Paintbrush and summer storm (photo by Steve Zack) 

Education at the Wind River Ranch 

Index 
1. Experiential Learning
2. Enrich Natural Science Curricula of Local Schools
3. Scientific Studies

1. Experiential Learning

Our education program is a partnership with Roots and Shoots of the Jane Goodall Institute, New Mexico Highlands University, the Northern New Mexico School Network, and the Thaw Charitable Trust. A basic premise of our mission is that experiential learning is a vital ingredient of quality education, and that educated citizens are empowered to make informed decisions. Experiential learning is basically learning through direct experience with the subject matter (McCleery et al. 2005). It can be viewed as a circle consisting of four stages: Concrete experience, observation and reflection, abstract concepts, and testing in new situations (Kolb and Fry 1975, Millenbah and Millspaugh 2003).

The fourth stage, testing in new situations, implicitly requires use of feedback to change practices and theories. Although the circle of learning can be entered at any of the four stages, learning comes through a direct encounter instead of merely thinking about the encounter (the latter is called cognitive learning).

Experiential learning is not an alternative approach, but the oldest and most fundamental method in all of education. Paul Shepard (1998) followed evolutionary logic in stating that the human genome present today was shaped in the Pleistocene Epoch (the Pleistocene is only several hundred human generations away). Learning at that time was all experiential, and childhood development was closely tied to important cues found in nature. Modern life lacks contact with those cues, and as a result childhood development can be arrested, slowed, or changed (Shepard 1998). Indeed, a recent book by Louv (2005) links children’s alienation from nature to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, stress, depression, anxiety disorders, and obesity. Louv (2005) also expounds on the restorative qualities of nature.

Mary and Anabella catching woodhouse toads

Experiential learning is particularly important in the natural sciences and conservation. Classroom discussions are not sufficient to address present conservation problems (Ryan and Campa 2000). Knowledge may change an opinion if a person does not have a strongly held viewpoint (Williams et al. 2002), but knowledge is only one of several factors influencing values, attitudes, and beliefs, and its influence can be relatively weak when values are strongly held (Reading 1993, Kellert et al. 1996). Importantly, the values people place on nature drive the current crisis in biodiversity (Kellert 1979, Reading 1993). The term value is defined as a template for how we believe we should behave or exist (Reading 1993). Most damaging to nature are values that are negative (having fear of or hostility toward nature), dominionistic (seeking control or domination of nature), and utilitarian (placing nature subordinate to human desires) (Kellert 1979; Reading 1993).

A compelling example of inconsistencies between level of knowledge and type of attitude was found during the Montana effort to reintroduce black-footed ferrets. Two groups (ranchers and members of conservation groups) showed the highest level of knowledge about ferrets, yet those two groups had diametrically opposite views of whether black-footed ferrets should be recovered (Reading and Kellert 1993). This finding mirrored studies about knowledge of, and attitudes toward, wolves in Michigan (Kellert 1990) and Wyoming (Bath 1989). Furthermore, lack of knowledge is not the reason that politicians ignore global warming, that energy companies want to exploit the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or that timber corporations clear-cut old-growth forest. Values are the core of those actions.

When values, attitudes, and beliefs are strongly held, new knowledge can be selectively received, selectively interpreted, and selectively remembered (Tessler and Shaffer 1990, Olson and Zanna 1993). In other words, people unconsciously focus on ideas that support their viewpoint / values and tend to remember those ideas better than oppositional information. Meadow et al. (2005) sampled attitudes of people toward wolves in the Southern Rockies Ecoregion then supplied those people with arguments both favoring and opposing wolf reintroduction. Nearly 64% of the recipients of these arguments showed no attitude change when retested. Nearly all of the people who scored differently after receiving the arguments simply increased the extremity of their previous opinions.

Thus education efforts must do more than impart facts. They must address and change values / attitudes and increase political enfranchisement of people who will exercise their right as citizens. The cause of both social and conservation problems is the same: A system that places personal gain above nature and other people is in effect a system based on greed. Changing attitudes toward nature is only possible when people feel compassion for life. Experiential education offers an excellent way to instill that compassion, particularly in children.

 

Students from Rio Gallinas School watch, take notes on behavior, and draw bison (students are inside the corral) 

Experiential education also offers academic advantages to students. Learner-based education promotes greater retention of material than listening to a lecture (Ryan and Campa 2000). Lectures promote rote memorization, but remembering facts without critical thinking ability will fail in the face of complex conservation issues (Millenbah and Millspaugh 2003). Furthermore, presenting information in lectures assumes that auditory learning techniques reach all students equally, when that typically benefits educated individuals who are capable of such learning; in contrast, experiential learning casts a wider net and reaches students who process information through a variety of different styles (Ryan and Campa 2000, McCleery et al. 2005). The former is teacher-based while the latter is student-based. Because experiential methods teach students to “learn how to learn,” they develop lifelong learning skills (Ryan and Campa 2000).

2. Enrich the Natural Science Curricula of Local Schools

We believe that grade and high school students are good candidates for experiential education about nature. Students at these levels are still forming their personalities and are receptive to new ideas (Rivas and Owens 1999). Yet, most teachers of this age category are overworked, underpaid, and lack the financial support to place children in contact with nature (Rivas and Owens 1999). In surveying teachers about conservation education, Brewer (2002) found they wanted: (1) opportunities to learn about ecology in a relevant context; (2) time to plan instructional activities; (3) access to instructional materials; (4) resources; and (5) dependable interaction with scientists. We will address these needs through several program elements. While we accent natural sciences in this proposal, the history of the area over the last several thousand years, the proximity to the Santa Fe Trail / Ft. Union, and our cooperation with the Jicarilla apache and the Inter-Tribal Bison Cooperative makes a tremendous opportunity for learning about archeology, anthropology, culture, and recent history.

The Jicarilla Apache Cultural Affairs Office shows students from Rio Gallinas School how to set-up a tipi at the Wind River Ranch

Interactions with students should be more than just an occasional visit to the ranch—we prefer an interactive program of continuing contact both at the ranch and in the student’s classroom. So far, the 23 school districts of the Northern New Mexico School Network are willing to be part of this program. By creating positions for teachers who can circulate through local schools, we will be able to develop mutually beneficial linkages between Wind River Ranch and the local educational community. By making new materials and experiences possible, this position will also motivate and catalyze the local educational community. We will draw heavily on the Smithsonian Institution Conservation and Research Center’s experiences in northern Virginia, the Denver Zoological Foundation’s experiences in the Denver, Colorado metropolitan area (see “http://www.denverzoo.org/education/education.htm” and “http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Education/default.cfm”), and the experiences of Carlos Atencio and José C. de Baca in northern New Mexico.

First, our education coordinator and assistants will work with participating teachers and school district officials to develop and enhance environmental science curricula in local schools. We have listened to the needs of teachers and educators, and we can provide supplementary text and materials that accent the natural sciences. The coordinator and assistants will draw upon existing educational materials available from various environmental education networks, but will tailor the materials to our region.

Second, the education coordinator and assistant will visit classrooms regularly to help teachers develop curricula, instruct, conduct experiments, and carry out special projects at or near their school. Engaging teachers and students in real life projects will emphasize the scientific method—from hypothesis formulation and experimental design, to data collection, analysis, and interpretation.

Third, students will periodically visit the Wind River Ranch. Visits can be short-term exposure or in the context of long-term projects established for the students. Such projects can reinforce topics they study in school and can also continue during the summer as internships for students who show a higher interest. We have a number of projects for ecological education that can allow students to get muddy. An analogy could be made to a long-term, ongoing science fair.

Students would initially be exposed to introductory concepts and techniques, such as finding and mapping the locations of a given species of animal or plant. Such exercises would introduce students to radio-telemetry, animal tracks and sign, automatic cameras, compasses, maps, global positioning systems (GPS), and geographic information systems (GIS). At the initial levels, this provides the “concrete experience” from the model by Kolb and Fry (1975) presented above.

By working with the same projects over the years, students will handle familiar data as they advance. With the confidence and knowledge gained from concrete experience, students can reflect on the process, explore possible flaws, consider problems with techniques, and weigh strengths and weaknesses of various information sets. Doing this in a group setting promotes the second phase of Kolb and Fry’s (1975) model, reflective observations (McCleery et al. 2005). At this stage, they begin some analysis. Analysis leads to forming abstract concepts (step three of the model), which can then lead to step four, testing new ideas (Kolb and Fry 1975, McCleery et al. 2005). Practical exercises and projects at these later steps could include measures of grazing impact, monitoring run-off and sedimentation of the Mora River, monitoring water quality, floral and faunal surveys, and participation in habitat restoration projects. By the end of high school, students interested in pursuing biology at the university should have a strong grasp of scale and dynamics in ecological interactions.

We have a special interest in students from societal groups that are under-represented in sciences, in students who are from small rural schools, and in students from urban schools who lack contact with Nature. Typically, such students who want to go to college are faced with an unfamiliar environment. One of the things that we would like to stress in all of our education efforts is that a person can be a scientist without giving up their personal identity and culture. One doesn’t have to abandon a culture to understand cause and effect or to search for knowledge. Indeed, we seek ways to blend science and cultures. Furthermore, although science is based on critical thought, it must be constructively critical. Destructive criticism based in personal goals rather than societal goals can start a vortex of unproductive conflict.

Additionally, we will offer summer workshops for science teachers to build educational capacity and help update them to recent developments in science. We will work with New Mexico Highlands University to get college credit for teachers pursuing higher degrees. This will also promote a sense of identity and membership among the participants, which is instrumental for success. Teacher workshops should initiate a cascade or multiplier effect on students. This will expose secondary school teachers and students to scientific field work and interactions with scientists (which primary and secondary science teachers ranked as important according to Brewer (2002).

 

River Source conducts a teacher workshop on watershed restoration at the Wind River Ranch

3. Scientific Studies

The Wind River Ranch will be a site for scientific field studies. Located 20 miles from Las Vegas, New Mexico, the ranch can provide year-round scientific research, seasonal research, and long-term ecological studies. We welcome university, agency, and non-governmental organization (NGO) researchers. We have written a policy guideline for researchers.

Qualified graduate students can use the ranch for their thesis research. We have been awarded grants for ecological restoration on the ranch. We can use such funds to underwrite research projects for graduate students and interns. Those projects will provide beneficial conservation strategies to neighbors, address issues of landscape connectivity for wildlife, and help students toward careers in wildlife management and conservation. For some examples of projects see the page titled Restoration on this website. It would be possible to combine these research projects with the teacher workshops and the summer school students. Testing different ways to integrate local students into research may itself be a graduate project to see which best improves science scores.

Bath, A.J. 1989. The public and wolf restoration in Yellowstone National Park. Society and Natural Resources 2:297-306.

Brewer, C. 2002. Conservation education partnerships in schoolyard laboratories: A call back to action. Conservation Biology 16: 577-579.

Kellert, S.R. 1979. Public attitudes toward critical wildlife and natural habitat issues. Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing Office, Washington D.C.

Kellert, S.R. 1990. Public attitudes and beliefs about the wolf and its restoration in Michigan. Internal Report, Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental studies, New Haven, Connecticut.

Kellert, S.R. et al. 1996. Human culture and large carnivore conservation in North America. Conservation Biology 10:977-990.

Louv, R. 2005. Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder. Algonquin Books. Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

McCleery, R.A. et al. 2005. Integrating on-campus wildlife research projects into the wildlife curriculum. Wildlife Society Bulletin 33: 802-809.

Meadow, R. et al. 2005. The influence of persuasive arguments on public attitudes toward a proposed wolf reintroduction in the
Southern Rockies. Wildlife Society Bulletin 33: 154-163.

Millenbah, K.F. and J.J. Millspaugh. 2003. Using experiential learning in wildlife courses to improve retention, problem solving, and decision-making. Wildlife society Bulletin 31: 127-137.

Olson, J.A. and M.P. Zanna. 1993. Attitudes and attitude change. Annual Review of Psychology 44:117-154.

Reading, R.P. 1993. Toward an endangered species reintroduction paradigm: A case study of the black-footed ferret. Yale
University. New Haven, Connecticut.

Rivas, J.A. and R.Y. Owens. 1999. Teaching conservation effectively: a lesson from life-history strategies. Conservation Biology 13: 453-454.

Ryan, M.R. and H. Campa. 2000. Application of learner-based teaching innovations to enhance education in wildlife conservation. Wildlife Society Bulletin 28: 168-179.

Shepard, P. 1998. Coming home to the Pleistocene. Island Press. Washington D.C.

Tessler, A. and D.R. Shaffer. 1990. Attitudes and attitude change. Annual Review of Psychology 41:479-523.

Williams, C.K. et al. 2002. A quantitative summary of attitudes towards wolves and their reintroduction (1972-2000). Wildlife Society Bulletin 30: 575-584.