Bringing raptors into the classroom

The main focus of the environmental education outreach program "Bringing Birds of Prey Into the Classroom" is to change environmental behavior by creating an emotional connection with wildlife in elementary school students. This program is designed to be used by a non-profit conservation-based institution specializing in education of the Sonoran Desert region. Pedagogical philosophies used in the development of this curriculum include the North American Association of Environmental Education's (NAAEE) guidelines to writing effective environmental education programs, interdisciplinary education concepts, and the developmental theory of ecophobia and avoiding premature abstraction. Premature abstraction is avoided by presenting topics in conservation at the cognitive level of students. Individuals need to feel an emotional connection with nature to protect it, and animals make good teaching tools due to the inherent desire humans have to bond with them. Raptors are the focal point of this program due to their presence in cultures past, present, and future and their role in the ecosystem as both an indicator and umbrella species.