Making nature connections, learning about wild birds and exploring biodiversity are the topics of four upcoming workshops this month at the Red River National Wildlife Refuge in Bossier City.

The professional development educator workshops are free and open to anyone who wants to share information about the topics, from teachers to scout leaders to those who may want to volunteer at the refuge or elsewhere.

Refuge Ranger Terri Jacobson will direct the workshops for both formal and non-formal educators.  They'll be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day and will offer six professional development hours each.  Here are the dates and topics:

July 18th - Making Nature Connections - A program developing and rekindling a personal "sense of wonder" and then helping children make deeper connections with the world around them.  It will use the look-move-build-sketch planning tool for arts exploration.

July 23rd - B is for Birds - A workshop about wild birds and their conservation, identification, classification adaptations, habitat niches, life cycles and migration.

July 24th - Flying Wild - A workshop about planning a bird festival.  It and the July 23rd workshop combine citizen science, service-learning and common core standards.

July 31st - Explore Biodiversity - A workshop offering interactive lessons that dig deeper into biodiversity issues of habitat loss, invasive exotic species, pollution, pollinators and endangered species.  It includes take-home lesson plans and posters.

The Red River National Wildlife Refuge is headquartered off the Teague Parkway Extension in Bossier City at 150 Eagle Bend Point.  It's operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

If you need more info, or want to register for one of these workshops, call Terri Jacobson at 318-742-1219 or go to the REFUGE WEBSITE.

 

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