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AUGUSTA, Maine -- There are new wildlife education opportunities for kids on the web. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department have joined forces to produce Wild New England, an online kids magazine. Every issue covers two months of wildlife topics related to the seasons, along with interactive fun things to do. Children can participate in wildlife surveys, track wildlife activity with a monthly calendar, and learn about actions they can take to benefit local wildlife. This new web magazine is a tool for teachers who can assign the articles for student research, find wildlife literature in the Wild Book Nook, and use the frameworks pages to link their classroom curriculum with the bi-monthly Wild New England themes. Twelve magazines are in the works for 2 years worth of issues. Each issue will feature a particular animal or group of animals found in New England and an ecological concept, from wildlife myths to winter adaptations to habitat. The magazine is designed with kids from grades 4-7 in mind. "This project is designed to attract the interest of our young people and take advantage of their comfort with the web and computers," said Don Kleiner, Director Information and Education for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. "We have been able to accomplish a great project with a limited budget by partnering with our sister agency in another state." The premier issue features "Wildlife Mysteries" with stories about commonly and seldom-seen wildlife, how to find wildlife sign, and what biologists do to study the comings and goings of certain animals. The content for each magazine issue was prepared by an education team from Antioch/New England Graduate School in Keene, NH. Design was provided by Erika and Scott Hutchings of Colorado. Visitors can access the Wild New England web pages through each agency's website at www.wildlife.state.nh.us or http://www.state.me.us/ifw/ or by logging directly onto www.wildnewengland.org. |