(PRESS RELEASE / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
PRAIRIE PROJECT … A zoo official hands out seeds to excited students
CLASS PICTURE … The sophomore class grabs a photo by the zoo prairie sign.
HANDS ON LEARNING … Students begin seeding the prairie.
PRESS RELEASE – On Wed., Feb. 19, Hilltop students in Pre-K to seniors participated in the hand-broadcast seeding of the native prairie that will be located to the west of the junior high gymnasium.
Hilltop applied and was selected for this three year grant from The Toledo Zoo Project Prairie. The zoo will provide supplies and instruction on installation in addition to educational opportunities for both staff and students.
Project PRAIRIE is an exciting program that is a collaboration between The Toledo Zoo’s Conservation and Education Departments to install native prairie habitat on public school campuses throughout northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.
Through a generous grant by Owens-Corning, these prairie installations are free to qualified schools. Prairies can be up to ¼ acre. The grant also covers the cost of prairie maintenance over three years.
Additionally, the grant will fund several associated educational opportunities. Zoo Education Department staff will host a teacher professional development event at the school, teaching teachers how to effectively utilize the prairie for hands-on inquiry, citizen science and project-based learning lessons.
Zoo Education staff will also conduct free in-the-prairie programs with each classroom in the school over the course of the school year.
To qualify, the school must be a public school and be within a 50 mile radius from the Toledo Zoo (as determined by Zoo staff).
Additionally, school or district administrators must agree to and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) prior to a prairie installation.
If you are interested in creating an exciting place-based learning environment for your students right outside the classroom door, Toledo Zoo Project PRAIRIE has the solution.