2016 Annual Report • Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 27
G R A N T H E L P S E L E M E N T A R Y S T U D E N T S L E A R N A B O U T
O U T D O O R S
Game and Parks partnered with North Platte's Lincoln Elementary School to
teach fourth- and fifth-grade students about the outdoors. Public information
officer Julie Geiser taught kids various lifelong outdoor skills, including how
to set up a tent and how to build and maintain a fire. Geiser worked with
the school district to apply for a grant to buy tents, camping supplies and
other gear. The Nebraska Department of Education grant was a win-win for
Game and Parks and the school. The equipment will allow Game and Parks
to help youth and adults to experience the outdoors for years to come, while
participating students learned lifelong skills, as well as about careers working
with Nebraska's outdoor resources.
P R I O R I T I Z I N G W I L D L I F E E D U C A T I O N
Since its inception in 1983, Nebraska Project WILD has grown to include
trainings for teachers and educators focusing on several conservation and
environmental education resources for use in classrooms. These include Project
WILD, Aquatic WILD, Growing Up WILD, Flying WILD, as well as topic-specific
workshops such as pollinators, bats, birds, mammals and seasons. A 2016 survey
revealed that workshop participants are using the resources more than once per
year. Overall, the survey revealed that regardless of the time allocated to science
and conservation education in Nebraska's classrooms, educators are finding time
to use Project WILD and Growing Up WILD. Additionally, the survey revealed the
desires of constituents for future educational resources and workshops.
GEISER
TEACHES
A
NORTH
PLATTE
ELEMENTARY
CLASS
OUTDOOR
SKILLS
