Kids for the Earth
In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will only understand what we are taught.
Baba Dioum
The Friends developed Kids for the Earth (KFTE) because we believe that children who learn the value of their environment will become tomorrow's stewards of the earth. Its mission is to provide teachers and youth group leaders with hands-on activities that help children understand the interaction of environmental and human forces in the Pheasant Branch Watershed. KFTE established a unique partnership with the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District. Each month, KFTE sponsors Conservancy Day Programs at the conservancy.
Field Trips and Stewardship Activities
We offer a wide variety of field trip topics for children in grades K-5. Topics include trees, shapes and colors hunt, Magic Bus trip into the soil, plants, water, web of life, and landforms.
We coordinate community service opportunities in the conservancy throughout the year. This year we are looking for classes to help with collecting and sowing prairie seeds and removing garlic mustard. Friends volunteers are available to work with on these and other restoration activities.
Contact Colleen (education@pheasantbranch.org) to lean more about the field trips
Kids for the Earth Educators' Guides
During the 2002-2003 school year, KFTE brought together nine area educators to develop a set of lesson plans tied to Pheasant Branch Conservancy resources. The Branch Out! Educator's Guide was created in part by teachers to help other teachers plan classroom and field trip activities. Its topics include glacial geology, Dane County watersheds, water quality, wildlife diversity, prairie and restoration projects, urban development and environmental art. The guide was written with the Pheasant Branch Conservancy in mind, but can be applied to other natural areas as well.
Lesson Kits Available
The Branch Out! Educator's Guide lesson kits were created by teachers using the guide. The kits complement the activities in Branch Out! and provide teachers with most of the materials needed to lead those activities. Now it's easier than ever to get out and learn in the Conservancy!
Pheasant Branch Conservancy Brochure
This informative brochure is 32-pages in full color.
The Geological, Cultural History and Ecology of the Pheasant
Branch Conservancy and Watershed