teachers Saying about Project WILD? “Great for application of knowledge!” “Awesome ideas—very excited to bring back to my school.” “Magnificent!” “…informative and interactive—loved the experience!” "The new, upgraded curriculum is much easier to use--the objectives, activities, and outcomes are written much clearer." “Information was well presented and will be used in my classroom and shared with my colleagues.” “…really enjoyed it and will definitely sign up for the next training.” “Amazing! Very well taught and the information is great—so many Ah-Ha moments! “I have never seen an ant lion and I learned how to find their habitat today!” WILD and Social Media Hey, don't forget to like Florida Project WILD on Facebook.  We have 980 followers and growing. Help us make it 1,000 by the end of the month. Get WILD and Stay WILD! And don't forget #WildlifeIsEverywhere   A movement to: Increase awareness of Project WILD. Engage the public with Project WILD. Promote the idea that wildlife exists all around us, no matter where we are.  We’d love to have you join the fun! Take a photo of wildlife that you see or hear – signs of wildlife count! Upload it to Facebook or Twitter and use the hashtag #WildlifeIsEverywhere https://youtu.be/tdBF1Zfn7JE  Increase awareness of what is all around us all the time! Thank you everyone for all you do to help keep Florida WILD!

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