New this Month!
July
2012
ENTICE
Educator Workshops from the IDNR Division of Education: Register Now!
The 2012-2013 ENTICE (Environment
and Nature Training Institute for Conservation Education) workshop schedule from
the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ (IDNR) Division of Education has
just been released! Go to https://www.enticeworkshops.com for
more information and to register. You’ll find new topics as well as old
favorites. ENTICE workshops provide basic information about the topic from
resources experts, hands-on activities, supplemental resources and outdoor
experiences. All workshops are developed with the Illinois Learning Standards
as their foundation. Continuing Professional Development Units are available.
The following workshops are scheduled for summer and fall 2012.
July 27, 2012, Illinois Prairies, Sugar Grove Nature
Center, McLean
August 11, 2012, Introducing Early Childhood Students to
Nature, Rock Springs Nature Center, Decatur
September 10-23, 2012, Illinois Butterflies, Online
September 21, 2012, Illinois Spiders, Mayslake Peabody
Estate, Forest Preserve District of Du Page County, Oak Brook
September 22, 2012, Schoolyard Wildlife Habitat Development,
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia
September 29, 2012, Introducing Early Childhood Students to
Nature, The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Chicago
October 6, 2012, Reading the Signs, Mayslake Peabody
Estate, Forest Preserve District of Du Page County, Oak Brook
October 13, Illinois’ Woodland Ecology, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe
November 10, 2012, Avian Ecology: Bird-brained Lessons for
Educators, Ballard Nature Center, Altamont
Flying WILD Educator Training Workshop
A Flying WILD
training session will be held on Tuesday, July 24, 2012, from 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
at the Barkhausen-Cache River Wetlands Center, Illinois State Route 37 South,
Cypress, Illinois. The registration fee of $15.00 includes the Flying WILD: An Educator's Guide manual.
Three Continuing Professional Development Units are available to teachers. For
more information, contact Molie Oliver at 618-657-2064 or molie.oliver@illinois.gov
(Wednesday - Sunday, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.). To register for the workshop,
visit www.illinoisaudubon.org.
Additional Field Trip Packs for Early Childhood
Educators
The Field Trip Packs from the IDNR Division
of Education are now available from more than 200 lending locations statewide.
Visit the Web page at http://dnr.state.il.us/education/fieldtrippack.htm
to find the lending locations near you. Whether you walk around the block,
visit a park or take a backyard discovery mission, the Field Trip Pack can promote nature exploration with your students.
These packs were developed for use with children of grades prekindergarten
through three.
Dickson Mounds Museum Offers Workshops for
Teachers
Educators! Gather
together and schedule a workshop at Dickson Mounds Museum in Lewistown,
Illinois. Workshops may be a half- or full-day experience and include a
behind-the-scenes look at the museum, facility tours and hands-on activities,
including archaeological work, nature observation, hiking, canoeing and
biological laboratory work. See what kinds of opportunities Dickson Mounds
and its Emiquon partners, The Nature Conservancy, University of Illinois at
Springfield Therkildsen Field Station at Emiquon and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service have to offer youth and adults. Dickson Mounds Museum, a branch of the
Illinois State Museum and a National Historic Site, is one of the major on-site
archaeological museums in the United States. It offers a unique opportunity to
explore the world of the American Indian in an awe inspiring journey through
12,000 years of human experience in the Illinois River Valley. Dickson Mounds
Museum's workshops provide Continuing Professional Development
Units. Workshops may be tailored upon request. Contact Curator of
Education Christa Christensen by phone at 309-547-3721 or cchristensen@museum.state.il.us
to schedule your workshop or for more information. Also, visit www.experiencedicksonmounds.com
for current program and event listings.
Grants from the IDNR and the
Illinois Conservation Foundation
Have you
started planning for the 2012-2013 school year yet? Do you need funding for
field trips or schoolyard wildlife habitat projects? The IDNR Division of
Education in cooperation with the Illinois Conservation Foundation can help!
The Illinois Biodiversity Field Trip
Grant program offers grants of up to $500 per teacher to assist with
transportation costs associated with a field trip to study some aspect of
Illinois’ natural resources. The Schoolyard
Habitat Action Grant program offers grants of up to $1,000 per teacher for
the purpose of implementing or enhancing wildlife habitat on the school grounds
or other public place. To learn more about these programs and to access the
application form, visit http://dnr.state.il.us/education/CLASSRM/grants.htm.
The Illinois Biodiversity Field Trip
Grant is funded by generous donations from the Independence Tube
Corporation, Chicago, and the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Foundation, Skokie.
Funding for the Schoolyard Habitat Action
Grant program is provided by generous donations and by grants from the U.S
Environmental Protection Agency and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program.
Volunteers
Interested in
volunteering at an IDNR site or on an IDNR project? Sign up to be part of
the IDNR Volunteer Network. Visit http://www.dnr.state.il.us/volunteer/index.htm
for more information.
Make Resources Trunks Reservations Now
Borrow a resources trunk, and you’ll have a wealth of hands-on materials, lessons, posters, books and other items to support your teaching. Ten topics are available. Trunks are produced by the IDNR Division of Education and loaned from numerous lending sites statewide. Visit http://dnr.state.il.us/education/CLASSRM/teach.htm and click on the link to each trunk’s Web site where you’ll find a content list, targeted grade levels and contact information for the lending sites. A two-week loan period is suggested. Trunk titles are listed below.
Aquatic Illinois
Illinois Birds
Illinois Fossils
Illinois Insects
and Spiders
Illinois’ Invasive
Species
Illinois Prairies
Illinois’ State
Symbols
Illinois Trees
Illinois Wild
Mammals
People and Animals
from Illinois’ Past
IDNR Publications
Do you need Illinois-specific, scientifically based resources to support your lessons? Then visit the IDNR Publications Order Form at http://dnr.state.il.us/teachkids. You’ll find activity books, posters and many other publications available for download and/or order. Many of the publications have a Spanish-language version, too.
IDNR Division of
Education List Server
Educators throughout Illinois can obtain instant notification about new products, scheduled workshops and many other events and items from the IDNR through the IDNR Division of Education's electronic list server. By participating in the list server, you will receive email messages when new educational materials are available from the IDNR. You'll also be made aware of upcoming workshops and special opportunities. To join the list, send an email to subscribe-dnr-education@lists.illinois.gov. You do not need to write any text in the message or the subject line. You may leave the list at any time by sending an email to unsubscribe-dnr-education@lists.illinois.gov. You do not need to write any text in the message or the subject line. There is no charge to participate. Messages are usually titled "Items of Possible Interest" in the subject line
State Parks Magazines
Are you looking for literature to distribute at an event or to provide to the public from your office, school or library? Why not consider the Illinois State Parks Magazine? This free publication is available in cases of 100 copies and shipping on this item is free, too. Visit the Publications page at http://dnr.state.il.us/teachkids and look under the “Park Brochures” tab.
Fishing in Your School
Do you teach in any of the following counties? Adams, Brown, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Coles, Cumberland, De Witt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Hancock, Iroquois, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Mason, McLean, Menard, Morgan, Moultrie, Piatt, Pike, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Vermilion
If so, let the IDNR help you establish a fishing program. We can assist with education and equipment to make fishing a talked-about, popular activity at your school. In-school educational programs can be scheduled in February or March, and fishing poles will be left with the teacher for use during a class field trip to a local lake. These programs work well for high school P.E. field trips or grade school field trips or after school activities where parents/grandparents accompany their students at the fishing location. Young student fishing is easy when family adults come along to help, and family participation encourages recurring fishing trips, creating a lifelong interest in this outdoor sport. For more details or to register your students contact Herb Dreier, Coordinator, Central Illinois Urban Fishing Program, at 217-935-6860 extension 238, cell 217-622-4266 or herb.dreier@illinois.gov.
IDNR Education offers Field Trip Tips for Educators
Brought to you by the IDNR Division of Education, educators have a new tool to help you take teaching and learning to life. Visit http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/fieldtrip to access information that will help you and your students have a successful outdoor experience at an Illinois state park. You can find the state park nearest to you and a list of its amenities. By clicking on the category names in the “Lesson Topics” feature, you can link to the IDNR lesson plans and materials that will help you teach about the habitats, organisms and/or history of each park. Lessons for pre-trip, on site and post-trip are available in downloadable PDF format. Field trip etiquette and planning are also discussed. After deciding on your destination, why not apply for an Illinois Biodiversity Field Trip Grant? You’ll find a link to that information on this Web site, too.
Illinois’ Natural Resources Trading Cards
Illinois’ Natural Resources Trading Cards are informational cards that contain an image on one side and facts on the other side. Mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, invertebrates, plants, fungi, microorganisms, rocks, minerals and fossils are represented. A poster accompanies each card set to depict all of the cards in the set and provide suggestions for use. Sets #2 - 5 are available. To request cards, please send a note on school letterhead to IDNR Education, One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702. Please specify the set number(s) you are requesting. Teachers are allowed one pack of cards and one poster for each of the sets.
Biodiversity of Illinois CD-ROMs
The Biodiversity of Illinois, Volume I: Aquatic Habitats, Biodiversity of Illinois, Volume II: Woodland Habitats and Biodiversity of Illinois, Volume III: Prairie and Edge Habitats CD-ROMs are field guides to more than 1,000 species and provide a wealth of information for educators and students to use. Order your copies by written request on school letterhead and mail to IDNR Education, One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702.
Wildlife in the Classroom
Has a student ever brought an animal into your classroom and asked you to keep it? Have you ever found a feather or a bird’s nest and wanted to use it to supplement your lessons? Do you know the Illinois and federal laws that apply to these situations? Teachers often come in contact with wildlife or wildlife remains, willingly or not. It is important for you to know what to do in these situations. The IDNR Division of Education has produced a reference document for your use. Wildlife in the Classroom is not all-encompassing, but it will provide you with basic information about possessing wildlife and wildlife remains. You can download the publication at http://dnr.state.il.us/education/CLASSRM/wildlifeintheclassrm041409.pdf. If you would like to read the entire Wildlife Code for Illinois, you can access it at http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs2.asp?ChapterID=43.
We’re on Facebook!
Visit our Facebook page to find the latest updates about the materials and programs of the IDNR Education Section. You’ll also find images from ENTICE workshops!
Illinois Trapper Education Online Course
The IDNR offers an online course for those interested in learning to trap. People who are required to complete a course before purchasing a trapping license now have two choices. They can take a full-day course in the classroom or complete half of the requirement online and half in the classroom, where they learn hands-on skills such as setting traps and preparing pelts for sale.
Courses are free. The IDNR encourages all trappers, regardless of age, to take a course. First-time trappers under 18 years of age must complete a course and pass a written exam before they are allowed to purchase a trapping license. Those under 16 years of age must also have written permission from a parent or guardian before purchasing a license.
Illinois Trapper Education Online (http://www.trappered.com) covers topics such as trapping equipment, laws and ethics through online film clips, reading materials, quizzes, photos and illustrations. Students can exit the course and resume work where they left off at any time. The course is accessible using a basic dial-up connection, although high speed connections work best.
At the end of the Internet course, students must successfully complete the final exam online and download a printable document of completion. Students must present the document when attending the four-hour training session with instructors. To locate an instructor-taught course, visit http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/safety/Pages/default.aspx or call 1-800-832-2599. The Ameritech Relay for the deaf and hearing impaired is 1-800-526-0844.
Wild Illinois History Leads Students on a Journey to Learn About History and Wildlife Conservation
The IDNR is offering a "virtual" trip for late-elementary schoolteachers, students and their parents. With a few mouse clicks, students can journey back to the earliest days of the Illinois Territory when voyageurs and Native Americans hunted the prairies, forests and rivers. Wild Illinois History helps students in grades three through five focus on early French exploration, along with river and settlement geography. Students can learn how wildlife helped Native Americans and early settlers survive. They also can see how wildlife is a part of our lives today. A fictional French trapper in the 18th century Illinois Territory leads students on the trip. Brief story-telling slideshows are mixed with fun, interactive activities. For teachers, Wild Illinois History offers lesson plans, activities, photos, posters and correlations to Illinois Learning Standards. Try it out at http://www.wildillinois.org/. For more information, contact Bob Bluett, IDNR Wildlife Diversity Coordinator at 217-782-7580 or bob.bluett@illinois.gov.
Urban Fishing Program
Coordinators for the IDNR statewide Urban Fishing Program will come to your school and conduct programs aimed at getting kids interested in fishing and the outdoors, while promoting environmental stewardship. One part of the program involves actually taking kids fishing during May and September, if a nearby lake is accessible. Teachers may continue the program on their own after the initial session, with the assistance of IDNR personnel. Contact the Urban Fishing Program Coordinator in your area. The urban fishing program is appropriate for any grade level.
Chicago: Brenda McKinney 847-294-4137
Chicago Suburbs: IDNR Staff 847-294-4137
Northwest Illinois: IDNR Staff 815-625-2968
Central Illinois: Herb Dreier 217-782-6424
Southern Illinois: IDNR Staff 618-462-1181