New This
Month - June 2010
Youth
Conservation Congress – Register Now!
Director Marc Miller,
Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), invites high school youth
(ages 14-17) to participate in the first Youth Conservation Congress at
Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield on June 27. Students will learn about
conservation issues and careers in Illinois. Activities will be hands-on,
and the agenda will focus on Community Conservation, Wildlife Management and
Invasive Species. Students will develop a personal action plan to
incorporate conservation activities into their everyday lives. You must
register in advance, and the first 100 students will be accepted. On June
27th, check-in will open at 9:30 a.m., and the program will run from 10:00 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. The event is FREE, and lunch will be provided by the Illinois Sportsmen’s
Caucus. Registration is available at http://www.dnr.state.il.us/nrab/ycc.htm.
Parents or guardians will
not be allowed to participate in the activities, but family members are invited
to enjoy a day at Brookfield Zoo while their student(s) participate in the
Youth Conservation Congress.
Questions? Call
217-785-0075.
New Materials to be Available in June
Several new
Illinois-specific resources for educators will be available during June from
the IDNR Education Section. Look for the Illinois
Ferns and Illinois Fishes, Volume I posters, Illinois’ Natural Resources Trading Cards
Set #5 and poster and these newly revised CD-ROMs: Illinois Biodiversity; Biodiversity
of Illinois, Volume I: Aquatic Habitats; Biodiversity of Illinois, Volume
II: Woodland Habitats; and Biodiversity
of Illinois, Volume III: Prairie and Edge
Habitats. If you aren’t already a member, join the list server and be among
the first educators to be notified when these items may be ordered. Follow the
instructions at http://dnr.state.il.us/education/listservers.htm to join the list.
ENTICE Workshop Registration - 2010-2011
Schedule Released
Register soon for ENTICE
(Environment and Nature Training Institute for Conservation Education) educator
workshops from the IDNR. Visit https://www.enticeworkshops.com and enroll now! You won't want to miss the
background information, supplemental resources, networking with other educators
and opportunity to work with natural resources professionals. Continuing
Professional Development Units are available to all ENTICE participants. Upcoming workshops are listed below.
July 5-18, The Sangamon River: A Sense of Place,
Online
July 7, Illinois Bats, Fullersburg Woods, Oak
Brook
July 19, Illinois Butterflies, Sugar Grove Nature
Center, McLean
July 23, Illinois Beetles, The Field Museum of
Natural History, Chicago
July 24, Native Americans and Nature in Illinois,
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Collinsville
August 4, Illinois Butterflies and Dragonflies,
Ballard Nature Center, Altamont
August 28, Incorporating Nature into Fine Arts, The
Morton Arboretum, Lisle
Give Us
Your Best Shot!
The 11th
annual OutdoorIllinois photo contest
is now open for entries. All winning images will be published in the February
2011 issue of OutdoorIllinois–the sixth annual photographic issue. The
photo contest is open to all Illinois residents, and entries are due by 5:00
p.m. August 6, 2010. Among the items the “Best of Show” winner will receive are
a weekday, one-night lodging and breakfast for two package for Rend Lake Resort
and Lodge and two tickets to the 2011 Illinois Outdoor Hall of Fame banquet,
where the recipient will be honored and the winning photograph displayed.
First-, second- and third-place winners will receive three-year, two-year and
one-year subscriptions, respectively, to OutdoorIllinois and the
opportunity to have their winning photos published in the February 2011 issue.
Contest guidelines are listed below. Questions may be directed to 217-785-0975 or by
e-mail to dnr.editor@illinois.gov.
Contest
Guidelines
·
Categories
are: mammals, birds, insects, reptiles/amphibians, fishes (including underwater
images), scenic/landscape, flora (plants, mushrooms), natural resource
recreational activities and young shutterbugs (same categories but taken by
persons 12 years of age or younger).
·
Photographs
must be taken in Illinois.
·
Photos of captive and domestic species will not
be considered.
·
Entries
are limited to color or black-and-white slides, prints and digital images.
Print images must be unmounted and at least 5 x 7 inches but not more than 8 x
10 inches. Slides (35mm) and medium or large transparencies should be mounted.
Digital images (minimum of 2 megapixels or 1600 x 1200 dpi) must be submitted
as a print.
·
Each
entry must be labeled with the photographer’s name, address, daytime phone
number and e-mail address (if applicable), category and when and where the
photograph was taken. Adhering a label to the back of the print, vs. writing
directly on the back of it, is preferred as ink often smears.
·
A note must accompany entries specifying the
total number of slides, prints and/or digital images entered.
·
Photographers
of winning entries must be willing to provide the original slide, negative or
electronic file for publication purposes if necessary.
·
Entries
received after 5 p.m. August 6, 2010, will be disqualified and not returned.
·
A panel of photo experts will review entries.
Winners will be notified after the judging is completed.
·
The
2009 OutdoorIllinois photo contest best-of-show winner and IDNR employees
and members of their immediate household may not compete.
·
Entries
will not be returned. IDNR may contact any photographer regarding gratis use of
images in printed materials promoting Illinois' natural resources.
·
All submitted photos must be free of claims and
rights of third parties.
·
Send entries to: Photo Contest, OutdoorIllinois, One Natural Resources Way,
Springfield, IL 62702-1271.
Upcoming Workshops at Cache River
State Natural Area
WOW! The
Wonders of Wetlands will be held on Tuesday, June 29, 2010 (register by June 25) from 9:00 a.m. - 3:30
p.m. at the Cache River Wetlands Center, 8885 State Route 37 South, Cypress,
Illinois. This workshop is appropriate for educators of grades K-12 and
includes multidisciplinary, hands-on activities on the fundamentals of wetland
values, functions, biodiversity and more. The cost is $20.00 per person. Five
Continuing Professional Development Units are available. For more
information and/or to register, call 618-657-2064, Wednesday - Sunday or e-mail
Molie.Oliver@illinois.gov.
Flying WILD is a supplemental unit
targeted for middle grade educators (adaptable to other levels) that includes
teacher-led, student-led and volunteer-led learning activities about
birds. This workshop will be held on Thursday, July 22, 2010, from 9:00 a.m. -
12:30 p.m. at the Cache River Wetlands Center, 8885 State Route 37 South, Cypress,
Illinois. Three Continuing Professional Development Units are available. There
is a $15.00 fee per person. For more information or to register, call
618-657-2064, Wednesday - Sunday or e-mail Molie.Oliver@illinois.gov.
IDNR Programs Calendar included on Youth
Programs Web Page
Visit http://dnr.state.il.us/youthprograms/ to see the latest schedule of events for youth-
and family-related programs from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
You’ll find many options to select from. Youth leaders and educators will be
interested in the information as well. Sign up for the email list and receive
weekly updates. Let’s all work together to get our youth involved in outdoor
activities!
IDNR Division of Education Joins Facebook
Join us on Facebook for
more information and resources. We have discussion topics for you to participate
in as well. Go to http://www.facebook.com and search for "Illinois Department of
Natural Resources Division of Education."
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.
Several school fishing
programs are available. One is a physical education-based fishing program for
middle school and high school students. Students are taught the basics of
fishing at school (45-60 minutes) and then are taken fishing during their
physical education classes during the last two to three weeks of the school
year. Other fishing programs are mainly for younger students and include
school-time field fishing trips and after-school fishing trips. For both of
these programs, it is beneficial to invite parents/grandparents to accompany
students to help them with fishing.
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.
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 (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://dnr.state.il.us/safety 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: Mark Yehling 618-462-1181