Organization Name:

Bitter Root Land Trust

Grade Levels Served:

K-12

Cost:

N/A

Scholarships Available:

N/A

Objectives/Montana Content Standards Connected:

N/A

Description of Program:

Information regarding the conservation easement tool, benefits of conservation in terms of the protection of open agricultural lands, wildlife habitat, water resources and fisheries, open space for recreation (fishing, hunting, hiking, birding, etc.).

Additional Information:

BRLT is able to provide presentations and information to government classes regarding the Ravalli County Open Lands Bond Program, as well as the potential to partner with classes to provide locations on private, conserved lands to learn more about the conservation easement tool and land stewardship.

Contact Information:

Stephanie Sipe, Communications Director, stephanie@bitterrootlandtrust.org 406-375-0956

Organization Name:

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Grade Levels Served:

4th or 5th

Cost:

Free

Scholarships Available:

N/A

Objectives/Montana Content Standards Connected:

To introduce students to Montana fish and their habitats and give them practical knowledge to go fishing as well.

Description of Program:

Program includes lessons in Fish ID, Fish Art, Anatomy/Fish Dissection or simulation, Fish Habitat, Casting and Fishing

Additional Information:

Program is typically taught monthly Jan-May with an end of the year field trip.

Contact Information:

Vivaca Crowser; 406-542-5518 or vcrowser@mt.gov

Program Name:

Jack Creek Preserve offers a variety of programs!
Youth Camps: Archery Skills Camp, Outdoor Skills Camp, Winter Outdoor Skills Camp

Youth Conservation Education:  JCPF offers many topics for visiting school groups. We can be a destination for hosting field trips at our Outdoor Education Center. 
More info on programming: Educational Programming

Adult Workshops: Our Conservation Field School is all about teaching adults! We have many workshops for adults to connect with nature and learn about conservation. We also provide educator workshops where teachers can learn about conservation education curriculum to include in their classrooms and earn OPI credits.

Organization Name: 

Jack Creek Preserve Foundation

Grade Levels Served:

All Grade Levels and Adults/Educators

Cost:

Cost varies depending on the program. Our multi-day summer and winter camps range from $300-400. To get an estimate of field trip cost visit our rate estimator on our website. Our adult workshops range in price of $30-200 depending on the program. 

Scholarships Available: 

We do offer scholarships for all of our youth camps. Keeping all of our programming accessible and affordable is important to us so we do our best to work with groups or individuals.  

Objectives/Montana Content Standards Connected:

The variety of our programming topics and ability to serve all grade levels allows us to hit many learning objectives and Montana Core Standards. 

Description of Program:
Our programming is diverse! We offer topics such as: wildlife ID, wildlife management, hunting in conservation, elk ecology, water ecology, science inquiry, botany, compass and navigation, backcountry preparedness, wilderness first aid skills and much more!

More info on programming: Educational Programming

Additional Information:

We can develop personalized programs that can accommodate various group sizes, durations, and topics. 

Contact Information:

Teachers can reach out to Jack Creek Preserve Foundation to learn more and talk with our Conservation Education Director to develop a program that fits their needs. We have an online form that initiates that process or they can reach out to: Addison Perryman, a.perryman@jackcreekpreserve.org, 406-682-3358

Organization Name:

Northern Rockies Nature Journaling

Grade Levels Served:

Grades 3 through 12

Cost:

$60.00 per hour, costs may be lowered by bundling classes

Scholarships Available:

No scholarships available at this time

Objectives/Montana Content Standards Connected:

Northern Rockies Nature Journaling provides educational opportunities through nature journaling to people of all ages that will engage them with nature and with each other. Their experiences will lead to increased stewardship and understanding of the natural world.

Description of Program:

Our programs guide individuals in using their nature journal to explore nature, learn the natural history of the landscape and its inhabitants. Engaging with nature outside is most effective but our activities can be conducted indoors. 

Additional Information:

A budget-friendly materials list is provided upon request and typically includes a small journal, pencils, colored pencils and access to rulers.  The content and duration of our program is age-appropriate and usually does not exceed an hour.  Our instructors have many years of instruction experience and/or are certified nature journal educators. 

Contact Information: 

Northern Rockies Nature Journaling

Valerie Bayer

northernrockiesnaturejournal@gmail.com

406-282-1240

Northernrockiesnaturejournaling.org

Organization Name:

Ravalli County Weed District

Grade Levels Served:

All ages, youth to adults

Cost:

Cost for our education services

Scholarships Available:

NO costs to our programs so financial assistance options are not needed

Objectives/Montana Content Standards Connected:

Objectives: To teach youth and adults the importance of vegetation management from natives to invasives; to educate and incorporate the proper techniques for the management; to actually preform treatments; and to offer landowner assistance so they can manage their land.   

Description of Program:

Ravalli County Weed District is a county office that treats noxious weeds along with free landowner education opportunities. Educating both youth and adults in classroom and outdoor settings. We offer granting and cost share programs for on the ground treatments. We offer free in person land visits and help development management plans that fit the owner’s goals, budget and values. We have a native garden we use to educate the public and we offer native plants for sale.  We also preform roadside agreements, subdivision and gravel pit inspections, weed seed free certified inspections. We offer Bio-control education and product when available.

Additional Information:

Ravalli County weed district has a great classroom curriculum to teach students and teachers and we come armed with all the supplies and materials needed. Usually we like to do a couple of hours in a classroom and them take the class to an outdoor location and do a half day outdoor activity like a weed pull or planting trees and natives. This program does require a bussing program to site of outdoor activity and the weed district does not have funding for that.

Contact Information:

Ravalli County Weed District. Mailing: P.O. Box 194 Victor Mt 59875 Physical: 121 South Tudor Street Victor Mt 59875

Kellieann Fillingham: kfillingham@rc.mt.gov

Sarah Holmes: sholmes@rc.mt.gov

406-777-5842

Organization Name:

Teton Raptor Center

Grade Levels Served:

3rd-12th

Cost:

No.

Scholarships Available:

No.

Objectives/Montana Content Standards Connected:

To encourage the use of lead-free ammunition and tackle in the field and promote the conservation ethics of our sporting communities. 

Description of Program:

We're an educational initiative and can gear our outreach efforts depending on the audience. For hunter education classrooms, we can do a presentation with hands-on learning tools. For classrooms or as an activity for younger students, we have a great "Raptor Relay" game where students can learn about the impacts of lead from sporting activities. For older students (high school) we have a science module that teachers can use to teach about chemistry, research, data interpretation, graph making, and scientific communications. The science modules focus on place-based problems from research done in the West.

Additional Information:

The Raptor Relay can be done in small groups. The science module is currently broken into 5 sections, but can be combined or expanded depending on the classroom. These are also available in Spanish.

Contact Information:

Hannah Leonard, hannah@sportingleadfree.org

Organization Name:

Teller Wildlife Refuge

Grade Levels Served:

K-12

Cost:

N/A

Scholarships Available:

N/A

Objectives/Montana Content Standards Connected:

N/A; We are happy to design a lesson to fit into any Montana or NGSS standards you are teaching in your classroom. We will then tie those standards into conservation ideas related to the Bitterroot Valley and Teller Wildlife Refuge.

Description of Program:

Teller Wildlife Refuge offers place-based, hands-on conservation education that connects students with Montana's wildlife and natural resources. Through field experiences, students explore wildlife biology, land stewardship, and water and habitat conservation. Programs include lessons on wildlife, habitat conservation, the role of private lands in protecting agricultural and ecological resources, and the recreational value of open space.

Additional Information:

Programs are tailored by grade level and season and may include wildlife monitoring, habitat restoration, native species ID, and exploration of riparian systems.

Contact Information:

Nicole Ballard, Education Director, nicole@tellerwildlife.org, 406-961-3507

Organization Name:

BEAR

Grade Levels Served:

Any age or grade, we will gear our activities towards the age of your groups.

Cost:

The Ropes Challenge Course is $295 per 3hr session with up to 12 participants. All other activities are free! Being a small non-profit organization, donations are always welcome and greatly appreciated.

Scholarships Available:

We can scholarship up to 75% of the activity fee depending on the need of the organization participating. Scholarship applications can be found on our website.

Objectives/Montana Content Standards Connected:

Teambuilding, connection with the outdoors, Leave No Trace, outdoor & naturalist skills. We can gear activities towards what teachers are focusing on in their curriculum.

Description of Program:

BEAR's program leaders are available to visit local schools and community organizations as guest facilitators for teamwork building and nature-based activities. They receive yearly training in innovative, fun group facilitation techniques and can assist groups with team building and outdoor connection that will help them reach their potential and nourish their souls!

Additional Information:

Our participant limit is typically 12 unless discussed prior.

Contact Information:

Mallory Ijames / (406)209-8071 / mallory.ijames@bearmt.org

Organization Name:

Montana Natural History Center

Grade Levels Served:

4th & 5th grade, however mixed grade classrooms can also be eligible (i.e. 3rd – 5th, 2nd – 5th, etc.)

Cost:

Foundations, grants, and donations support 90% of the program cost. Schools pay the remaining 10%, which is $300.00 per classroom for 1 year of programming. Schools are responsible for transportation costs for field trips.

Scholarships Available:

We have a scholarship program for VNS. Teachers can fill out a scholarship request with their registration application. Scholarships are awarded based on need and available funds.

Objectives/Montana Content Standards Connected:

The Montana Natural History Center’s Visiting Naturalist in the Schools (VNS) program supports the 4th and 5th grade science curriculum through the study and exploration of natural history. Through hands-on inquiry-based experiences, VNS addresses numerous key science curriculum areas targeted in the Next Generation Science Standards and the Montana Science Standards for the fourth and fifth grades.

VNS lessons give students hands-on opportunities to participate in a variety of science and engineering practices including:

• Asking questions and defining problems

• Planning and carrying out investigations

• Using models

• Analyzing and interpreting data

• Constructing explanations

• Engaging in argument from evidence

• Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Each VNS lesson uses the relationship of Structure and Function, one of the Crosscutting Concepts in NGSS and the Montana Science Standards, as a lens for students to examine the natural world. Students learn to look closely at the varied structures of plants and animals and explain how these structures relate to specific functions that help organisms survive. Additional crosscutting concepts addressed in VNS lessons include Patterns and Cause and Effect.

VNS lessons are hands-on and provide specific, repeated, and connected opportunities to help students meet the performance expectations about adaptations. In a sequentially-planned curriculum, students:

• Study plants to learn how flowers produce seeds, then unique fruit structures as dispersal methods for successful reproduction

• Explore animal teeth and sensory structures (in relation to hunting habits)

• Use models to examine how the structures of different bird beaks relate to food choices, and more.

Demonstration of standards for engineering design practices for 3rd-5th grades are also supported with a series of lessons in the spring that focus on scientific inquiry. Through these participatory experiments and discussions, students understand that a “fair test” is one that involves the careful planning of experiments with identified variables and controls.

Finally, relating to all aspects of science standards, students learn how to use and understand the vocabulary of scientific language as well as practice making scientific arguments based on evidence throughout their participation in the year-long VNS curriculum.

Specific Standards that are addressed in the VNS Program:

Performance Expectation: 4-LS1-1

●             Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior and reproduction.

Science and Engineering Practices: Engaging in Argument from Evidence

●             Construct an argument with evidence, data, and/or a model.

Disciplinary Core Ideas

●             Plants and animals have both internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction.

Crosscutting Concepts: System and System Models

●             A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions.

Climate Change Standards

●             Humans can take actions to reduce climate change and its impacts.

●             Individual organisms can survive within specific ranges of temperature, precipitation, humidity, and sunlight. Organisms exposed to climate conditions outside of their normal range must adapt or migrate, or they will perish.

Indian Education for All Essential Understanding 3

The ideologies of Native traditional beliefs and spirituality persist into modern day life as tribal cultures, traditions, and languages are still practiced by many American Indian people and are incorporated into how tribes govern and manage their affairs. Additionally, each tribe has its own oral histories, which are as valid as written histories. These histories predate the “discovery” of North America.

Description of Program:

The Visiting Naturalist in the Schools Program connects professional naturalists with fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms in western Montana. The program includes:

•             Monthly class visits in September, November, December, January, February, March, and April

•             School-day field trips at a local natural area in October and May

•             Journals for each student in the program to record observations, practice science journaling, and develop reading and writing skills

•             Ongoing science inquiry and encouragement of the students’ natural curiosity about the natural world

•             19 hours of direct instruction by a professional MNHC staff Naturalist

Additional Information:

We serve schools up to 2 hours away from the Montana Natural History Center.

Contact Information:

Please contact Erin Vielbig, Teaching Naturalist Coordinator at evielbig@montananaturalist.org OR Jennifer Robinson, Education Director at jrobinson@montananaturalist.org or 406.541.8685

Organization Name:

Montana Wetlands and Waterfowl

Grade Levels Served:

Any grade but we've focused on 5th - 7th for our nesting structure (henhouse) builds and high schools for the welding of the frames.

Cost:

Materials for nest building, travel, and lodging. Sometimes these costs are covered by external donations, sometimes they are covered by grants, and sometimes they are covered by project partners.

Scholarships Available:

N/A

Objectives/Montana Content Standards Connected:

The main objectives of our program are to raise awareness of how important wetlands are for habitat and water quality/quantity and to show how important Montana is for waterfowl. Most importantly though, we're excited to show how cool ducks, geese, and swans are to the next generations.

Description of Program:

The Wild Waterfowl Workshop is a multi-part program that is continually undergoing improvements for efficiency and effectiveness. This first part is a classroom-type event with a simple background of why Montana is so important for waterfowl and why wetlands are important for waterfowl. We've done this in person and over Zoom. The second part is a nesting structure build. We usually run groups through building stations and those not building are playing Duck Jeopardy or getting some type hands on instructions (wings/taxidermied ducks/waterfowl ID). In the past we've collaborated with MT Fish, Wildlife, and Parks' Montana WILD on the non-build stations. The duck nesting structures (hen houses) are the tubes on a stand that increase duck nesting success. I believe you have some of these on your refuge. We place these in restored sites primarily along the Clark Fork River but have some in Helena and Glen too. The third part of the program is a field trip. In the past we've done huge field trip days with learning stations but we're limited by capacity at the moment. So recently, we've led smaller field trip events for adults and students where we do yearly maintenance on the hen houses or similar things.  

Other programs:

We're currently working with Ripple (formerly the Clark Fork Watershed Education Program) to develop a program for teachers which incorporates place-based science into their curriculums. Over the next year we (MTWW will take the lead on a migration module using snow goose GPS telemetry data from Environment and Climate Change Canada as well as a statistics module using the data from the telemetry.

We also booth at a variety of events and have educational waterfowl-focused activities like our hands-on waterfowl wing collection, duck ID game, and coloring.

We have also done adult outreach like waterfowl walks, mock wingbees, etc.

Additional Information:

When we started we did large groups but have moved away from it because of capacity and to avoid the sometimes-chaotic environment in exchange for smaller, more intimate events. Like every small non-profit we are limited by funding so we are always looking for ways to collaborate or for donation/grant opportunities. We are the only MT-based wetland and waterfowl focused conservation organization but we love collaborating with the national nonprofits like Ducks Unlimited's Green Wings and others.

Contact Information:

Teachers can contact myself (Mark Mariano) at mtwetlandsandwaterfowl@gmail.com.