Dear MTN School family,
I am pleased to share that we will be visiting the Pauline Schneegas Wildlife Foundation in early July. That is a tough ticket! And while I could email about camping trips and gear lists scheduled sooner, I want to get the students moving in the right direction for field studies. There are two things we can get ahead on:
1) Wildlife Food Drive and supplies list:
A food drive would be awesome! Here's a short list of items we commonly use:
Cleaning supplies (bleach, hand sanitizer, paper towels, dish soap, nitrile gloves, etc.)
Raw, unseasoned, frozen meats like beef, chicken, venison, elk, fish (we can't use sausage, ham, etc.) - the meat can be several years old as long as it's been frozen
Raw, unseasoned, frozen fruits and veggies
Dry dog and cat food, any brand, and open bags are fine
Canned dog and cat food, any brand
Bird seed, any brand or mix
Chicken or duck feed, any brand
Livestock grains (sheep, goat, cattle)
I really would love to see kids doing most of the legwork on this.
2) Homework assignment #1:
Pauline Schneegas Wildlife Foundation Notecatcher:
Taxonomy is the part of Science where we classify and categorize different species of life. How many of the following are at the PSS Center: A) Birds
B) Reptiles
C) Mammals
D) Other: Which others?
2. How else can you categorize and classify the animals? Be creative!!
3. What are some of the reasons animals need a safe space like PSS for rehabilitation?
4. Please choose one of the animals listed as a resident on the PSS website. Write a report that includes: Scientific Name, Habitat and Native Range (where does this animal typically live?), status- is this animal threatened, endangered, near-threatened, vulnerable? What specific threats apply to this species? Finally, please look up one noteworthy story about this species and retell it.
For example: I found a story about a wolf named OR-7 who made an amazing journey of 4,000 miles across the Pacific Northwest. He was also named “Journey” because Biologists who collared and tracked him knew he was the first Wolf to revisit the area West of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon since 1947 when wolves were eradicated from the region by humans.
Review:
The report above mentions 5 things that you must include. Please reread #4 and make sure you see the five things. The students who are chosen to attend this very special field study will be chosen because they show sincere passion for their subjects, attention to detail, and go “above and beyond” to prepare for the field study. They will also earn their way into the field trip by gathering food and supplies for the PSS animals. Please ask Mr. Canady if you have questions.
It would be great for kids and parents to sign up for the app because we will use this avenue to communicate and we want to see interactivity and a high rate of completion on occasional HW and pre-work.
Please stay in touch and help us build towards a great Summer!
Respectfully,
Mr. Ben
(970)989-4238