By Hallie Hutchins, Parks & Recreation Marketing Assistant
Remember what it was like to play outside as a kid? Running barefoot and feeling the blades of grass between your toes, picking a sweet-smelling wildflower bouquet, digging in the dirt and finding rolly pollies or worms as it sifted through your hands, or molding the soil into dirt cakes and mud castles.
To kids, playing outside is just fun and games, but adults know those activities teach important lessons. Kids discover nature by using their senses, seeing and hearing what’s happening around them, touching what they can reach, and smelling the fresh scents of nature as they run, jump, dig and climb. Despite being raised in today’s entertainment-driven world dominated by electronic devices, children are still natural explorers who benefit from discovering the outdoors.
Texas Parks and Wildlife has created a program called Project WILD and Growing Up Wild that encourages youngsters to explore nature through critical thinking about topics such as wildlife, diversity, and habitats. Students learn ecological, social and political awareness while developing their innate sense of wonder through arts and crafts, music, reading, math, and conservation.
Be a WILD educator
The College Station Parks and Recreation Department invites early childhood educators to learn how to share the fascinating world of wildlife and ecosystems with their students through the WILD program’s instructor certification course from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, May 11 at the Lick Creek Nature Center.
Participants must be at least 16 years old. Onsite registration is available that day (credit card only), or you can register online before the event online at rectrac.cstx.gov. The cost of the course is $50 per person (again, credit card only).
The program’s mission is to have educators help students learn how to think about wildlife, the environment, and conservation. Sound educational practices and theory back the curriculum, which represents the work of experts in the fields of education and natural resource management.
More than one million educators have participated in Project WILD workshops and have gone on to instruct more than 48 million youths.
You can be one of those educators!
For more information visit cstx.gov/lickcreek or call us at 979-764-6216.
About the Blogger
Hallie Hutchins is in her fourth year as a marketing staff assistant in the Parks & Recreation Department after graduating from Texas A&M in 2014 with a degree in sports management. She has previously worked with the Dallas Sidekicks professional soccer team and Texas Team Junior Golf. Originally from White Oak, Hallie also attended Kilgore College and was a member of the famed Kilgore Rangerettes dance team.
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