Black Hills Audubon is an all-volunteer organization working to conserve birds and their habitats and to foster an appreciation of the natural world in our community. Here are organizations with which we work to promote these goals with youth:
- North Thurston School District
- Capitol Land Trust – Birds in the Wood
- Thurston Conservation District – Student GREEN Congress
- Capitol Land Trust & Shelton Library – Story Trail Bayshore Preserve
- Olympia Regional Learning Academy
Opportunities that the BHAS Education Committee has to offer teachers:
In-Class Presentations
“What Makes a Bird a Bird?” Illustrated talk for 2nd– to 6th-graders. The presentation covers the physical characteristics that set birds apart from reptiles and mammals and how they are adapted for flying.
“How Climate Change Affects Birds?” Illustrated talk for middle and high schoolers which discusses the mechanisms by which climate change is affecting bird populations.
“Bird Beaks!” Illustrated presentation for elementary- and middle schoolers about the different types of beaks that birds have, and how they are adapted for acquiring different types of food. (This can be followed up by a separate hands-on demonstration of the uses of the different bill types.)
“Bird/Plant Symbiosis” An illustrated presentation for middle- and high-school students on the intersecting needs of birds and plants. Neither can survive without the other!
“Common, Local Birds” Presentation can be modified for any age group, and it can be followed by a walk around your school to find the birds.
“How does a dinosaur evolve into a bird?” Presentation can be modified for 5th-12th graders and covers the evolution of modern birds from non-avian dinosaurs.
“Using Bird Feeders to Teach Students How to Collect and Graph Data”: This would be an ongoing activity in which we would help you set up and conduct an observational study of the birds seen on feeders outside your classroom window and then work with the students to graphically represent their data. This could be scaled for 2nd through 5th graders.
Field Trips
A half-day session at the Inspiring Kids Preserve with four activities: bird resources scavenger hunt, bird song identification, wetland bird characteristics, and beak shape and food selection.
For schools that have natural outdoor space, we can set up a scavenger hunt looking for wooden bird models that includes information about the birds and their lifestyles.
If you are interested in any of these offerings, or if you have another idea as to how we can bring the excitement of birds to your students, please contact Kim Adelson, Education Chair at education@blackhills-audubon.org or Janet DeLapp, Youth Outreach Coordinator at youth@blackhills-audubon.org.