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    Project WILD Cirriculum cover

    Educator Workshops

    Pennsylvania Game Commission staff, in conjunction with our partners at Department of Conservation & Natural Reources, offer FREE professional development workshops for educators. These workshops are intended to support educators by providing in-depth background information, hands-on learning experiences, the opportunity to ask questions, and to build community. 

    View Upcoming Events

    Professional Development

    The Pennsylvania Game Commission offers a variety of professional development opportunities for:

    • Classroom Teachers (pre-Kindergarden to college level)
    • Pre-service Teachers
    • Non-formal Environmental Educators

    Workshops can be:

    • Hosted at Game Commission or State Park sites
    • Scheduled for a school or district
    • Virtual
    • Hybrid (in-person and virtual)

    Educators can find upcoming professional development trainings offered by the Game Commision on our Upcoming Events page or Bureau of State Parks Calendar of Events - Educator Workshops. If one of the family of Project WILD educator workshop is not scheduled near you, one could be coordinated and facilitated at your local state park, school, or nature center (minimum 10 or more workshop participants).

    All curricula address the Pennsylvania Department of Education standards, including Pennsylvania's Science, Technology and Engineering, Environmental Literacy, and Sustainability (STEELS) standards.

    For Pennsylvania-certified educators, Act 48 hours are offered for all curricula listed.

    black bear
    Upcoming Event!

    WILD About Black Bears Educator Workshop

    • DATE/TIME: Thursday, June 26, 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM
    • LOCATION: PGC Northcentral Regional Office, 1566 Rt 44 Hwy, Jersey Shore, PA
    • Act 48: 6 hrs.
    • FEE: Free! Pre-registration Required.

    Join the PA Game Commission for an immersive Project WILD professional development opportunity! Both formal and non-formal educators are invited to participate and receive a copy of the award-winning Project WILD K-12 Curriculum & Activity Guide which offers wildlife and conservation-themed lesson plans with 3-dimensional learning activities. Although not guaranteed, efforts will be made to have a live Black Bear on site to be temporarily tranquilized, safely evaluated, and tagged. Registration is limited to 25 participants and there is no registration fee required for this workshop.

     

    Questions? Contact Jake Smith at smjaco@pa.gov or 717-676-3086.

    Register NOW!
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    Project WILD

    Project WILD seeks to provide wildlife-based conservation and environmental education lessons that foster responsible actions toward wildlife. All materials are designed for teachers, non-formal educators, college professors, youth group educators, and more. The guides are backed by sound educational practices and theory. Project WILD is one of the most widely used environmental education curriculum among K-12 educators. Nationally, Project WILD is managed by the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (AFWA). In Pennsylvania, Project WILD is managed by the Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. 

    Project WILD: A Kindergarden-12 Curriculum and Activity Guide for Educators

    The Project WILD Guide is a wildlife-focused, award-winning interdisciplinary conservation and environmental education curriculum containing 81 activities. The goal of Project WILD educator trainings is to develop awareness, knowledge, skills, and commitment resulting in informed decisions, responsible behavior, and constructive actions concerning wildlife and the environment.

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    Growing Up WILD: Exploring Nature with Young Children

    Growing Up WILD is a multi-award-winning early childhood curriculum that builds on children’s sense of wonder about nature and invites them to explore wildlife and the world around them through scientific inquiry, art projects, music and movement, reading and math connections, and more. The guide contains 27 field-tested, hands-on, nature-based, ready-made thematic units for ages 3 to 7. The guide is now also available in Spanish, and it is correlated to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Standards and the Head Start Domains.

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    Aquatic Project WILD Kindergarden-12 Curriculum and Activity Guide

    Aquatic WILD utilizes the successful Kindergarten-12 format of the Project WILD Guide with 55 activities that emphasize aquatic wildlife and aquatic ecology.

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    Flying WILD - Birds Across the Curriculum: An Activity Module for Grade 5-8 Educators

    Eight hands-on activities that focus on birds.

    Learn More

    Climate and Wildlife: An Activity Module for Grade 6-12 Educators

    Eight climate-focused WILD activities.

    Learn More
    songbirds book cover

    Pennsylvania Songbirds

    Pennsylvania Songbirds is an activity guide for Kindergarten through 8th grade practicing and pre-service teachers, school administrators, college professors, and non-formal educators who would like to engage children in science and our environment through the wonderful world of birds.

    Using birds as a lens to explore science and ecology concepts and investigate environmental issues, the curriculum covers topics such as climate change, land-use and planning, real-time monitoring and research, service learning, and stewardship.  It was designed to link science and the environment with other subject areas such as English, language arts, art, and math; all with the common goal of helping students gain the skills and knowledge needed to make decisions, problem-solve, and address integrated issues in this ever-changing world. 

    songbirds book cover

    Pennsylvania Biodiversity

    Pennsylvania Biodiversity Guide for Grades 6-10 contains 12 Pennsylvania-specific, biodiversity-focused activities and an extensive, well-researched background section. The guide was developed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Biological Survey, and is based on the World Wildlife Fund’s “Windows on the WILD: Biodiversity Basics” Curriculum.

    Questions?

    Contact us!

    For questions about professional development, educator workshops, or Project WILD, please reach out. We will be happy to assist!

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