Schoolyard Habitats

Text on image: U.S Fish & Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior
Text on Image: U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, Partners for Fish & Wildlife

FSWCD is a cooperator has worked with the US Fish and Wildlife service to provide assistance to schools who want to do a Schoolyard Habitat Restoration project. This project is currently unfunded, but we have technical assistance resources available for schools wishing to initiate a project.

What Is Schoolyard Habitat Restoration?

Woodriver Elementary Trail Planting Sept 2013

SYH restoration projects are designed to fulfill the mission and goals of the school, and should address multiple environmental and educational objectives.

FSWCD provided on-site technical assistance to educators, administrators, students, and community members who created  effective, sustainable outdoor classrooms and wildlife habitats on their school grounds.

Typical projects include pollinator habitats, meadows, forests and wetlands. The size and scope of a project varies greatly from school to school.

Currently there is no funding available for these projects through USFWS, but if schools wish to work on these projects, we can help find grants to support this and provide support as needed.

Resources Available

FSWCD has copies of the USFWS Schoolyard Habitat Project Guide available. This is a planning guide for creating schoolyard habitat and outdoor classroom projects, It is a valuable tool that takes teachers and administrators through the process and outlines the steps to creating a successful project where students go outside to experience nature. The guide has everything you need to go from concept to completion, and with a successful result: creating a natural space on school grounds where students will observe, draw, write, think, question and learn.

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