Ridges Receives Sustainability Grant, Student Wildlife-Poster Contest
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The Ridges Sanctuary in Baileys Harbor has received a $1,000 sustainability grant from the Door County Community Foundation for its Washington Island Environmental Education Pilot Program, which seeks to connect concepts learned in the classroom with place-based environmental education.
“As residents of Door County, students and their communities are surrounded by unique habitats like The Ridges,” said Steve Leonard, executive director of The Ridges. “However, teachers often don’t have the time or resources to teach environmental education due to standardization of mandatory curriculum. One of the ways we can begin to address this issue is to partner with Washington Island School to provide students with an experiential education that bridges what students are learning at school and what is happening in the surrounding habitat.”
The Ridges’ environmental educators will build upon foundational science skills that students learn at school and tie them into relevant, tangible concepts. Nine monthly field trips are scheduled from September 2019 through May 2020.
Sofia Crowley won first place in the sixth-grade category for her submission in 2019. DNR photo.
The Department of Natural Resources’ Keep Wildlife Wild initiative is holding its second annual poster contest, in which students create artwork celebrating the initiative’s mission to ensure that Wisconsin’s wildlife stays healthy, safe and wild. Students who are participating in fourth- through sixth-grade instruction may submit an entry.
Submissions must contain the words “Keep Wildlife Wild 2020,” follow the theme of the Keep Wildlife Wild tagline, consist of original artwork of Wisconsin native wildlife, fit on an 8½-inch-by-11-inch sheet of paper and be submitted individually (no team creations).
The contest runs through Feb. 14, 2020. First-, second- and third-place finalists will be selected for each grade level and will be announced April 5-11 during the third annual Keep Wildlife Wild Week.
