The Friends of Forsythe urban bird environmental education program, which we’ve featured in the past, is still working with students of Pleasantville, NJ public schools at Leeds Ave and Washington Ave through after-school projects. The group is a non-profit organization devoted to supporting the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey through a variety of education, conservation, and community involvement programs.
Once a month, leaders of the program (the ‘bird people’) visit both schools and go on observation walks with students, recording what CUBs focal species they see and teaching the kids about the ‘Bird of the Month’. Using the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s coloring book, students explore features of common birds in their area, and they also learn about important habitat needs for urban birds. As you can see from photos of the participants, students in the after-school program really enjoyed learning about birds!