Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

Last modified: Tuesday, February 16, 2010

What is Flying WILD?

Flying WILD is a new bird conservation education program now available in Utah through the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources' Project WILD program, in partnership with the Council for Environmental Education.

Flying WILD provides interactive, interdisciplinary, standards-based classroom activities to engage students in real-world learning that helps them understand the importance of migratory birds and their conservation.

Activities from the program guide, Flying WILD: An Educator's Guide to Celebrating Birds, covers topics ranging from basic bird biology, identification and ecology, to bird conservation service learning activities such as bird festivals and monitoring projects intended to promote greater environmental stewardship.

Developed by the Council for Environmental Education under the guidance of a large number of environmental education professionals and wildlife conservation organizations, Flying WILD activities have been field tested in classrooms across the nation. Like Project WILD, Flying WILD activities fulfill many of the Utah State Core Curriculum Standards and Objectives. Literature connections offered to supplement activities also promote student literacy skills.

Why Flying WILD?

Flying WILD activities provide a wonderful way to introduce students to the study of birds and related habitat issues. But why study birds? Because birds are the most spectacular and readily observable wildlife, they are easy to find and identify, and they provide a natural inroad for students to start learning about wildlife and the environment.

Flying WILD Goals

The goals of the Flying WILD program include:

To instill stewardship of birds and other natural resources by promoting awareness, appreciation, and knowledge of birds.
To provide service-learning opportunities whereby students become involved in school, community, and home activities that benefit bird conservation.
To ensure that teachers have the resources they need to prepare for, organize, and lead a school bird festival with their students and community partners.
To provide a vehicle (school bird festivals) to encourage schools to work cooperatively with community organizations, conservation organizations, and businesses interested in bird conservation.

Conceptual Framework

Following is the conceptual framework for the Flying WILD program and guide:

General Biology

Bird species share a set of anatomical and physiological characteristics.
Birds are adapted to their environments in ways that enable them to survive and maintain their populations.

Habitat

Birds depend on forests, grasslands, wetlands and other habitats for food and shelter.
Each habitat is suitable only to those bird species that are adapted to it.
Birds, like all living things, need food, water, shelter, and a suitable place to live.
Carrying capacity refers to the dynamic balance between the availability of habitat components and the number of animals a habitat can support.
Birds play an important part in ecological systems, living in a web of interdependence in which all plant and animal species contribute to the functioning of the overall system.
Birds may be used as an indicator of the environmental health of an ecosystem.

Observation and Identification

Participating in bird counts can provide enrichment in one's life while contributing to scientific knowledge and bird conservation.
Common feeder birds, for the most part, are not neotropical migrants.
Observing bird behavior and identifying bird species contributes to better understanding the needs of birds and more effectively supports the conservation of bird species.
Effective use of equipment used for bird observation and identification requires basic knowledge and the development of basic skills.

Conservation and Action

People can act to help conserve migratory birds.
Acting at a personal level to help migratory birds, people can establish or improve bird habitat in their local area, monitor bird populations, and educate others about birds and their conservation needs.
Many factors that threaten or help bird populations are the result of human actions.
Human management of the environment affects bird populations.
Citizens can become involved in the management of birds, habitat, and the environment by direct participation in the political process or through local, state, national, or international organizations.
Citizens, government and industry are responsible for conserving natural resources, including bird species.

Migration

Many birds migrate to meet their habitat needs, including accessing seasonal food supplies, as well as specific climatic conditions.
Migratory birds depend on habitat in more than one place, including breeding grounds, wintering grounds and locations along migration routes.

Research Techniques

A variety of techniques are used to gather data about birds.
Scientific methods are used to understand the needs of birds and develop conservation plans to manage and protect birds.
Student research on birds enhances their understanding of scientific processes through inquiry.

Birds and People; Cultural Connections

Human and bird relationships are expressed through legends, myths, religious teachings and writings, symbols, protocols, ceremonies, and other cultural and societal activities.
Appreciation of birds is often portrayed through creative expressions of human relationships with wildlife in historic and contemporary times.
Our appreciation of birds' attributes will ensure that they continue to play an important role in human culture.
In North America, bird-related recreational activities, such as, observation, photography, hunting, painting and feeding provide millions of days of recreation each year.
Bird-related outdoor recreational activities, such as observation, photography, hunting, painting and feeding, as well as tourism associated with these activities, provide substantial economic stimuli to many communities.
Historically, hunters and hunting groups have made significant contributions to the funding and political support necessary for the conservation and management of birds and other wildlife.

Flying WILD Educator Training

Attend a fun-filled and interactive educator training, with hands-on experiences in conducting activities and implementing the Flying WILD program. The training is ideal for teachers, environmental educators, school administrators, after-school program staff, and youth group/service organization leaders.

You will receive the excellent, new 350+ page Flying WILD: An Educator's Guide to Celebrating Birds plus a wealth of free supplemental resource materials, posters and more.

Registration fee is $15.

Credit is available for the training: 1.0 semester hours graduate credit from USU for an additional $30 or a Certificate for Hours of Participation at no additional cost.

Flying WILD: An Educator's Guide to Celebrating Birds

The main purpose of the Flying WILD: An Educator's Guide to Celebrating Birds is to provide activities that teach students about birds, their migration, and what people can do to help birds and their habitats. The Guide's 43 activities can be used to teach classroom lessons or help students initiate service-learning projects that help birds and their habitats. An extensive section in the guide also discusses everything you need to know to plan and conduct bird festivals. In addition, the guide includes excellent appendices covering cross-curricular connections, key bird education resources, glossary, and topic index. Activities are grouped as teacher-led, student-led, or volunteer-led, and list national science education standards, cross-curricular connections, and follow-up questions to assess learning objectives.

Utah's Flying WILD Educator Training Schedule:

Dates: Friday, March 5 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
and Saturday, March 6 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Location: Utah Lake State Park, 4400 W. Center St., Provo, Utah
Download more information — (PDF format)

For additional information contact Diana Vos at (801) 538-4719 or DianaVos@utah.gov.

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