'Nature of Learning' grant to support and enhance the

environmental education program at Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge.

Through this grant the National Aquarium will enhance conservation

education efforts at Eastern Neck by conducting

environmental education and stewardship activities for students and

teachers from the community surrounding the refuge. The proposal is a

partnership between the Aquarium, Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, the Friends of Eastern Neck

National Wildlife Refuge, and a Kent County, Maryland school.

Emphasizing Eastern Neck's designation by the American Bird

Conservancy as a U.S. Important Bird Area, this project will focus on

interpreting bird migration trends and promoting awareness of the

critical role the refuge plays in the conservation of bird populations.

Using the refuge as an outdoor classroom, hands-on educational

activities will include bird identification, monitoring, data analysis,

and habitat enhancement projects. Participants will learn

about conservation issues affecting the refuge and the bay, as seen from

a bird's eye view, and improve their understanding of how everyday

actions and behaviors are closely connected to wildlife and habitat

conservation. It will help build the educational value of Eastern Neck

National Wildlife Refuge, facilitate connections between the local community and the refuge,

engage students in place-based environmental education that will enhance

their critical thinking skills and prepare them as future community

leaders, and provide opportunities that will inspire individual and

community-based environmental stewardship to achieve the goals of the

Nature of Learning initiative.

Working within the framework of The Nature of Learning environmental

education initiative, the project is designed t

* Promote a greater understanding of conservation issues at

Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge and its significance as a U.S. Important Bird Area.

* Provide an environmental education experience that spurs

students' critical thinking skills, which will help prepare them as

future community leaders.

* Forge a direct partnership between students and teachers from

local schools and Eastern Neck refuge professionals and supporters, and

lays a foundation for future refuge-community relationships.

* Create professional development opportunities with the support

of project partners.

* Develop and nurture citizen-based environmental stewardship and

involvement using Eastern Neck refuge as an outdoor classroom.

An estimated 100 students and their teachers from middle and high

schools in Kent County, Maryland will benefit from the project.

Approximately 30-35 students will participate in one of three

bird-themed field trips that will include hands-on learning stations and

stewardship activities. Pre-trip activities will include classroom

lessons based on avian biology and ecology, migration habits, and the

importance of refuge habitat for bird conservation, as well as

accompanying lessons about the Chesapeake Bay that conform to Maryland

Science Content Standards. Each field trip will culminate in a

discussion of the impact of humans on birds and their migration

patterns. While in the field, students will rotate through various

hands-on learning stations that include:

* Identification of bird species using binoculars, reviewing bird

guides, and listening for bird calls.

* Evaluation of types and importance of bird habitat and

structures.

* Collection and analysis of bird monitoring data.

Field trips will also include planting trees and shrubs to improve

habitat and assembling and maintaining nest boxes and feeders. These

stewardship activities will result in direct benefits to birds and other

wildlife through habitat enhancement. The project will also strengthen

the Aquarium's relationship with Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge and the Friends of

Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, as well as enhance its on-going habitat

restoration projects and interpretive nature walk and kayak trail

projects at the refuge.

The Aquarium will provide facilities and management oversight of this project.

As with any project, success in achieving our goals is based on partner support.

Staff in the Conservation and Education Departments will work in partnership

with public and private partners including academic institutions, citizens groups,

and state and federal agencies to support project activities. In order to develop a

support network for the school and involve citizens in the program, other partners

will provide assistance including the Aquarium Conservation Team (ACT!), Friends of Eastern Neck Refuge, Maryland Conservation Corps and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The refuge has served as an outdoor classroom to many school groups and other

organizations for many years. Frequent requests from local schools makes it

impossible to discontinue this types activity. The grant and partnership

will allow the refuge to continue to provide quality environmental education

programs while placing little stress on limited staff time.