Protecting Endangered Species Starts in Elementary Schools

DENNISVILLE – Conserve Wildlife Foundation (CWF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the earth’s biodiversity. In New Jersey, any mission to preserve rare and imperiled species of wildlife must have a focus on the southern shore.
The southern shore is not only a rich area for wildlife that live and breed here, but is also a major location for many migratory species. CWF is active in a variety of programs including research, conservation planning, and habitat restoration. They are, for example, an important part of Atlantic City Electric’s Avian Protection Program.
For any group with a mission to strengthen populations of rare species, education efforts often take center stage. Helping young people to form the right values about conservation early is an important element of any long range strategy. One way CWF approaches this task is through its annual Species on the Edge Contest. Aimed at fifth graders throughout the state, the contest involves students and their teachers in an educational exercise that results in works of art and essays by the students focused on New Jersey’s wildlife.
CWF solicits involvement through direct contact with elementary teachers and the use of social media. When teachers get involved, they are supplied with lesson plans so they can structure the learning experience of the students. Students learn about the state’s rare and endangered wildlife and then identify one or more species for research. The in-depth look at a specific species includes what it looks like, its basic needs, habitat and range, and most importantly, what people can do to protect this population.
Students enter the contest by creating artwork and a written essay about the selected species. Winners in the contest have their artwork on display in the CWF’s annual calendar. The contest has been running for over a decade and over 10,000 students have participated in the learning experience that underpins it.
Sandy Sandmeyer-Bryan, a teacher at Cape May City Elementary School, appreciated the learning opportunities noting, “The Species on the Edge contest was an excellent way for us to integrate core curriculum content standards into a single framework.”
County winners have their artwork on display in the calendar. The recently published 2015 calendar has last year’s Cape May County winner, Dominic Vitiello of Dennis Township Elementary School, who chose the Atlantic Sturgeon as his research project. Vitiello’s work is displayed on the pages for May 2015.
His longer essay is available on the CWF website www.ConserveWildlifeNJ.org along with all contest information. The site also has the artwork and essay by second place finisher Ava Elisano also of Dennis Elementary, who selected the checkered white butterfly as her topic.
The success of the educational program aimed at elementary students has led CWF to expand its programming with a new multimedia contest focused on wildlife conservation and aimed at high school students. The educational component of the program includes a S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) focus. The program will involve high school students submitting multimedia entries including video, podcast, digital graphics, webpage development and other similar applications. Winning students will receive scholarships funding by program sponsor PSE&G.
The end goal of both contests is the same, a better knowledge of the state’s endangered wildlife and a renewed commitment to conservation and protection.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.