At the Elmer E. Rasmuson Wildlife Conservation Center
Each year hundreds of students (ranging from kindergarten through 12th grade) and teachers visit the Elmer E. Rasmuson Wildlife Conservation Center and the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch. These workshops and field trips provide a new perspective that will help foster a passion for science and discovery and a commitment to care for the wildlife in the natural world. Below you find information about some of the different workshops and field trips available.
Grade School youth engage in a Macro Invertebrate study with Conservation Educators from the Lee and Penny Anderson Wildlife Conservation Education Program at Dupuyer Creek west of the Elmer E. Rasmuson Wildlife Conservation Center on the TRMR.
Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) is an international, interdisciplinary, water science and education program for formal and non-formal educators of K-12 students.
Since its inception in 1984, the program has attracted global interest. The goal of the Project WET program is to facilitate and promote the awareness, appreciation, knowledge, and stewardship of water resources through the development and dissemination of classroom ready teaching aids and the establishment of state and internationally sponsored Project WET programs.
Project WILD is a conservation and environmental education program especially designed for teachers of kindergarten through high school youth. Project WILD is co-sponsored by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the Western Regional Environmental Education Council, Inc.
Project WILD About Elk is just one part of the Project WILD program. The TRM Ranch and the Boone and Crockett Education Program hosted a Project WILD about Elk workshop. Teachers learned what an elk is and where they live, about the history of elk, the future of elk, and much more.
BOONE AND CROCKETT CONSERVATION
The Conservation Education has available several modules relating to activities which can be conducted at the TRM Ranch. Some of the modules include:
GRIZZLY BEAR ECOLOGY ALONG THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT (7th - 12th Grade Unit - 3 days ) Day one and Day three are spent in the classroom. Day two will take the students to the TRM Ranch where they will learn about grizzly bear habitat, trapping for research and how radio telemetry is used as a management tool. Students learn about the physical characteristics of grizzly bears and be able to describe the similarities to and differences from black bears. They will also learn about grizzly bear behavior, habitat use, and food requirements.
LANDFORMS AND GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT (5th - 9th Grade Unit - 3 days) Day one and Day three are spent in the classroom. Day two will take the students to the TRM Ranch where they will be stationed at an observation point and the group will discuss the geological history and the lay of the land. Students learn about plains, plateaus, and mountains, as well as rock layers, erosion, glacial landforms, and continental drift.
THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT ECOSYSTEM - ITS COMPONENTS, MANAGEMENT, AND FUTURE (8th - 12th Grade Unit - 3 days) Day one and Day three are spent in the classroom. Day two will take the students to the TRM Ranch where they learn about and use topographical maps and compasses. Discussion will also include the types of wildlife and plant life found in the area, abiotic components of the ecosystem, and how the land is being managed.
LANDSCAPE is a 28-minute video tape that was initially produced with the goal of providing the public with a balanced view about the complex and often controversial issue of grazing on public lands. After the initial screening, many teachers felt the video would make an excellent learning tool for the classroom. Therefore, a committee was formed with representatives from Agriculture in Montana Schools, Boone and Crockett Club, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The committee developed a guide for teachers to use with the Landscape video. Some of the key concepts explored in Landscape are:
Cooperation between people involved in livestock production and wildlife management
Different artists perceptions of the landscape of the West
Healthy habitat is key to healthy animals
Plants - a renewable resource
Changing the focus of management from livestock and wildlife to the land itself
LEOPOLD EDUCATION PROJECT
The Leopold Education Project (LEP) is an innovative, interdisciplinary, educational program based on the classic writings of the renowned conservationist, Aldo Leopold. The LEP was developed to teach the public about humanity's ties to the natural world and to provide leadership in the effort to conserve and protect the earth's natural resources.
The goal of LEP is to instill a love, a respect, and an admiration for the land, leading to an ecologically literate citizenry with an intense consciousness of the earth.