Local teachers spent eight long, exciting days and two river trips with Tetlin Refuge staff and other resource experts becoming "immersed" (pun intended) in a wide variety of outdoor science and EE curricula while actually in the outdoors.  Imagine that! 

A Challenge Cost Share grant between the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Alaska Gateway School District and Canoe Alaska provided the opportunity to introduce teachers to various curricula including Alaska Wildlife Curriculum, Fire in Alaska!, Fisheries, Wetlands & Wildlife, Project Learning Tree, Project WILD, FireWise, Environmental Heroes, Leopold Education Project and numerous others.  Guest experts from other agencies (National Park Service, Alaska State Forestry, and Alaska Fish and Game) shared their knowledge and expertise on various topics and curricula.  Trainers carried the thread of Red Cross Wilderness First Aid Basics through the entire program.

The first two days were strictly classroom: bear safety, Leave No Trace camping, and Wilderness First Aid were the lecture topics.   In the following week, three days were spent on the Refuge canoeing, camping, and discussing the subjects of  wetlands, aquatic life, fisheries, ethics, and orienteering.  None of the participants had ever visited that section of the Refuge before; the birds and wildlife made the experience special, and the outdoor classroom setting helped the teachers relate what they were learning to the natural world.

The following week was the crowning glory...a three-day raft trip through country dependent on fire for its survival.  You can guess the topic focused on here - fire!  We were fortunate to have burn sites of several different ages right at the river's edge.  Those teachable moments came on a regular basis.  Hikes, games, simulations and "teach backs" helped all the participants use what they learned.

Now the teachers will take what they soaked up during the past three weeks back to their classrooms.  Each teacher will develop and teach two two-week units using the curricula of their choice.

The teachers enrolled in the course will each receive two National Geographic Birds of North America books and two pairs of binoculars for their classrooms.  They also received their Red Cross Wilderness First Aid certification as well as three graduate credits for their efforts.