Tracey Miller, July 23, 2002

Educational Outreach with Wildlife

When the Central Wisconsin Wildlife Center, where volunteer Tracey Miller, then the Life Science teacher within the Stevens Point Area Catholic Schools (SPACS), closed its doors, it left a void for her.  So, Tracey found the Wind River Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, and she found Isabo and Phobos.  Isabo is a red-tailed hawk who was blinded when struck with a BB from a child’s gun and Phobus is a barn owl from Utah, whose wing was injured from a bullet.  Neither can be released into the wild.

As Tracey worked at Wind River and trained to be a licensed bird rehabilitation specialist she realized that these birds could speak to the students at SPACS about the importance of understanding and appreciating wildlife.  As part of the requirements for the Masters of Science in Natural Resources Program for Teachers at the University of Stevens Point (Tracey graduated in 2002), Tracey created an educational outreach program along with a 25 lesson handbook for teachers to use and to allow Isabo and Phobos to be heard.

Tracey saw a need for environmental education at SPACS because most of the environmental education taught within the system is done in Science class.  “My goal was to expand what was being done at Wind River and bring it back to SPACS,” Miller stated.  After approaching the administration and receiving overwhelming support, Tracey started her work to achieve her goals of “trying to instill stewardship and citizen action skills” and “to teach people how to work with nature rather than against nature.”

Miller’s first step was to offer a one-hour August inservice in 2001 to the teachers at SPACS.  This was well-received and many teachers were eager to have Isabo and Phobos speak to their classroom, and of course Tracey.  Teachers also expressed a desire for the interdisciplinary handbook to use in their classrooms.  SPACS was extremely supportive and allowed Miller and/or cohort Katy Riley, a librarian within the district, to teach these programs to other schools within the district. 

“This program not only provides students with environmental education, but it teaches people how to handle injured wildlife,”  Miller stated, “hopefully it also helps children understand that all things are connected and there are consequences when improperly shooting wildlife.”  Tracey lets the students know that 90% of all the animals at Wind River can’t be released into the wild and are there because of human actions. 

Tracey Miller’s education outreach program is a success and she hopes it will continue in the future.  Tracey has since moved to the Oregon School District, but will still be using Isabo and Phobos to teach her new students.  If you would like to visit Isabo and Phobos or would like them to come to your classroom please contact Tracey Miller at tam@oregon.k12.wi.us.

For more information on UW Stevens Point’s Master’s degree in Environmental Education for teachers contact Tim Byers at (715) 346-4176.

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