Helping get children interested in birds & the outdoors!​​​
Our children are the key to the sustainability of our planet – they are our future teachers, leaders, and hopefully conservationists. We need to instill in them a love and appreciation for nature and an understanding of how important healthy environments are for the survival of us all. Our school programs try to stimulate students’ curiosity about nature and encourage them to spend more time outdoors. Northwest Nevada Bird Alliance offers several topics for classroom visits.
A beautiful morning looking for birds at Washoe Lake State Park.
Student Field Trips
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The primary goal of our student field trip program is to get kids outside to watch birds. Northwest Nevada Bird Alliance started leading field trips for school kids at Washoe Lake around the year 2000, first at the viewing platform at the southeast corner of the lake, and more recently (due to low water levels) at the picnic area at Washoe Lake State Park.
Trips are held from late April through May, and into early June. Students arrive at 10:00 am and leave around noon. Activities include:
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learning to use binoculars, field guides, and spotting scopes to watch birds
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using microscopes to study the organisms found in water collected from the lake and surrounding ponds
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learning about the local plants
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dissecting owl pellets
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building a bird nest
In past years Northwest Nevada Bird Alliance has hosted as many as 15 and 16 trips a season, serving a many as 900 or more school kids a year.
The lake was dry during our 2015 field trips due to our continuing drought. But that served as a “teachable moment” for the kids--to learn about where our water supply comes from and to appreciate the unpredictability of nature.
It’s not all about just birds — here are microscopes that students use to study aquatic organisms, which are part of the food chain that's important for birds.
What makes a bird a bird? Wings!
School Visits
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The Northwest Nevada Bird Alliance Education Committee has developed several hands-on activities for classroom visits. Each is geared to a specific grade level, from preschoolers to high school, and includes the use of bird taxidermy mounts along with bird feathers, wings, and museum specimens that students can handle and study in detail.
Some of our programs include:
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“What Makes A Bird A Bird?”
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“How To Identify Birds”
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“How to Classify Birds”
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“What Is That Bird in Your Backyard?”
Teachers can request a visit by contacting us.
We work with teachers to make sure our visits supplement the Common Core Standards of our local school districts.
Birds' feet need study too.
Middle School students playing the “Bird ID” game.
Volunteers are the backbone of the Washoe Lake program.
Be an Education Volunteer
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Volunteers are the ones who make Northwest Nevada Bird Alliance work, especially our School Visits and the Washoe Lake Field Trips. We’ve had a dedicated, energetic, enthusiastic group of people every year to help with our educational outreach. But we can always use more!
If you would like to get involved we would love to have you. You don’t have to be an expert. We can train you on the spot. And you’ll probably have as much, if not more, fun than the kids. At the very least, you will certainly have a feeling of satisfaction as you help kids (and adults) learn about the birds and other wildlife of this area, and the need for protecting and preserving our fragile habitats. Join us and you, too, can make a real difference in a child’s life.
Volunteers in the classroom.