Wildlife Explorers Brings Birds and Careers to Elementary and Middle Schools around Lincoln

The Wildlife Explorers curriculum is helping bring conservation careers to life for 3^rd-5th grade students in after-school programs. Designed to be hands-on, engaging, and place-based, the curriculum introduces students to the wide range of people and skills involved in protecting our natural world. From ornithology to botany and entomology, students begin to see that conservation is a field with many pathways.

Through interactive activities, students practice real-world skills like surveying insect populations, identifying bird species, and problem-solving environmental challenges. These experiences not only build ecological knowledge but also help young learners connect their personal interests to potential future careers in conservation.

A key strength of Wildlife Explorers is its focus on representation and accessibility. The 3^rd-5^th grade sessions are done in collaboration with the Lincoln Community Learning Centers. We travel to Arnold, Elliott, Norwood Park, and West Lincoln Elementary Schools to eliminate the need to arrange travel and to highlight local flora and fauna present at the school campuses.

By focusing on highlighting diverse career journeys, students can see themselves reflected in the field, making conservation feel more inclusive and attainable. Starting these conversations early, afterschool programs are planting seeds for future stewardship. Wildlife Explorers is not just teaching students about nature; it’s helping them imagine their role in protecting it.

These same principles apply to the Wildlife Explorers field trip program for 7^th grade students currently in the pilot phase with Lincoln Public Schools.  Using the same curriculum but stepped up on the STEM and research components, students explore the tallgrass prairie ecosystem as 3 to 4 different career professionals (Ornithologist, Botanist, Entomologist, or Aquatic Scientist). The curriculum connects the students to careers with in-classroom activities and videos, a field trip to Spring Creek Prairie or a partner site at Pioneers Park Nature Center or the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, and follow-up worksheets to build on their field trip and connect the exploration to their ecosystem studies.

The plan is for the full program to launch in the 2026-2027 school year for all 7^th graders across Lincoln Public Schools after a successful pilot this past fall and spring, bringing birds and science to many more future conservationists.