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U.S. Fish and Wildlife's Virtually Wild Program

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Region 4 Education Service Center partners with Virtually Wild! Texas partners to provide students with engaging and interactive virtual field trips.

 

 

 

 

Using Drones to Manage Forests, Fight Fires, and Help an Endangered Bird

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Drones are an important tool used by foresters to gain insight into forest health issues. They use the technology to gather real-time information that helps guide land management decisions. Data collected by the unmanned aerial systems ultimately means greater protection for surrounding communities and the forest habitat.  Fly over the oldest slash pine plantation in Texas, red-cockaded woodpecker habitat, selective thinning operations, prescribed burning and more in this exciting program that highlights how the Texas A&M Forest Service is using technology to manage forests.
 

This program will be delivered live from the field at W. Goodrich Jones State Forest near Conroe, TX, one of the nation’s largest working urban forests. The primary purpose of the forest is resource education. Sound scientific forest management that protects and perpetuates native flora and fauna is practiced. Demonstration and research areas have been installed to test various forest management techniques, forest genetics, and forest product utilization studies.

 

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Location: Jones State Forest, Conroe, Texas


Provider:  The Nature Conservancy in Texas and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Houston Community Partnerships and Engagement Program


Date: January 8, 2020

Length: 45 minutes
 

Sessions: 
Session 1 - 9:00 am – 9:45 am
Session 2 - 10:00 am – 10:45 am

 

Cost: Free

Grade Levels: This program is planned at a 3rd - 5th grade level, but students of all ages will gain useful vocabulary and an understanding of how technology is used to help manage lands for the benefit of people and wildlife.

TEKS:

Science: Grade 3 - 9A,C, Grade 4 - 10A, Grade 5 - 9A,C
Social Studies: Grade 4 - 9C

 

Guest Presenters: Shruthi Srinivasan (Geospatial Analyst) and Mike Sills (Regional Urban Forester) of Texas Forest Service

 

 

Super Cool Snakes!

Join staff naturalists from Jesse H. Jones Park and Nature Center in Humble, Texas to learn all about snakes! Learn about some snakes found in Texas and across the U.S., including how to identify them, what they eat, how they live their lives, and what to do if you encounter one in the wild. We might even get a bonus visit from “Lucky”, the 13 ft. Burmese python! Whether you like snakes or not, humans need them as they play an important role in nature. A lot of people assume snakes are aggressive and dangerous but hopefully our scaly, reptile friends at Jesse Jones Park will show you that they are generally docile and fascinating creatures that, when left alone, pose no real threat to people.
 
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Location: Jesse Jones County Park, Humble, TX


Provider:  The Nature Conservancy-Texas, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Houston Community Partnerships and Engagement Program, Student Conservation Association, Texas A&M Forest Service


Date: February 12, 2019

Length: 45 minutes

 

Sessions: 
Session 1 - 9:00 am – 9:45 am
Session 2 - 10:00 am – 10:45 am

 

Cost: Free

Grade Levels: This program is planned at a 3rd - 4th grade level, but students of all ages will gain useful vocabulary and an understanding of snakes, their natural history and the important role they have in maintaining a balance in the ecosystem.

TEKS:

Science: Grade 3 - 9A, 9B, 10A, Grade 4 - 10A, Grade 5 - 9A, 9C, 10A
Social Studies: Grade 4 - 9C

 

Guest Presenters: Jesse Jones County Park Naturalists

 

 

Dancing, Booming Space Bird!

Meet the dancing, booming, stomping, beautiful little bird, the Attwater’s prairie chicken (APC)! APCs were once found on six million acres of prairie along the Gulf Coast, from Corpus Christi to Louisiana. Acre by acre, coastal prairies diminished as cities and towns sprouted up, industries grew and expanded, and croplands replaced the native grasslands. As the prairie was lost, so was the APC. After the 2017 Hurricane Harvey, it was estimated that there were less than 15 APC remaining in the wild on the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge and private lands. But there is hope thanks to the captive breeding efforts of the Houston Zoo, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center and others who are breeding the birds to be released in the wild. In this program, tour the Houston Zoo’s captive breeding facility at the NASA Johnson Space Center. Learn about the bird, the science and the hard work that goes into protecting this iconic species of Texas' coastal prairie.
 
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Location: NASA Space Center, Clearlake, Texas


Provider:  Katy Prairie Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Houston Community Partnerships and Engagement Program, Student Conservation Association, Houston Zoo, NASA


Date: April 22, 2020

Length: 45 minutes
 

Sessions: 
Session 1 - 9:00 am – 9:45 am
Session 2 - 10:00 am – 10:45 am

 

Cost: Free

Grade Levels: This program is planned at a 3rd - 4th grade level, but students of all ages will gain useful vocabulary and an understanding of how conservation partnerships and science are helping endangered species, people and wildlife in general.

TEKS:

Science: Grade 3 - 9A,C, Grade 4 - 10A, Grade 5 - 9A
Social Studies: Grade 4 - 9C

 

Guest Presenters: Amber Zelmer (Houston Zoo)

7145 West Tidwell Road | Houston, Texas 77092-2096 | 713.462.7708
McKinney Conference Center: 7200 Northwest 100 Drive | Houston, Texas 77092
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