Education Overview: Chintimini Wildlife Center, Wildlife Rehabilitation, Corvallis, Oregon

Education Programs' Overview

Environmental Education Philosophy: "Bringing You the Wonders of Wildlife"

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Director Jeff Picton with children at family day

Connecting Children with Nature

Chintimini education staff and volunteers are proponents of the concept of a "Nature Deficit Disorder" that is taking place with some of our children, where in this day and age of technology, they have become out of touch with the natural world. One of our primary objectives is to provide opportunities for children to connect with nature, through hands-on, place-based experiential learning. We do this through the mediums of outdoor, hands on activities and exposure to our live, non-releasable birds of prey and through remote video cameras that allow the public to view some of our rehabilitation patients.

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Classroom Activity

Emotional Connection with Nature

Our belief is that people are not likely to take an active role in protecting the environment unless there is some kind of an emotional connection between them and nature. We see our job as providing opportunities to foster that emotional connection by exposing them to the beauty and complexity of nature through our interactive educational programs. It is our hope that looking into the eyes of one of our non-releasable educational birds of prey, or watching the rough and tumble antics of group of orphaned baby raccoons cavorting through one of our web cams, or simply taking a stroll along one of our nature trails in our beautiful ash swale wetland, will instill in our visitors a sense of wonder of the natural world that they can take home with them and that will influence the decisions they make with regard to their interactions with the environment.

Wildlife in Your Own Backyard

Our on-site education programs primarily focus on the wildlife in your own backyard. By using the native landscape areas on our property. as well as the native gardens surroundings our Education Center yurt as examples, our programs demonstrate how easy it is to find a great deal of species diversity in your own backyard! Education program participants explore these areas and document the variety of native species of plants and animals that can be found on-site. From this exercise, participants become familiar with species found in our local habitats. As a result they are better able to understand species needs, as we teach them about the importance of and how to create habitats in their own backyard.

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Bunnies (Sylvilagus)

In addition, we have come to realize that this generation of children learns differently than adults do; they are being raised in a high tech, digital information age, and the way they process and absorb information is very different. Just taking these children out into the woods may not be enough. Chintimini’s Education Center programs integrate outside, hands-on activities with high tech indoor data collection and information processing.

Using High Tech Learning Methods

Using technology that includes live animal video feeds for observing and learning about wildlife biology and behavior audio-visual technology that allows for interactive classroom participation, GPS tracking of on-site wildlife signs and activities, database management of compiled information, and web site development and management, our goal is to get kids outside to observe and monitor the natural world (while moving around and getting exercise), then have them bring their data back into the classroom for further analysis and dissemination of information using advanced technology. We believe that children of this generation will embrace this style of learning, and that we will meet our goal of connecting them with nature through science.

Our 10 Year Plan

Based on our philosophy we have developed a 5-10 year phased approach to our expansion efforts (see Expansion Project). These programs and projects will further our goals and follow our philosophical ideologies in; helping people feel connected to wildlife and their local environment, stimulating critical and creative thinking skills and empowering youths and adults to become environmentally responsible, productive and contributing members of society.