SOUTH SALEM, NY — School-aged children have the chance to get a little “wild” in a structured after-school program at the Wolf Conservation Center.
The upcoming program will explore the natural world and provide students in grades two through five with a unique learning opportunity among wolves (and a few other woodland creatures). The Wolf Conservation Center’s educational and interactive after-school program is designed to encourage young students to embrace nature’s wild treasures and help foster an understanding of the importance of healthy and balanced ecosystems, according to organizers.
The program includes Wolf 101, where students will learn all about wolves. Participants will also learn about coyotes, foxes, bobcats and other animals living in the forests of the northeast. Students will create crafts using natural materials, play a unique game of hide and seek using tracking and telemetry tools that real wolf biologists use in the field, create plaster paw prints from real field tracks and learn how to adjust wildlife cameras and capture photos of elusive animals.
Of course, when exploring the wilderness, it’s always important to make time for snacks cooked over a campfire.
The Wolf Conservation Center has coronavirus protocols in place to help keep attendees safe. Activities will take place mainly outdoors with a limited number of students. The same vaccinated staff members will run each extracurricular session. After-school groups will be separated from other on-site WCC visitors and masks will be used indoors, if required.
The program runs from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, starting in October. The planned dates are October 6, 13, 20, 27, November 3, 10, 17, December 1, 8 and 15. The cost of the program is $150 per child for the entire 10 week course.