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Success Stories - Partnerships with the Forest Service
Winging Northward—A Shorebird's Journey
By Sandy Frost
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| The Copper River Delta wetlands
in southcentral Alaska are among the most signficant coastal
wetlands in the world. |
Alaska’s 1.7 million-acre Copper River Delta explodes
to life during a short window of time in spring. Millions
of shorebirds rest and refuel there on their long annual migration
to breeding grounds in western and northern Alaska. Wetland
habitats like this one are critical for their journey. People
who witness this spectacle see and understand the need to
conserve migratory birds and the habitats they rely upon.
Winging Northward—A Shorebird’s Journey
was conceived because relatively few people are able to benefit
from the delta’s wetland education programs developed
by the Chugach National Forest’s Cordova Ranger District.
Winging Northward was a distance-learning project
created by a group of dedicated educators who joined forces
to make ‘virtual’ visits to the Copper River Delta
a reality for children across the Western Hemisphere. It blended
old-fashioned education and interpretation know-how with cutting-edge
technology to educate a diverse audience about the delta’s
importance. The combination of satellite and internet technology
assured that the broadcast was accessible to the largest possible
audience.
The delta’s global significance was recognized in 1980
when the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA)
stipulated that it be managed primarily for the “conservation
of fish and wildlife and their habitats.” It was one
of only two areas throughout the National Forest System to
be acknowledged with a congressional mandate of this type.
The Partners
The Cordova Ranger District created a coalition of partners
who shared a passion and had goals in common. They wanted
to educate a wider audience and leverage limited resources.
The focus was to strengthen the conservation of migratory
birds on the Copper River Delta through international partnerships.
Partnerships were developed among the US Forest Service International
Programs, Pacific Northwest Research Station, the Chugach
National Forest, and Ducks Unlimited. The Western Hemisphere
Shorebird Reserve Network became the lead nongovernmental
partner, while the US Fish & Wildlife Service (National
Conservation Training Center) provided guidance and support.
The effort was anchored by the Prince William Network—an
educational institution affiliated with the Prince William
County Schools in Manassas, Virginia.
The coalition’s early efforts focused on securing funding.
$100,000 in competitive grants were awarded from the National
Fish & Wildlife Foundation, the Alaska Coastal Fund, Ducks
Unlimited, Wild Outdoor World Magazine, the US Forest Service
Conservation Education grants, and US Forest Service International
Programs.
The Project
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| Almost all the world's western
sandpipers rest and refuel on the Copper River Delta each
spring during their migration to northern and western
Alaska. |
Winging Northward—A Shorebird’s Journey
presented a live, satellite-broadcast “field trip.”
A content-rich website and webcast version of the program
extended the program’s reach. The Copper River Delta
was beamed into classrooms in Alaska, the U.S. mainland, Puerto
Rico, Canada, and Mexico in a live, bilingual satellite broadcast
during the peak of shorebird migration in early May 2002.
A supporting website and webcast have been available since
that time and continue to reach teachers and children.
Students learned about shorebird adaptations, wetland habitats,
and migration across international boundaries. They met biologists
and local Cordovans, watched Alaska students explore the mudflats
and observe the swirling shorebird flocks, and interacted
through email, fax, and phone to relay questions.
Online preparatory activities involved teachers, parents,
and students for six months prior to the “field trip.”
A teacher resource center on the website offered classroom
activities that supported a monthly theme and correlated to
national education standards.
The project reached an estimated 340,000 children throughout
the Western Hemisphere. Over 850 sites in the U.S., Puerto
Rico, Canada, and Mexico registered for the program. During
the broadcast, 1,266 emails flooded the network. A thorough
evaluation indicated that the program was educationally effective,
and that teachers rated the quality and content of the program
as excellent.
Follow-up projects to increase the educational value and
life of Winging Northward will be available on CD by January
2004. This CD will include a project report, complete curriculum,
complete website, an edited version of the broadcast, and
supplemental information.
Journey’s End?
Technology makes all the world our backyard. By forming coalitions,
rigorously focusing on educational objectives, and celebrating
what makes our piece of the world special, the partners effectively
reached children across the Western Hemisphere. Winging Northward
brought shorebirds and wetlands to children who may never
have the chance to experience hundreds of thousands of migratory
birds teeming on mudflats and swirling in the air. They learned
that everyone, urban and suburban, plays a role in conservation.
Our vision is that they will channel their knowledge into
nurturing a local habitat.
For More Information on this project:
Contact Person:
Sandy Frost, Partnership/Rural Community Assistance Coordinator
Tongass National Forest, P.O. Box 19001, Thorne Bay, AK 99919
406-446-4585
sfrost@fs.fed.us
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PARTNERING WITH THE FOREST SERVICE
