Montana WILD is Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks premier fish and wildlife conservation education center based in Helena. Each year, Montana WILD staff and volunteers teach about outdoor recreation, Montana fish and wildlife, improving and protecting habitat, and reducing human/wildlife conflict to more than 5,000 students from 100 schools from across the state, and hundreds more adults and families through community and outreach programs.

MT WILD wants to reach more Montanans, which is why we are piloting the Grizzly Bear Distance Learning Program for middle and high school students with Inspired Classroom (IC) (inspiredclassrooms.com) this Winter/Spring.  The program involves asking Montana students to come to the table and share their ideas about managing this magnificent but complex, and, at times, controversial predator through participation in the FWP Grizzly Bear IC Challenge.

The FWP Grizzly Bear IC Challenge is a problem-solving project hosted on a virtual platform.  Students can also participate in two Livestream events with (1) FWP bear managers, and (2) a panel of stakeholders.  Teachers can embed the Challenge into their curriculum any way they choose: as a whole class, student teams, or independent project.  Students walk through the steps of problem-solving as they react to a real-world scenario and view a video introduction of Montana’s bear managers.  As they research, brainstorm, apply criteria, develop action plans, and submit solutions for review, students are critically thinking and developing real-world skills.

The FWP Grizzly Bear IC Challenge is free to classrooms across the state through the generosity of the Montana Outdoor Legacy Foundation, Cabela’s, Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, TransCanada, Weyerhaeuser Family Foundation, and the Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation. They are encouraging schools throughout the state to participate in this program and are excited about teaching more youth about grizzly bears and the important role they play in our state. If your school is interested in participating contact Inspired Classroom at 406-531-6505, alli@inspiredclassroom.com or kathleen@inspiredclassroom.com.  For more information on the Grizzly Bear Distance Program contact Laurie Wolf, FWP MT WILD Education Program Manager, 406-444-9945 or Lwolf@mt.gov. For more information about MT WILD, visit http://fwp.mt.gov/education/montanaWild/

(via MT FWP)