Nature Made Easy For Teachers And Students On New FWP Website

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Montana teachers seeking new tools to connect students to Montana’s natural world can now turn to a new interactive website created by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

"FWP’s   " Discover Montana Ecosystems " website is designed to provide educators with new, interactive, and entertaining learning opportunities aimed at increasing their students’ awareness and understanding of the flora, fauna, and natural processes that are a part of life in Montana," said Kurt Cunningham, FWP’s education specialist in Helena.

The new web offering will be introduced at noon Thursday, at the MEA/AFT Educators Conference in Belgrade at Belgrade High School, Room 221, 303 N. Hoffman, in conjunction with Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s and First Lady Nancy Schweitzer’s Math and Science Initiative.

The website was created with the help of Bill Hug, former Montana State University education professor, to meet specific science curriculum standards and is designed to provide upper elementary and middle school teachers with in-the-classroom projects specifically geared to Montana communities.  

Much of the fish and wildlife information contained within the website is associated with FWP’s recently completed Comprehensive Fish and Wildlife Management Strategy, which lists and assesses the condition of 170 fish and wildlife habitats—from the mountains to the prairies—and the animals that live there.

"We worked extremely hard to ensure that the information contained in the Discover Montana Ecosystems website meets or exceeds Montana science curriculum standards," Cunningham said. "And we worked equally hard to test it on students and teachers to make Discover Montana’s Ecosystems as fun and entertaining as it is educational."

Students, teachers, and others who visit the website can learn about Montana’s fish and wildlife species, and the places where they live, from videos, games, images and more.

Cunningham said the website can also serve as resource for home schoolers, scouts, 4-H projects and prospective K-12 teachers.

"We designed this interactive site with the kids of Montana in mind," Cunningham said. "We hope it will get them so interested in Montana’ s out-of-doors that they’ll want to confirm what they find on the Internet by exploring their own backyards."

The Discover Montana Ecosystems website is free and can be accessed at fwp.mt.gov. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Discover Montana Ecosystems icon.