Pine Forest School is a proud recipient of the 2017 AZ Fish & Game Heritage Schoolyard Grant!
A photo from 2016, before Terra Birds started working with Pine Forest School on our Schoolyard Wildlife habitat.
BRIEF PROJECT SUMMARY DESCRIPTION
Th Schoolyard Wildlife Wonderland project will engage students to transform a former parking lot into thriving wildlife habitat and living laboratory. Our schoolyard will become a space for wildlife education and interaction. By working with students to create wildlife and pollinator habitat, we reclaim our urban environment and inspire the next generation. We will build a culture of reverence, study, and awareness of wildlife in our students.
What will Pine Forest School do with the funding? Read the Project Objectives Below:
Pine Forest School will use the Heritage Grant to further develop the watershed mitigation to support wildlife and provide an opportunity for hands on student learning about watershed and habitat science. Play a role in restoring the water table, engage in water collection to support native flora, and mitigate runoff by planting trees and restoring natural, permeable soils.
We will create an Environmental Stewardship Program in collaboration with Willow Bend Environmental Educational Center to nurture students lifelong appreciation and reverence for wildlife and the natural world. Develop environmental and wildlife education curriculum for students.
We will work with students, under the supervision of TerraBIRDS to create a “living laboratory” where students can study wildlife and habitat on an ongoing basis. This is currently taking place in some respects, with the study of soil. Since the acre of asphalt was removed for the schoolyard soil restoration project in 2016, students have begun taking soil samples to measure the organic matter in the soil as restoration takes place. The soil was under asphalt for over 20 years, so there will be a great opportunity to study the soil as it amends. A Heritage Grant would allow for further exploration of the impact of wildlife on soil science and other markers of ecological health.
For more information, fill out the form below:
