Strengthening Cons Ed Online Training and Resources

Project WILD is an interdisciplinary conservation education program that focuses on wildlife and habitat. Since 1983, the program has delivered high-quality, well-tested conservation education to the public by equipping and training teachers and other educators. Over the past 40 years, over 1.5 million educators have been trained in Project WILD activities, which in turn have reached over 100 million young people. The goal of the program—which was collaboratively developed by state wildlife agencies and state education agencies—is to develop awareness, knowledge, skills, and commitment, resulting in informed decisions, responsible behavior, and constructive actions concerning wildlife and the environment. This proposal outlines our request to create one online course based on a series of activities we have on the North American Model for Wildlife Conservation and two additional online courses. This request also includes developing two thematic units based on existing Project WILD activities. These thematic units will help expand our business model by creating more professional development opportunities for formal and nonformal educators. Project WILD has been a respected name among educators and wildlife professionals alike. Educators consistently rate Project WILD training and materials as engaging, relevant, and useful. In a time when state fish and wildlife agencies are focusing on the relevancy of conservation to the public, the Project WILD program represents a valuable tool to reach young people in diverse settings, connecting them to the outdoors and instilling sound conservation concepts.      While the content of the Project WILD curricula and activity guides remains much sought-after, the method of delivery has become a barrier in meeting the needs of today’s educators. For decades, educators have attended a one-day professional development training to receive a printed copy of the Project WILD guide, experience activities from the guide, and learn more about wildlife and conservation in their state. In recent years, a variety of factors have caused national training numbers to decline—including industry changes in educator professional development and book printing, as well as an increasing demand for online learning and resources, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.       In 2019, Project WILD piloted its first online course and has since developed five additional courses with the support of other grants. Similarly, in 2022, Project WILD started publishing a new wildlife education unit. Climate & Wildlife is a 64-page module that provides middle- and high-school-level educators with a collection of Project WILD lessons correlated to the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy.

This 2024 multi-state conservation grant project will allow Project WILD to build on this momentum with an additional three courses as well as three thematic wildlife education units using existing Project WILD activities. Online WILD professional development training allows educators to access modules at their own pace without having to wait for a training event at a convenient time and location. Beyond the online training, the education units will keep printing costs low so that price is not a barrier to our partners. These additions to the Project WILD suite of offerings will allow the program—and the messages of fish and wildlife agencies—to stay relevant to educators and students across the country.