Bring the wonder of North America’s Grasslands into your home or classroom on May 17th!
On May 17th the US Forest Service International Programs, Prince William Network, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, CBS4 Denver and other partners will present a FREE distance learning adventure for students, educators and the general public LIVE from Pawnee National Grassland in Colorado.
This event is part of the FS NatureLIVE series that brings nature into the classroom, similar to other programs including MonarchLIVE, WetlandsLIVE, and BatsLIVE. There will be a 1-hour live broadcast in English from 11am – 12:00 noon (MST), followed by a program in Spanish. The presentation will feature Grassland experts and a local classroom of students exploring the wonders of the grasslands. Remote viewers can participate by sending in their questions for scientists to answer.
Bird Conservancy staff Erin Youngberg, Allison Fowle, Greg Levandoski, Angela Dwyer, and Mexican partners Pedro and Nancy Hernandez from IMC Vida Silvestre will be participating in the live broadcast. This event is a follow-up to the October 27, 2016 1-hr live broadcast (in Spanish) from the grasslands and Bird Conservancy’s study site in Janos, Mexico.
Historically the shortgrass, mixed-grass and tallgrass prairies covered about one-fifth of North America. Today, much of the historic range of grasslands has been lost, but grasslands continue to provide rich habitats for birds, fish mammals, insects and plants as well as key ecosystem services, such as capture of carbon and water. GrasslandsLIVE shares this important story and how scientists, citizens, local ranchers and farmers are working together to manage and conserve this critical habitat.
Experts will be on-hand during the broadcast to answer questions about:
- The management, importance, and conservation of grasslands.
- Birds and other animals that depend on grassland habitat.
- The connection between grasslands in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
- The role of citizens, public land management agencies, and non-governmental organizations in managing, protecting, and conserving natural resources.
- How to participate in citizen science programs related to grasslands so that students learn the importance of being a good steward.
There are a lot of great resources on the GrasslandsLIVE website for teachers who want to get their students involved with lesson plans, information about citizen science projects they can participate in, grassland pictures & informational videos and the opportunity to ask scientist and have their question answered live!]
Did you miss the live airing? Well, we have good news! You can watch the entire broadcast via our YouTube Channel!
GrasslandsLIVE is a collaborative effort made possible through the support of these organizations:
