Project WILD Celebrates 1 Millionth Educator

[NCangler]

RALEIGH, N.C. (Aug 7) - This summer, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is joining agencies across the nation in celebrating the one millionth educator completing training in the Project WILD program.

Project WILD is a national supplementary education program that teaches through (and about) nature. In North Carolina, the program is sponsored by the Division of Conservation Education of the Wildlife Resources Commission.

Reaching the milestone is significant. Those one million educators represent an estimated 53 million students, kindergarten through high school, who have benefited from a program that provides wildlife-based conservation and environmental education.

Through Project WILD, the outdoors and natural resources can become "the hook" to teaching math, science, English, art, physical education, history and other subjects. With federal "No Child Left Behind" mandates in effect, the activity-based teaching methods utilized by Project WILD have proven reliable and successful.

North Carolina began its involvement in 1984 and since then, more than 100,000 people have been trained in Project WILD, Aquatic WILD and Outdoor Skills workshops.

Teachers involved with Project WILD are provided assistance with activity planning, teaching materials and additional curriculum tools. They can receive Continuing Education Unit credit for attending workshops. Wildlife educators with the Wildlife Resources Commission not only teach from the curriculum guide, but incorporate information about North Carolina's diverse wildlife into workshops.

Project WILD was established in 1983 and is distributed by the Council for Environmental Education through partnerships with state agencies, such as the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

For more information on Project WILD in North Carolina:
In the Mountains region, Outreach Specialist Lindsay Green, (828) 862-8721, lindsay.green@ncwildlife.org.
In the Piedmont region, Outreach Specialist Tanya Poole, (336) 260-6719, tanya.poole@ncwildlife.org.
In the Coastal region, Outreach Specialist Mike Campbell, (252) 514-6663, mike.campbell@ncwildife.org.