Welcome

Hello,

The materials for the Piedmont WILD workshops are loaded here for staff use and reference.  These are not for distribution or publishing; they are for use within the workshop, to support you. This delivery medium is efficient and effective.

While we do want educators to have access to materials, we want to encourage people to attend the workshops, not just use the reference materials.  So much happens in the workshops, participants are missing out if they do not see these materials used in context.

Thanks for your help with this end goal.

Bears

RECIPES FOR CUBS

Bugs on a Log
Ingredients: Celery sticks; Cream cheese or Cheez Whiz; Raisins
Directions: Take celery sticks and fill them with cream cheese or Cheez Whiz. Use raisins to put on top for the bugs.

Bear Paw Biscuits
Ingredients: A can of biscuits; Brown sugar; Margarine (melted); Sliced almonds
Directions: Cook biscuits according to package directions. Brush each biscuit with the melted margarine, then sprinkle with brown sugar. While the biscuit is still warm, insert five almond slices around the edge of the biscuit so it looks like a bear paw.

Dirt in a Cup
Ingredients:  Chocolate pudding, Oreo cookie crumbs, Gummy worms,
Glasses (clear plastic are best)
Directions:  Prepare chocolate pudding mix as instructed on package. Fill glasses 3/4 full of pudding. Sprinkle Oreo crumbs on pudding. Stick gummy worms in crumbs. Voila!! Instant cup of dirt with worms to boot!

Aquariums
Ingredients: Blue Jello Powder, Gummy fish, Glasses (clear plastic are best)
Directions:  Prepare blue Jello as directed. Pour into glasses and refrigerate until partially set (about 1 hour). Once partially set insert gummy fish into Jello. Set until firm. There you have it, the kids can now eat their aquariums.

 

How Many Bears (NC)

NC Adapted How Many Bears Lesson Plan

Black Bears in NC: essential information

Biology: color phases, reproduction, torpor, 5 senses, sounds, life cycles.

Behaviors: bluff, charge, predatory, defensive and offensive attacks, tree usage; scent marks, home ranges.

Living with Bears: bear-proof camping, backyard attractants, food conditioning

Population Distribution: coastal versus mountain habitat and sizes, distribution.

Harvest regulations: sustainable harvest, regional differences, cultural carrying capacity.

Bat Species

Piedmont Bats

On Monarchs

Captive raising of monarchs in small numbers can help save lives and support the population.  Large numbers might disrupt existing wild populations, and generational breeding is particularly problematic. As in most cases, providing habitat is a superior way to support wildlife. If you have an acre available for early successional habitat, consider planting milkweed.  For more on how to raise and release monarchs responsibly, see:

Releasing Monarchs

 

 

Citizen Science

The options abound.

Trout in the Classroom

Shad in the Classroom

Frog WATCH

CASP (Frog call surveys)

NCMNS Museum Citizen Science

e-Mammal

Journey North

 

 

A Raptors class

WILD Raptors has a few objectives.

1. Introduction to Raptors
   1. What is a Raptor?
   2. Silouettes
   3. NC Species
   4. Species profiles
   5. Year-round residents v. migrants
   6. Ecoregion, niches and habitat types
   7. Diurnal v. Nocturnal
2. Human-Raptor interactions
   1. Falconry
      1. Apprenticeship process
         1. reading, the test, the mew, equipment, committment, release
      2. Regulations
      3. Hunting with a wild animal; positive discipline
      4. Falconers as conservationists
      5. what, where, when and why to hunt
   2. Conservation practices
      1. International Migratory Bird Act
      2. Kestral boxes
      3. Tracking
      4. Pilot Mountain counts
   3. Organizations and resources
      1. HMANA
      2. American Wildlife Refuge
      3. Carolina Raptor Center
      4. Dan Nicholas Park
      5. The NC Zoo

Raptors: in the classroom

ORGANIZATIONS

• HMANA: Hawk Migration Association of North America
• Haw Count(on-line data gathering) to develop the RPI (Raptor Population Index)
• Catawba river example
• HawkWatch International
• HawkMountain
• Cornell
• American Wildlife Refuge
• Carolina Raptor Center
• Carolina Bird Club (data on NC sightings)

BOOKS

• Peterson Field Guide: Hawks of North America (Second Edition)
• Raptor! A kid’s guide to birds of prey  Christyna M. and Rene Laubach and Charles W.G. Smith.  Storey Publishing
• A Rage for Falcons: Stephen Bodio
• Falconry and Hawking: Philip Glasier
• Understanding the Bird of Prey: Nick Fox

CLASSROOM CONTENT

Art: use silouettes to create window guards for songbirds, or create a raptor mobile.

K: Raptor Similarities and Differences

• crepuscular vs diurnal; owls versus hawks
• two vultures: turkey can smell, blacks cannot; blacks follow turkeys
• Birds of prey have hooked beaks, talons, are carnivores, tear meat with beak.
• Some kill with their feet and eat with their beaks. Falcons stun with feet and kill with sharp beak once prey is on the ground. (This is more suited to Grade 4 since it covers killing; if the student is ready, and asks, answer individually.)
• Raptor wingspan (compared to me)

Grade 1: Raptors have Families (Scientific classification)

• Vultures work together; hawks hunt alone. Vultures related to storks; Hawks related to parrots. See bills and feet.
• 5 diurnal raptor families:
  • Accipitridae: hawks, eagles, buteos, accipiters, harriers, kites and Old World vultures
  • Pandionidae: the osprey
  • Falconidae: falcons
  • Cathartidae: New World vultures (black and turkey)

Grade 2: Raptors have unique Life Cycles

• Sexual dimorphism (female larger).
• Gestation, fledging, learning to hunt (gradual learning process of offspring starting with raw meat, moving to dead prey then to live prey, and chase.)

Grade 3: Raptor species prefer different habitats

1. Northern Harrier “Marsh Hawk”
2. Red-shoulder and Barred Owl: bottomland hardwood, floodplain forest with mature trees. Prey: amphibians. Adaptive. Moving into suburban areas.
3. Red-tailed: agricultural, mature pine forest close to edge, near openings.
   • (Chris Moorman, Brian Chapman)
4. Golden Eagle: altitude above 4,500′ and Lake Mattumuskeet
   • Small, breeding Canadian population (~60) in NC mtns, (GPS)

Grade 4: Raptor Adaptations

• Raptor hunt in different ways. Owls crush and kill prey, Falcons stun and slice the spinal cord, hawks grip and swallow alive. 
• None of this was understood until we had the technology and citizen scientists collecting data and sharing findings/videos.
• NC Geography: species specific information and distribution
• Draw raptors to scale: use grids, sidewalk chalk, transfer from small image to life-size.

Grade 5-6: Use Raptor Migration Flyways to study ecosystems and geography.

• Study climatology/weather (specifically updrafts and thermals) by studying how raptors use them. (see Wind Beneath Their Wings handout from the book: Raptor!)
• Math: Study Bernouli effect and “lift” of the wing.

Crosley’s Guides and Quizzes

All about Crosley’s Guides