Program Teaches Pupils Across All Subjects, Aims to Revive Flagging Quail Species

ERMA – Kevin Hildebrandt, a special education math teacher at Lower Cape May Regional High School, has developed a program that incorporates all core subjects while providing an opportunity for students to understand a bird whose population is declining across New Jersey.
As part of the “Quail in the Classroom Program,” Hildebrandt and his students are watching carefully 120 tiny quail eggs in hopes that as many as possible will hatch so they can be returned to the wild.
As part of the program, they are learning about the bird’s lifecycle as part of the science aspect, researching and writing about topics such as what to do to improve the quail population as part of English and social studies, and using mathematical skills to determine probability for how many eggs will eventually hatch.
“Quail is a native New Jersey bird,” said Hildebrandt, a teacher for 12 years, eight of them at Regional. An avid hunter, Hildebrandt said the “delicate” bird can no longer be seen in Cape May County.
“If you grew up here, you used to see quails around,” he said. “Kids today have no idea what they look like. This program is a great way of helping kids understand an endangered bird, and gives them a chance to do something about it.”
Lower Cape May Regional is one of 18 schools in the state participating in the Quail in the Classroom program. It is the lone one in Cape May County. Sponsored by the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance Environment Project and New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, students are involved from incubation through hatching to the quails’ release in a state preserve where they live in the wild.
“Throughout this program, the kids also are learning about habitat requirements and the lifecycle of the Bobwhite quail,” he added. Part of the program’s requirements is to integrate it across all the core subjects.
This year, Hildebrandt said they started with 120 eggs, the same as last year. After 21 days, 38 were not fertilized or were not forming a proper embryo. “We were left with 82 with some form of hatchling in the egg. Of those 82, we currently have three hatched on Day 24 and three more hatched overnight.”
The incubation period is 30 days. “If the egg has not hatched by then,” he said, “the chance of a hatchling being healthy and fully able to get out of the egg is rare.” Last year, 28 birds were given back to the program to be released to the wild.
The care of eggs and hatchlings requires “a lot of TLC,” Hildebrandt said. A heat lamp is required for the entire incubation time. “Even a day without the heat lamp can cause us to lose birds.”
Water needs to be changed often, food ground up so the hatchlings can eat, and the bedding needs to be changed. A heat lamp in the brood case keeps the tiny hatchlings warm after they are hatched, and while they are growing.
“I have to come in on the weekends to make sure they are OK,” Hildebrandt added. “But the students take care of the food, change the bedding, and make sure they are taken care of also.” All required supplies are provided by the program.
Hildebrandt said seeing wildlife was “normal” for him as he grew up in West Virginia. He made contacts within the Fish and Game Division a couple years ago when it was considering cleaning about 200 acres of land behind the high school. These contacts led him to the quail program.
“You won’t see coveys of quail in Cape May County because of the development that’s gone on,” he explained about the birds that are not migratory and typically stay within a half-mile radius. “We’ll keep the birds until about a week before school ends, and then return them to the Quail in the Classroom program director. She’ll continue raising them until they are ready to be released.”
Annual training provided by the program brings together teachers from all across the state to share techniques, tips and hints. “It’s a great community,” Hildebrandt said. “We are always looking at ways to improve hatching, for example.
“I love Cape May,” he said about his “new” hometown. “My wife is from Cape May and we both love being here. I love being able to show the kids a way to bring back some wildlife and experience some of the things I was able to experience as a kid. It’s a great thing to do.”
To contact Karen Knight, email kknight@cmcherald.com.