PROVISION OF ADVICE / AWARENESS RAISING - Project Hero: Quest for Coexistence with Wolves | USA

Although Project Hero is a project from the USA, it is considered a best practice example applicable to Europe too. 

Implementation: 2021 - ongoing

Countries: Western United States, USA

Contact organisation: Howl & Co. (howlandco.org)

Contact Person: Cassi Camara

More information: https://herofortheplanet.org/wolf-coexistence/

Target species: Wolf

Problem:

Project Hero is an online educational platform for middle and high school students aimed at raising their awareness and activism in various environmental themes.  The platform offers authentic project-based learning experiences to empower students to act for their local species and ecosystems. The platform provides a number of “Quests”. Each Quest offers a unique learning experience that focuses on locally-relevant environmental issues aided by multi-media content, lessons, and activities.

A quest on coexistence with the wolf has been included. Wolf Quest is “designed to help you make sense of the wolf’s complex story and seek out ways that people and wolves can share land and resources so that the needs, rights, and livelihoods of both are respected. Ultimately, your challenge is to create an innovative project that helps a particular group of people learn more about coexisting with wolves and what they can do to minimise conflicts with wolves and conflicts with other people about wolves.”

Actions:

• Research on the topic of coexistence most relevant to school children
• Development of interactive multimedia resources such as videos, animations, appealing graphics and interactive quizzes and games to provide opportunities for self-assessment and promote comprehension and retention of complex concepts
• Real world relevant educational content including case studies (Colorado’s wolf reintroduction, wolf populations in Wyoming, Montana and more) that connect academic concepts to practical value of content
• Utilization of adaptive learning technologies that cater to different learning styles and enable students to progress at their own speed
• Standard of learning-oriented project-based learning experiences (National Science Standards and state level standards of learning)
• Survey developed to assess awareness, knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and skills of students in the Western United States, in grades 8-12.

Results:

The survey associated with the platform is currently being analysed. The Quest has been completed by a minimum of 500 students.

Financing:

The project was funded by Captain Planet Foundation and created in collaboration with Global Green STEM and the Center for Human Carnivore Coexistence. Information for the quests is provided on a voluntary basis by experts in the field.

Grant funds are available to support educators who register for a free account, to support classroom projects.