Our Environmental Education programs promote hands-on nature education. We seek to get children outdoors and help educators teach an understanding of, and appreciation for, wildlife and our natural world.
Nebraska Wildlife Federation’s Adopt a Stream program teaches Nebraskans how to understand, enjoy, monitor and conserve their neighborhood stream, creek or wetland. Some Adopt a Stream participants pick up trash along streams, while others monitor water chemistry and the changing population of snails, clams, dragonfly larvae, and other critters that live there. Many take the next step by developing stream conservation projects that restore and protect habitats for fish, amphibians, and other wildlife that depend on Nebraska waterways.
Through a series of workshops held across Nebraska, we have trained over 220 Nebraskans – many of them teachers — in basic stream monitoring and conservation techniques. See more information here.
Wild Adventure Day
Nebraska Wildlife Federation and Friends of Pioneers Park Nature Center organized Wildlife Adventure Day to provide fun, free outdoor activities for the whole family. About 500 children and adults attended the first Wild Adventure Day, taking part in two dozen activities like a prairie hike, stream adventure, live snakes and amphibians, and many more. Sponsors included Russ’s Market, Union Bank & Trust, Pioneers Park Nature Center, and the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission. We are already planning our next Wildlife Adventure Day on Saturday, April 29, 2017.
Schoolyard Habitat Areas
Bring wildlife and the natural world right to the classroom door by developing a Schoolyard Habitat Area. Students can learn about plant and animal biology through first-hand observation and experimentation. Habitat areas can be used for a variety of other subjects including math, literature, art, and science. In 1996, NEWF published the first Guide to Nebraska Schoolyard Habitat Areas, a how-to guide for teachers and parents interested in establishing outdoor classrooms which highlighted some of the best schoolyard habitat areas from around Nebraska.
The National Wildlife Federation has a national Schoolyard Habitats® program, and schools can register their site online and receive information on starting, maintaining, and using outdoor classrooms. . National Wildlife Federation is also the host of the Eco Schools USA program, which helps schools, teachers, and communities take a holistic approach to environmental education and making their schools greener.
Each Spring, in conjunction with the National Wildlife Federation’s celebration of National Wildlife Week, we sponsor Wildlife Week Nebraska. We provide information about Wildlife Week on our web site, making it available to thousands of 4th, 5th, and 6th grade teachers in Nebraska. more here…
Our Wildlife Week Poster Contest recognizes budding wildlife artists from grade schools across Nebraska. Contest information and individual entry forms are available here on our web site or by calling the Federation office. Winning artists will be honored at our 2017 Wild Adventure Day Saturday, April 29, at Pioneers Park Nature Center in Lincoln.