Noted author Dick Manning in the field with a Barred Owl.

The ORI presents a variety of education programs and lectures designed to foster awareness within local communities about the effects land usage has upon wildlife and habitats. We conduct field workshops where students, the general public, educators and volunteers, witness and participate in the collection of research data. This hands-on approach is a most effective process for developing a greater appreciation of wildlife, and the need for responsible conservation stewardship.

The ORI spends a significant amount of time providing laboratory and field training for university and college students enrolled in wildlife biology, research and ornithology courses. Most of these ORI projects are accredited through the individual institutions' Independent Study Programs.

The ORI presents a great number of field and slide presentations to various groups such as the Audubon Society, Natural History Centers, and Birding Associations. These programs assist the amateur and professional alike in field and habitat identification techniques, song identification and adaptations. For more information about these projects, contact [email protected].

In 1993, the ORI adopted the Emma Dickinson Grade School (EDGS) of Missoula, MT. As an adopted school, EDGS is the recipient of slide shows, field trips and teaching aids touching on all facets of owl natural history, all donated by the ORI. In addition, the ORI has purchased books, videos and subscriptions to children's natural history publications for the school, and an "Owl Trunk". The trunk contains skulls, feathers, bones, books, videos and teaching curricula. The ORI provides these trunks to schools in Montana, and they are available for loan throughout the school systems. A third grade teacher, Kila Jarvis, coordinates the use of the Owl Trunks and has completed writing a children's book (adults like it too) with the ORI on owls.

A group of school children from the Missoula School District at one of our "Day in the Field" programs.

Public Education Programs

A most extensive and productive aspect of the ORI's educational efforts is through own community programs. The ORI communicates not only with the scientific community, but also crosses occupational boundaries and communicates with the general public. Our research meets the public through lectures, field trips, media coverage and by welcoming volunteers in our field research when appropriate. Our field training of elemenatary and high scool teachers from western Montana, as well as their students, has instilled curriculums in the school districs emphasizing the importance of developing ethical conservation practices. By instructing teachers drawn from a wider area of the country, these curriculums will extend to a much larger area. Our ability to reach greater numbers and expand an informed population base, will continue to promote public awareness and action when dealing with conservation issues.

Arctic Sivunmun Ilisagvik College

Since 1992, the ORI has been assisted by students of the Arctic Sivunmun Ilisagvik College in Barrow, Alaska. As part of their summer courses, these students learn the arctic ecology of the Snowy Owls and Lemmings. Students gain wildlife research experience through independent projects for college credit or as volunteers in the ORI Snowy Owl Project. Two students are presently co-authoring scientific papers.

denver holt and chris savok of the north slope borough department of wildlife management, barrow, alaska identify prey remains from a snowy owl pellet.

With a young Snowy, our director discusses the banding process and its scientific significance, with Gerry Brower while Gerry passes along information about the cultural significance of the Snowy Owl to the Eskimo people of the area. Gerry was a student from the local elementary school in Barrow.

Field Research

Jim Greene, a Missoula teacher, and his wife, Martha, learn about Long-eared Owls. What they learn is passed on to Jim's students in the classroom.

Hundreds of volunteers have voyaged into the field with the ORI. In the process, they collect biological data, learn what field biology is about, and come to understand the importance of our research. The volunteers represent a broad range of professions. Farmers, timber workers, teachers, waitresses, doctors, nurses, business people, musicians, artists, athletes, and members of senior citizen groups have all participated in ORI research projects. Our field training of elementary and high school teachers has helped produce curricula within the local school districts emphasizing the importance of preservation and conservation practices within the students.