From Curiosity to Conservation Careers

Students find meaning and relevance in their learning when they connect lessons to real-world issues and possible career paths. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) Conservation Connect, a freely available video series, connects learners to wildlife, technology, and careers. Videos and supplementary resources are designed to serve middle school youth, but elementary and high school educators—and even FWS retirees—report that they also use the tools. Each episode features a species, a conservation career, and technology that professionals use to study or protect that species and its habitat. Videos run from five to eight minutes and portray conservation professionals studying wildlife using technology—such as radio transmitters, webcams, and electrofishing boats—and safety gear, such as life vests, protective gear for feeding young black-footed ferrets, and helmets and rock climbing equipment for repelling off cliffs to count California condor eggs. Episodes focus on animals from mammals and insects, to reptiles and amphibians, to waterfowl and birds of prey. Students learn about careers in such fields as fish and wildlife biology, law enforcement, and environmental education.

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