From the Educators: Cold weather can't keep these kids inside!

Fall migration and the start of the school year are behind us, and we’re beginning to gear up
for spring migration and end-of-school-year field trips.

Students identify ducks during fall migration.

Last fall Madison Audubon provided after school programming at two different community centers: Vera Court, and Salvation Army. Through these programs we helped underserved city kids learn about themselves through nature exploration. We watched them build their self-confidence with each lesson; a trait that carries over into every aspect of their lives. Our after school kids explored prairies, examined old birds’ nests, called for owls in a dusky woodlot, and used our microscope to get a closer look at water critters.

We provided free field trips to local natural areas for more than 300 middle school students. These trips allowed Glacial Drumlin to bring their entire 7th grade to visit the school forest.  While there, kids identified and collected prairie seeds, which they will use to restore wildlife habitat on their school grounds.

Cold weather and snow don't slow these kids down from learning animal tracks.

This winter we have been visiting several schools in the city of Madison, including Muir and Wingra Elementary, and have strengthened our partnership with Lincoln Elementary. More than half of the kids at Lincoln Elementary come from low-income families, and the freeprogramming you help us to provide really goes a long way! This year we have met with Ms. Guiney’s 4th grade classroom each week for Outdoor Wednesday. The students have been observing and recording phenology around their schoolyard and at nearby Wingra creek. They have tried their hand a tracking animals, snowshoeing, and learning common winter birdcalls. In February, they being a month-long “build a bird” project: each student will create their own imaginary bird, giving it adaptations necessary for its survival in a particular habitat.

This spring 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.

We have two new education interns this spring! Abe Lenoch will be creating a new partnership with Bayview Community Center’s elementary school kids. Olivia Sanderfoot will continue our partnership at Vera Court. Both will to provide more outstanding afterschool programming for kids. They will focus on exploring different types of natural habitats and the animals that call those places home.

Plants offer a new look and feel during the winter months.

This work was made possible by you! Thank you for helping Madison Audubon Society connect kids with nature!

From the Educators: Summer education programs wrap up

This year has been filled with adventure for kids and young adults in our Madison Audubon programs. Thanks to your support, we have been able to reach 2,259 youth since January – and have built long-term relationships with over 100 of them! Because of your support, local kids are spending more time exploring outside, asking questions, and making observations about nature...and they're unearthing their own special love and connection to our natural world as they explore.

Conservation Academy partcipants from Operation Fresh Start learn about water quality management. Photo by Carolyn Byers

What were we up to this summer?

Operation Fresh Start Conservation Academy participants celebrate the end of their summer season with Smokey the Bear! Photo by Carolyn Byers.

• Kids at Vera Court Neighborhood Center and Salvation Army Community Center adventured with insects, water critters, and tiny flowers in our Micro Explorers curriculum.

• Through our Conservation Academy program, Operation Fresh Start crews learned about career paths in habitat restoration, stream ecology, ornithology, wildlife biology, urban forestry, and water resource management. We celebrated their summer of learning with a retreat at the Mackenzie Environmental Education Center!

• A partnership with MSCR (Madison School & Community Recreation) allowed us to provide a week of Wildlife Immersion lessons for summer camp kids. Birds, binoculars, scat, tracks, and art projects were our highlights!

This fall, we plan to continue our partnerships with local schools and community centers, and hope to share the wonder of wildlife with as many kids as possible!

- Carolyn Byers
Director of Education
 

From the Educators: Spring has flown by like a flurry of migrating warblers!

Vera Court kids grow their science skills while searching for water critters.

The quiet steady pace of winter seems like a lifetime ago, but this spring has been filled with adventure. Thanks to your support, we have been able to reach 1,759 kids since January – and have built long-term relationships with over 100 of them! Because of you, these kids are spending more time exploring outside, asking questions, and making observations about nature!

Our energetic and talented education intern, Lauren Sinclair, helped the kids at Vera Court Neighborhood Center and Goodman Community Center to explore their local natural areas. They studied forests at Picnic Point, prairies and wetlands at Cherokee Marsh, and learned about urban habitat around their community centers. Part of each session was devoted to a formal lesson: dissecting owl pellets, using a microscope to get a closer look at prairie plants, or listening for birds on a nature walk. We even did some nature-inspired art! The kids learned just as much during the time they were allowed to simply explore and enjoy each place we visited.

Helping improve habitat for people and wildlife also brings lots of pride!

Our partnership with Lincoln Elementary grew by leaps and bounds this spring. We expanded our Climate Change programming from just one classroom to four! By teaching Climate Change using birds, we turned this complicated subject into a more relatable problem that the kids really care about. The lessons culminated in a school-wide Birdathon, where our kids taught the rest of their schoolmates how to play climate change games. All four of theseclassrooms received free field trips to local natural areas. We watched wildlife, and helped improve habitat by pulling garlic mustard!

For the first time, MAS partnered with local High School classrooms. An AP English class at LaFollette High School took a day to relax at the UW Arboretum and practice their reflective nature writing. An AP environmental Science class at East High School leaned about the path they would take to become a wildlife biologist. We practiced surveying for birds and mammals at Cherokee Marsh.

We also led field days at schools in two rural communities: Lone Rock Elementary and Ithaca Schools. During these day-long events, we worked with every student at both schools: teaching them about birds, and spreading our love of wildlife. We’re gearing up for an exciting summer working with Vera Court, Salvation Army and Operation Fresh Start. More updates to come soon!

This work was made possible by you! Thank you for helping connect kids with nature and for making a positive impact in their lives.

From the Educators: Winter is the lull between two storms

Fall migration and the start of the school year are behind us, and we’re beginning to gear up
for spring migration and end-of-school-year field trips.

Children help collect seeds to help create prairie habitats close to home.

Last fall Madison Audubon provided after school programming at four different community centers: Kennedy Heights, Lussier, Vera Court, and Salvation Army. Through these programs we helped underserved city kids learn about themselves through nature exploration. We watched them build their self-confidence with each lesson; a trait that carries over into every aspect of their lives. Our after school kids made frog slime, explored prairies and examined grasshoppers, and used dip nets to get a closer look at water critters.

Our Education Intern, Mary Schneider, did an excellent job leading programs at both Vera Court Neighborhood Center and Lussier Community Education Center. She grew as an educator, mastering techniques needed to reach reluctant kids, and gaining experience with planning lessons.

This winter we have been visiting several schools in the city of Madison, and have strengthened our partnership with Lincoln Elementary. More than half of the kids at Lincoln Elementary come from low-income families, and the free programming you help us to provide really goes a long way! Some of our favorite lessons involve identifying animal tracks and scat- poop! Animal signs are a great way to learn about the wildlife around us, and the kids love learning about them.

This spring 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.

Our new education intern, Lauren Sinclair, will be working with Vera Court and Goodman Community Centers to provide more afterschool programming for kids. They will focus on exploring different types of natural habitats and the animals that call those places home.

This work was made possible by you! Thank you for helping Madison Audubon Society connect kids with nature!