Osprey Wilds is offering free programming packages to schools.
Each package includes:
Two Professional Development Sessions (1.5 hours each)
- What is Environmental Education?
- Outdoor Classroom Management
- Using Realia in Curriculum Design
- How to Teach with a Nature Journal
- Social-Emotional Learning Theory and Practice
These do not need to be consecutive.
Two Virtual Programs for Students
- Live Raptor Programs: choose from a number of interactive educational talks that use our animal ambassadors.
Raptors Through Stories
Suggested for all ages; 45-60 Minute program
Students will get their first experience with birds of prey by reading children’s books about birds of prey, then meeting 2-3 live raptors. Students will have the opportunity to touch and feel wings and feet from real birds of prey.
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Raptors By Family
Suggested for 3rd Grade-Adult; 1 hour program
All birds of prey have certain characteristics in common, but each group (falcons, owls, hawks and eagles) have adaptations that make them unique. Students will explore these unique adaptations through games and by meeting 3 live raptors.
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Silent Hunters
Suggested ages 3rd Grade-Adult; 1 hour program
Owls that spend the winter in Minnesota face a unique set of challenges. Meet 1-2 live owls as we explore what challenges owls face and what adaptations they have to overcome to be successful hunters year round in Minnesota.
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Falconry
Suggested for 3rd Grade-Adult; 1 hour program.
Humans have been living with and hunting with birds of prey for 4000 years. Explore how this relationship has changed and stayed the same with lots of student interaction and meeting two live raptors.
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Northwoods Niche
Suggested ages 4th Grade-Adult; 1 hour program.
Every animal has a role to fill in the environment. Meet 4 live animals as we travel through the different levels of the deciduous forest and find out who lives here and what tools they have to do their job.
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Wolves of the North Woods
Suggested ages 4th Grade-Adult; 1 hour program.
Wolves live a fine line between life and death; their survival is determined by their abilities and behaviors. Step into a wolf biologist’s role to learn more about wolf pack structure, behavior and adaptations using scientific tools and methods, such as radio telemetry.
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Leap, Creep and Slither
Suggested ages 2nd-6th Grade; 1 hour program.
From water, to land, to trees, reptiles and amphibians have special abilities that help them survive. Meet live reptiles and amphibians that live in Minnesota as they teach us how they survive.
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Fill the Bill
Suggested ages 4th Grade-Adult; 1 hour ‘add-on’ program.
Use different tools to feed on various food sources. Compare tools to different beak shapes and how different bird species become specialists in a particular type of food. Informal program, come and go program for participants.
- Ask a Naturalist: a 1-hour live Q&A on a topic of your choosing. Our expert naturalists will take questions from students on topics you are already discussing in class, or what it is like to be an environmental educator or raptor handler.
- Guest Speaker Engagements: Our team will prepare a presentation and answer questions from students on a topic of your choosing, for example — energy cycles, niches, adaptations, the basics of raptor care and handling, etc.
- Nature Journaling: Students learn the basics of keeping a nature journal and receive several prompts to choose from to create their own journal entries by observing nature in their own neighborhood.
These do not need to be consecutive. Our Raptor Programs and Guest Speaker Engagements can be any size group. Nature Journaling and Ask a Naturalist programs are for a single classroom only.
One Consultation (1 hour)
- Scheduled either before or after the Professional Development takes place
How to Apply
Please send the following information to Emily Porter at porter@ospreywilds.org
- 1-2 Professional Development topics & 2 Virtual Programs
- Dates and times for your professional development session(s). These are 1.5 hours each. These do not need to be consecutive.
- Dates and times for the virtual programs with students. Please send a few dates and 3-hour time frames that will work. These do not need to be consecutive.
- A short paragraph of interest. Explain how the school will plan to incorporate the package into the 2020-21 school year and provide ways that this will support the school in achieving its Environmental Literacy Plan goals.
There are 15 free programming packages available to schools on a first-come, first-served basis. Please contact us with any questions.
Please send your application information to Emily Porter at porter@ospreywilds.org
