Urban Wildlife Detectives

Librarian-students all had a chance to create/report out a program they developed as a final project. Each considered the goals of the program, format (active, passive), how much time/money it might take and described how it was or would be done. Susan from WA shared this idea.

• Name of program:  Urban Wildlife Detectives
• Program type:  Active
• Program location: This will take place on-site, with a final trip to the Wildlife Center.
• Target age group: School Age Program, with a family storytime night two times, once in the beginning and once at the end.  Probably geared for K-3^rd. 
• Length in minutes of program: 45 minutes per session.  Could be lengthened as an afterschool program, if that collaboration is a possibility with the local school district. 
• One time event/series (if series how many weeks will it last):  Series over 6 weeks.
• Scheduling strategy (why are you offering your program at the time you propose):  Follows early learning and school core competencies in science and literacy.  Can be offered once in Fall and once in Spring-ideally when children can see animals out and about, early fall is best. 
• Staff time /budget needed to present it:  I would think this would cost about 10-20.00 a session.  The most expensive items being the owl pellets.  Most supplies are on hand and consist of typical craft materials. 
• Collection connection:  Juvenile Non-Fiction, Fiction tie-ins, and some field guides and one film.  Also makes use of folk and mythology collection. 
• Estimated program preparation time:  1 hour per week before the session.  About 16-20 hours in advance, depending on how much craft prep and display prep is done.  Assemble craft supplies, and organize the weekly display, which will become a sort of passive programming.  Assemble the registrants “nature journals by allowing 12 pages of plain white paper per registrant, and staple or hole punch.  They will work on writing and journaling as an ”at-home” component of the program.  

Week One:  What is Urban Wildlife?

Week Two: Owls, Bats and other nocturnal creatures.

Week Three: Coyotes 

Week Four: Raccoons

Week Five: A Chorus of Frogs (collect tallies from participating families)

Week Six:  Backyard Entomologist

(For detailed weekly plans of the above, please see this google doc)

This program targets literacy skills, science curriculum objectives and also allows participants to connect to their local ecosystem.  It offers both reading practice and artistic expression.  It begins and ends a scientific inquiry through the experiment component.   In the end, it even teaches families about how they can best interact with wildlife and what to do in animal encounters or emergencies.  This is a common occurrence in our rural community, but can also be applied in urban settings, given the overlap in human/animal existence.   This program can also be used heading towards Earth Day programming.   

Graphic courtesy of Pixabay