Schedule a Virtual TRIP: Discover ​HOW TO SAVE A SPECIES FROM EXTINCTION.​


Virtual trips engage students (grades 3-12) 
​
​in real-world conservation science. 

What is Jr. Wildlife biologists Investigate! 

This is an interactive virtual or onsite presentation that showcases animals in their habitats and the work of conservation scientists. Students will use scientific thinking as they investigate: 
​
  1. How are biologists using scientific methods & tools in the race to mitigate population and habitat declines?​ 
  2. What are various wildlife ecosystem roles (with a focus on vultures and monarch butterflies)?​

​Why Participate?

Benefits for Teachers & Students: 

Meet your curriculum standards for environmental science while providing real-world ecological and conservation literacy for students.
​
  • Teachers around the world: Enrich your teaching units about conservation, animal adaptations, food chains, habitats, ecosystems and biodiversity.  
  • Students will learn how scientists use traditional scientific methods and tools and modern technologies to provide credible scientific data to support legislation and rehabilitation programs.
  • American Teachers:  Resources meet U.S. Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards.
  • Canadian Teachers: Curriculum-Aligned for Earth Science units
  • ​Fun and engaging presentations with resources.

How to Participate:  

Book + Educator Guides + Presentation + Citizen Science & Stewardship Activities
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 Step 1
  Explore Vulture Biology:
  Adaptations, Niche, etc.


  •  First, Read the Book: Survival Secrets of Turkey Vultures, and check out back-matter activities.
  •  Then, Download free Educator Guide (a book bonus). Includes a Bingo Game to reinforce scientific vocabulary.
  1.  Another Bonus: Download ​free Animal Adaptations Writing Activity​.

Step 2
Pick a Program:

Jr. Biologists Will Investigate:
  • Biodiversity, Food Webs, and Wildlife Ecosystem Services with a Focus on Vultures
  • Scientific Tools and Methods Used by Conservation Scientits to Protecty Species from Human Threats
           
​Students will travel around the world to observe vultures in their habitats and meet conservation scientists in action!
​     

Step 3
ACTion 
​ Conservation Science Data, Citizen Science Activities. ​

After your Skype Session, you will be sent Post-Skype ​Citizen Science activities
from Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, VulPro (Vulture Conservation Programme), and Condor Watch.

2 Program
​Options:

I donate a limited number of free ​15-minute sessions each year. I will send your class a short Sway presentation that will provide a snapshot of conservation basics. Students must complete the Sway presentation before the session.
Skype Class or local on-site class: (for on-site visits, mileage may be extra)
​
Benefits:​
  • Will feature how scientists are trying to save the Monarch migration throughout Canada, the United States and Mexico.
  • I will take students on a global trip (via Skype or In-Person) to visit animals in their habitats and the scientists who are trying to save species from extinction.
  • Q & A at end of session.
  • Kits and resources for easy, actionable steps to make a difference.

Gallery

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Sardinia: School kids of Bosa help biologists release 2 griffon vultures that biologists have rehabilitated (& attached with data loggers). Source: Vulture Conservation Foundation

Why Engage in Conservation Science? 
Conservation biology is a complex, multi-disciplinary field that is still evolving to meet the rapid rate of Earth's biodiversity loss. 
​
According to the Society of Conservation Biology:
  • "Scientists say there is a biodiversity crisis because the current rate of extinction is roughly 100-1,000 times faster than the natural rate.​
  • Besides diminishing the natural world around us, scientists believe that this loss of biodiversity will harm people.
  • ​This is because we depend on nature for food, medicines (such as cancer treatments), industrial products (such as oils and resins), and vital ecosystem services (such as water purification, erosion control, and climate control)."​​
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​                  Image: ICUN   

Why Vultures?
  • Earth's 23 vulture species provide vital ecosystems services on every continent except Australia and Antarctica.  

However, according to the scientists at BirdLife International:

​"Worldwide, vultures are considered one of the most threatened groups of birds. Eleven African-Eurasian species are at risk of extinction in our lifetimes." ​
"It's too important not to put this in perspective:
  • Across Asia, Africa and Europe, vultures are in serious trouble. These unsung heroes face mass poisonings, catastrophic and unprecedented population declines, and negative perceptions – when in fact they are nature's sanitary workers, worthy of celebration.
  • If effective action is not taken now, 11 of 16 vulture species in Africa, Asia and Europe are at risk of extinction in our lifetimes (8 are categorised as Critically Endangered; 3 are Endangered).
  • Their loss would be disastrous for human health (and economies) too.

This is why the BirdLife Partnership is working across three continents, and through international policy, to save our so-ugly-they-are-beautiful and important disease-defeating vultures. "

 Find out more about BirdLife's vulture conservation, and what you can do.

​Engaging the Next Generation
​of Citizens
​
As future decision makers, kids need to learn about vultures and their vital ecosystem services.

​The recent Asian vulture crisis (which saw 3 species of Gyps vultures collapse by nearly 96% over a 10 year period during the late 1990s) has provided scientific evidence that vultures provide the essential ecosystem services of purifying ecosystems and preventing the spread of diseases. (Statistic source from the 2015 Scientific Study: Another Continental Vulture Crisis: Africa's Vultures Collapsing toward Extinction. Conservation Letters.)
​
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  Logo of International
  Union for Conservation
  of Nature and Natural
  Resources.

  The IUCN Red List of Threatened
  Species™ is widely recognized as the
  most comprehensive, objective global
  approach for evaluating the conservation
​   status of plant and animal species.
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Image: United States Fish & Wildlife Service
Conservation Scientists use technology and traditional methods for gathering data to help them understand & protect species populations and the habitats they depend on to survive & thrive.
A Raptor Biologist from Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania uses a spotting scope to to make observations during a Roadside Survey of Turkey and Black Vultures.