With the help of a National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Five Star & Urban Waters Restoration Grant, this HPARD Curriculum in Nature was designed and produced in partnership with U.S. Fish & Wildlife, HPARD staff, Student Conservation Association, Buffalo Bayou Partnership and Houston Wilderness. The trees, birds, fish, pollinators and other outdoor plant and animal topics identified in the booklet's 20 lesson plant and are unique to the Houston Regions and its neighboring National Wildlife Refuge. This curriculum booklet also provides a unique opportunity to students participating in the HPARD After-School Enrichment Programs to be educated about the Houston’s natural and wilderness world.
The SCA Interns have been working towards a variety of things, all helping to build their knowledge and create lesson plans for students attending the After-school & Summer Enrichment programs at HPARD Community Centers. The Interns have visited and gathered information about the National Wildlife Refuges, Participated in tree training and planting, and created 20 lesson plans for the after school program. They started teaching these lesson plans mid February and have attended several events doing outreach for the Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership. The Goal in creating this booklet was to engage students attending HPARD’s After-school and Summer Enrichment programs in Finding nature, Connecting with Nature and Caring for Nature.
With the aid of a National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Five Star & Urban Waters Restoration Grant, this HPARD Nature in Parks Guide was designed and produced in partnership with U.S. Fish & Wildlife, HPARD staff, Student Conservation Association, Buffalo Bayou Partnership and Houston Wilderness. The trees, birds and other habitat identified in the booklet are unique to each park but the booklet also provides a unique opportunity to see where various tree and bird species overlap among parks and illustrates the extent to which Houston’s natural world is as diverse as its people.
While this Guide is designed for the HPARD staff and the many children and adults who play and learn in their community parks, everyone can enjoy this booklet as way to learn more about the outward symbols of the great human principle.
“There is nothing so American as our national parks. The scenery and the wildlife are native. The fundamental idea behind the parks is native. It is, in brief, that the country belongs to the people, that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us. The parks stand as the outward symbol of the great human principle.”
