Environment Education
Programs
NNC is a non-profit facility organized in
1986 and cooperates with the DNR to provide educational programs. It relies on
donations and modest fees to sustain its programming. Besides school programs,
NNC offers many public programs focusing on the flora & fauna of the
Navarino Wildlife Area.
NNC's many miles of trails wind around and through prairie, forest and wetland communities. This unique educational setting, offers people of all ages and levels of ability the chance to grow and understand our natural environment.
The following is a list of Environmental
Education programs offered by NNC.
School visits (all year) programs relate to current studies and are adapted to support the Wisconsin Educational Standards.
Grades: K 4 Limit: 50 students Length: 1 2 hours or Full
Day
Explore the most popular layer of the forest the forest floor. Look for pillbugs, sowbugs, termites, ants, spiders and a host of other decomposers
as you dig into leaf litter and fallen logs.
Get a feel for decomposition, microhabitats and communities.
When: April, May, June, Sept, Oct.
Forestry
Grades: 4 8 Limit: 50 students Length:
1 2 hours or Full Day
Students learn to identify trees by bark, bud, leaves,
fruit and nuts. Determine the height of
a tree, diameter, and crown spread.
Also look at which areas of the forest provide the best cover and habitat
for wildlife.
When: April, May, June, Sept, Oct.
Insects & Invertebrates
Grades: 1 8 Limit: 50 students Length:
2 3 hours
Explore prairie, forest and pond habitats on the
wildlife area. Collect and classify
various types of insects and invertebrates.
Discover what makes insects unique, and how vital they are to many other creatures existence.
When: April, May, June, July
Pond Study
Grades: 1 8 Limit:
50 students Length: 1- 1
½ hours
Ponds provide habitat to many aquatic
invertebrates. Join in the search for
these tiny creatures, collect, study and observe their adaptations to live
underwater. How do aquatic invertebrates
fit into the web of life?
When: April, May, June
Wetland Study
Grades: 1 8 Limit: 50 students Length:
1 2 hours
Explore the various habitats of the Navarino Wildlife Area, including
ponds, marshes, bogs and woodland swamps.
Observe some of the differences and similarities between the types of
wetlands. Discuss the history, value
and importance of our wetlands and their future.
When:
April, May, June, July, Aug, Sept.
Water Monitoring
Grades: 5 8 Limit:
50 students Length: 1
1 ½ hours
Why is it necessary to test our water?
Bring several water samples and find out yourself by testing them for
dissolved oxygen, nitrates, hydrogen sulfide, iron, and phosphates. Is your water safe to drink, and safe for
wildlife?
When:
April, May, June, July, Aug, Sept. *Material Fee
Prairie Study
Grades: K 8 Limit: 50 students Length: 2 hours or Full Day
Discover what it is like to stand in the middle of a tall grass prairie
with grasses 8 ft tall. Explore and
identify the various types of grasses and flowers that make up our
prairie. Help to collect seeds. Look for tree frogs, caterpillars and insect
galls. Learn about the history,
management, and wildlife of the prairie.
When: Aug, Sept, Oct
Seeds
Grades: 1 4 Limit: 50 students Length:
1 2 hours
Seeds are everywhere! Learn about the many forms seeds can take, how seeds travel to new environments. Learn about special adaptations of seeds.
When: Aug, Sept, Oct
Survival Skills
Grades: 3 8 Limit: 50 students Length:
2 3 hours or Full Day
Discover various methods of wilderness survival: how to use a compass, how to tell time
without a watch, how to construct emergency shelter, how to locate and make
safe drinking water. Discover different
methods of fire construction and fire starting.
When: April, Sept, Oct, Nov
Winter Wonderland
Grades: K 4 Limit:
50 students Length: 1
3 hours
Look for wildlife tracks in the woods under the blanket of new fallen snow. Tracks often seen include: turkey, otter,
mice, deer, rabbit, squirrel and others.
Where do the wildlife go
during the winter? What do they do? How do they keep warm? Come and find out.
When: Dec, Jan, Feb, March
Winter Ecology
Grades: 5 8 Limit: 50 students Length: 2 3 hours
Everything looks different in the winter. The landscape may look still but the wildlife is very active. Explore and follow various animal tracks, and try to conclude information about the animals daily routine. Look for signs of insect activity, dormant plants, and frost / ice development. If snow conditions are right, students will study on snowshoes.
When:
Dec, Jan, Feb, March
Snowshoeing
Grades: 3 8 Limit: 50 students Length:
1 3 hrs
Learn about the history of snowshoes, how they are made and why we snowshoe. Follow the naturalist through the woods, wetlands and prairies of Navarino on snowshoes. We will search for wildlife, as we float on top of the snow.
When: Jan., Feb.
Traveling
Naturalist programs offered at your school or NNC
Grades: 4 8 Limit: 20 30 students Length:
2 hours
Students discover how biologists identify wolves from dogs, write management plans, and fascinating facts about wolves.
Black Bears
Grades: 4 8 Limit: 20 30 students Length:
2 hours
What does a bear eat?
What sort of hibernation period do they have? First students compare
their growth to that of a black bear, and then later they pretend to be bears
foraging for food to get through the winter.
Students will observe and discuss bear skulls, tracks, and pelts.
Whitetail Deer
Grades: 4 8 Limit: 25 students Length:
1 2 hours
Deer populations keep growing. How do managers know the size and age of the
herd? What can you learn about a deer
from its teeth? Examine how populations
change, what types of management are used on herds. Look at some historical uses for deer hides
and bones.
Marvelous Mammals
Grades: Pre-K 3 Limit:
25 students Length: 1
hour
Have you ever wondered what a bear skin feels
like? Ever feel a badgers claws? How big are a beavers
teeth? Look at and touch study skins,
tracks and skulls of our
Mammal Box
Grades: 4 8 Limit: 25 students Length:
1 2 hours
Students identify and study a wildlife pelt, skull,
track, and information sheet. They will
act as wildlife biologists trying to determine a management plan for their
animal. Should their animal be hunted or
protected? How do they keep wildlife in
the balance?
Skulls, Antlers, and Horns This activity is for grades K 12 and takes 1 to 2 hours to
complete. Students gain an understanding
of natural history by investigating animal skulls, and by viewing a naturalist
presented slideshow on skulls, antlers and horns.
Wildlife Trees This activity is for grades K - 12 and takes 1 to 2 hours
complete. Introducing
students to the many ways that humans and wildlife use trees, including the
value of snags and down logs.
Wildlife Biologists This activity is for grades K - 12 and takes 1 to 2 hours
complete. Find out what it takes to be a
Wildlife Biologist, including monitoring populations, conducting wildlife
surveys, identification and orienteering / mapping.
Energy and Society This activity is for grades Pre-K to 8th and takes 1 to 2
hours to complete. Energy and Society
integrates music and dance to enhance the study of energy issues.
Give Burn Barrels the Boot
This activity is for grades 4th and 5th on the issue of
burning household trash.
Easy Breathers This activity is for high school students, one hour to
complete. Video /
discussion on how auto mobiles affect the environment.
All About Birds This activity
is for grades K to 8th, and takes 1 - 2 hours to complete. Students learn how to use binoculars, bird
identification, observation skills and classification.
*Text -
means that the program currently addresses the
To Schedule a Group
Length
of Programs:
Grades Pre-K to 2nd. Half day 9 am
Grades
3 - 8 Half or Whole Day
Class
Size:
NNC
will accept only 2 Classes at a time. Total Group size about 50
students.
Exceptions
may be made with advance notice and planning.
Fees: