The weather is beginning to warm, little feet are getting muddy, and we’re gearing up for
spring migration and end-of-school-year field trips.
Face to face with Wilson, the MAS stuffed Great Gray Owl (Vera Court)
This Spring Madison Audubon is providing after school programming at three different community centers: Vera Court, Bayview and Salvation Army. Through these programs we helped underserved city kids learn about themselves through nature exploration. Highlights of these lessons include dissecting owl pellets with Vera Court, scavenger hunts and science-art projects with Salvation Army, and neighborhood birding walks with Bayview. We have about four more weeks of lessons with these kiddos before summer programming begins.
Education intern, Abe, shares a snapping turtle shell with students (Bayview)
Our Education Interns, Abe Lenoch (teaching at Bayview) and Olivia Sanderfoot
(teaching at Vera Court), are winning kids over with fun, engaging STEM lessons and cool animal facts. They are greeted for each lesson with huge smiles and stories about the birds, bugs, and wildlife that kids have seen since their last visit. We love watching Abe and Olivia grow as educators! They both have an undeniable talent for connecting with kids and making learning fun.
Lincoln Elementary students have been growing by leaps and bounds! They walked to Wingra Creek again, beating their old travel time by a whopping 20 minutes. They then compared their phenology findings from this trip to the last one taken in early December. These students have also been learning about the effects climate change will have on birds
and other Wisconsin Wildlife. Last week they completed our Carbon Cycle and
Greenhouse Effect lessons: big ideas for 4th graders!
Education intern, Olivia, helps a student ID mammal bones found in an owl pellet (Vera Court)
In April and May we are looking forward to taking several different school groups out
on field trips to local natural areas. Transportation costs are one of the biggest hurdles for
teachers taking kids on field trips. Because of you, we are able to provide free bussing to
kids who really deserve it. We will focus primarily on middle and high school groups from
underserved schools. These are the groups with the least opportunity to get out and
explore nature.
This work was made possible by you! Thank you for helping Madison Audubon
Society connect kids with nature!
