MONTPELIER — Vermont’s popular fish and wildlife summer course for teachers and other educators will be held July 16-21. The hands-on field course, which gets educators out into Vermont’s streams, forests and wetlands with some of the state’s leading natural resource experts, takes place at the Buck Lake Conservation Camp in Woodbury.
Now in its 32nd year, “Wildlife Management for Educators,” is a one-week, three-credit graduate course taught by Vermont Fish & Wildlife and other Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) staff through Castleton University.
“Wildlife resources are important to all Vermonters in one way or another,” says Fish & Wildlife’s Education Manager Alison Thomas. “If educators can get connected with the outdoors and in turn expose their students, then many of these students will be able to make informed decisions about Vermont wildlife and their habitat needs when they become adults.
“This course is unique in that it helps non-formal, pre-service educators, as well as pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade teachers from any discipline—math, language arts, physical education, or history—improve their instructional strategies and make their lesson plans more relevant to their students.
“Course participants will include other ANR staff members as well, which provides a valuable opportunity for educators to not only learn from, but also work with Agency staff.
“This course is hands-on and experiential,” added Thomas. “The course continues to evolve and incorporate new environmental education ideas and activities. But, we also continue to do traditional programs that have been part of the week for 31 years. It’s a great mix of new and old with all of it being incredibly helpful and memorable.”
Tuition is $650 for the course with credits and $275 without credits. Books, food and overnight facilities are included. A limited number of partial scholarships are available. A course description and schedule of activities are available from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department’s website at www.vtfishandwildlife.com. You can also contact them by calling (802) 371-9975 or emailing [email protected].
Buck Lake Conservation Camp in located east of Route 14, north of Woodbury Village.