Our goal is to put a wildlife habitat on every school campus in the Valley of the Sun!

Introduction

When the fifth grade honors students at Hidden Hills Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona heard about the Schoolyard Wildlife Habitat Contest, they thought it would be wonderful and an excellent ecological learning opportunity. They were so excited that they voted to take the challenge and write a grant. Since they wanted input from all who would benefit from the habitat, they spread the word to the school about the contest.  They each took a grade level and handed out surveys to all the teachers, students, and parents. Soon, the results started to rush in. The honors class read the surveys and tallied the information. "Wow and fun", "unexplainably fun", and "great hands on experience" were some of the comments they encountered in the surveys. The positive feedback encouraged the students to go to "infinity and beyond" with the project!

 Why a Schoolyard Wildlife Habitat

Results of a three question school wide survey showed that there are many benefits for the students in our school if we had a schoolyard wildlife habitat. One benefit is the habitat will enhance learning at each grade level. Students can gain a better understanding and a greater appreciation of nature as they participate in activities that center around the habitat. Learning will not only be fun, but it will be more meaningful.

Another benefit is that children will gain a better understanding of the responsibility of each individual caring for the environment.  Those who grow up in the city will actually get to see a real water environment. They will learn how fragile the system can be and realize how important it is for everyone to take care of the environment.

Some students, who may not otherwise have the opportunity, will get a chance to interact with nature in the wildlife habitat, by using the discovery method, students will have long-lasting real life experiences that help prepare them for their future.

In the survey parents, teachers, and students felt that a benefit from having a habitat would be the enjoyment of observing a beautiful setting. The habitat will be a peaceful place where one can go to enjoy sounds and colors of nature. A habitat will increase school pride and students will want to come to Hidden Hills. The benefits of having a wildlife habitat at Hidden Hills School will be very important because of the positive effects it can have on the lives of everyone in the community. 

Using the Schoolyard Wildlife Habitat

There are many different ways a Schoolyard Wildlife Habitat can become an effective learning resource at Hidden Hills School. One important way is to use the habitat as a hands on learning tool to help meet a variety of state standards in science at all grade levels. A study of a habitat is an objective for which the first grade is accountable. The habitat will be perfect for a real life experience in meeting this standard. Fourth grade investigates plant life cycles and can utilize the beautiful plants hi the habitat as they complete various stages of life cycles. In sixth grade students can learn how to make slides from materials in the habitat that can be observed in microscopic studies of cell life. The habitat will be perfect for conducting multitudes of experiments for students at all levels about topics related to their grade.

Other subjects can be addressed, too. The habitat is an ideal setting for inspiring all kinds of creative writing. Stories, poems, narratives, and plays are just some samples of types of writing that can can result while visiting the habitat.  Nonfiction articles about wildlife can be verified first hand after reading a related article. Opportunities for meeting standards in math exist at all grade levels in many areas such as graphing, patterns, measurement, counting, and computation. Countless possibilities exist for art projects just waiting to happen. What a place to go to compose some music!

In addition to the above uses of the habitat, it can be a source for other activities. A quiet study area, a reward for good behavior, having the privilege to work in a pleasant atmosphere, are a few possibilities. Some students who have difficulty focusing may do well if they can hear the peaceful rush of the water. A troubled student might receive counseling there. A schoolyard

habitat offers so many extraordinary uses that are helpful to the students. 

Building and Maintaining

To perpetuate a school wildlife habitat, a plan must be in place for building and maintaining the habitat. Hidden Hills is famous among the schools in Paradise Valley for parent involvement at the school and has won many state PTSA awards because of its committed parent volunteers. There is an active garden science program in its eighth year at the school that has thrived because of parent involvement. The parents will help with building the habitat. A father who helped build a retaining wall for the garden is a masonry contractor has already volunteered his help if Hidden Hills should win the contest. Another father, a botanist, who helped design the butterfly garden, will be available to help build the habitat. The Junior Master Gardeners (JMG) program leader has also volunteered the help of the members of the JMG who were former garden science members and are now in middle and senior high. One boy scout who is presently working on a garden project for his Eagle badge indicates that his troop will help in building the habitat.  With guidance from the various sponsors of the contest the habitat can become a reality at Hidden Hills.

A plan for the maintenance of the habitat emerged from the survey. Parent volunteers already involved with the current school garden club science program and parents involved in the PTSA will coordinate the habitat's maintenance. These volunteers will need training from the Garden Gnome and others who are involved with other aspects of the habitat. Then they in turn will train students on the proper maintenance of the habitat. Individual grade level classes will be scheduled on a rotating basis so that the habitat is maintained on a continuous routine. The on site Husky Club and the Student Council will also be available to help. With the above help care and maintenance of the habitat will be maintained. 

Conclusion

The students, faculty, parents, and members of the community very much desire to have this wonderful opportunity for learning. With this beautiful addition to our campus, we can learn SO much. We can do many things at every grade level. We can learn a lot of life science facts. We can also meet many of the state science standards.  From what you read in our application you will see that we would love to have this great gift for learning.