Your gift today will protect open spaces, wildlife, and wildlife linkages. Posts Tagged ‘critter cams for kids’
2019 Critter Cam Field Day a success!
Coalition volunteer Craig Civalier leads a group of elementary school children on a guided hike to learn more about Sonoran Desert wildlife at Catalina State Park in March 2019 during our second Critter Cam Field Day for Kids.
In early March 2019, the Coalition’s second annual Critter Cam Field day took place at Catalina State Park, serving over 400 local children. Thanks to an amazing team of volunteers, the activities went off without a hitch! Coalition volunteer Craig Civalier wrote the poem below in celebration of the day – thanks so much Craig!
Critter Cam Day
The kids were good today,
Buzzing round like bees,
Ran out of pencils,
Borrowed my pen,
Burrows in C4, ha-ha,
Microclimate close to the ground,
Water in D3,
Invasive species on the trail,
On to the critter cameras
Funny faces for evermore,
Weathered rock in C2,
Crumbled in your hand,
Butterflies keeping score,
This tree is your family,
Praying mantis ponds,
Scattered in the bush,
Handed thank you notes,
By three young girls,
Please take up science,
And save the planet.
© Craig Civalier
Coalition volunteer Jefferson Stensrud lead students on a guided nature hike to learn about desert wildlife and check out one of our “Critter Cams” set up in the field.
Coalition Program and Operations Manager Whelan shows local students how to use a spotting scope to view Pusch Ridge and the Santa Catalina Mountains.
Coalition volunteer Kathie Schroeder and her hawk Sueño were an amazing addition to the Critter Cam Field Day for kids. Thank you Kathie and Sueño for all your energy and enthusiasm!
Coalition Conservation Science Director Jessica Moreno engages students with a hands-on lesson about pheromones.
Local elementary school children work on an activity learning about wildlife tracks and tracking in the beautiful desert of Catalina State Park.
A huge THANK YOU to all our partners that helped make the 2019 Critter Cam Field Day for Kids a huge success, including:
Catalina Foothills School District (especially teachers Charlotte Ackerman and Kelly Taylor)
Arizona Game and Fish Department (Mark Hart)
Tucson Audubon Society
Sky Island Alliance (Bryon Lichtenhan)
Kathie Schroeder
Kris Brown aka Mr. Pack Rat
Coalition volunteers Jefferson Stensrud, Craig Civalier, Keith Kleber, Josh Skattum, Margie O’Hare, Carl Boswell, Axhel Munoz, and Kate Randall
Pima County Master Naturalists volunteers Peggy Ollerhead, Vicki Ettleman, Josh Skattum, Kathleen Sudano, and Melissa Loeschen
Catalina State Park
All the parents chaperones
The students for their never-ending curiosity and enthusiasm
Leading the next generation out into the field!
Manzanita students view the Oracle Road wildlife bridge with binoculars on loan from the Tucson Audubon Society. Photo credit: Jessica Moreno.
by Jessica Moreno
It was a clear, crisp day on March 6, and the freshly brewed coffee was almost as invigorating as the arrival of several school bus-loads of fourth graders and parents from Manzanita Elementary. Over 100 curious minds boiled out into the lower parking lot of the Santa Catalina Catholic Church on Oracle Road just south of the wildlife bridge. “Critter Cam Day” had arrived.
Coalition volunteers were already stationed around the seven activity tents laid out around the parking lot, as kids split into organized groups led by teachers Charlotte Ackerman and Jennifer DeBenedetti of the Manzanita Robotics Club. These students have been sorting and studying the Coalition’s wildlife camera photos as part of a new 4-week curriculum developed by Ackerman and DeBenedetti in partnership with CSDP. Today, they would have a field day.
Thanks to the Tucson Audubon Society, Manzanita students had access to spotting scopes for a better view of the Oracle Road wildlife bridge. Photo credit: Jessica Moreno.
It may not be surprising that the activities held their rapt attention and their colorful field guides, made especially for this day, were quick to be filled. Finely timed rotating activities included a spotting scope station to view the wildlife bridge and mapping points of interest. Mark Hart with Arizona Game and Fish Department taught wildlife tracks and track tracing skills. Wildlife rehabilitator and CSDP volunteer Kathie Schroeder and her outreach hawk Sueño shared the adaptations of Harris’s hawks and other birds of prey. Mr. Packrat brought a guest too – and shared the desert adaptions of native packrats. Stations also included games and activities to teach camouflage techniques and the importance of pheromones and scents. And of course, the day would not be complete without a guided nature walk to check a wildlife camera!
Throughout the morning, students and parents were absorbing the skills and knowledge of naturalists and scientists and giving back a thirst for more. As we met around the leftover coffee and homemade granola bars after the day was done, teachers, volunteers, and guest contributors all agreed that very few improvements could be made to this positive and inspiring day. The success of this event is something we hope to repeat, and expand next year. Eventually, we hope this will be a curriculum that can be packaged and adopted by other TUSD schools. Not unlike the critters now crossing new bridges, these students are poised to bridge the divide between knowing – and doing.
Coalition Desert Monitors Jeff Stensrud and Carl Boswell lead students out into the field to see their critter cameras in action! Photo credit: Jessica Moreno.
Read the latest story about Critter Cam Day in the Oro Valley Explorer, here.
Check out this fantastic video about Critter Cam Day produced by the Catalina Foothills School District:
