About SCI American Wilderness Leadership School
What is AWLS?
The American Wilderness Leadership School (AWLS) in Jackson, Wyoming offers hands-on lessons focused around the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation as-well-as engaging take home lessons on conservation education that have been integrated into K-12 math, science, language arts, social studies and physical education.
While at AWLS, educators will learn to effectively use the outdoors as a classroom while participating in fun, exciting activities, including an Introduction to shooting sports and a white water raft trip on the Snake River, taught by enthusiastic Instructors that are experts in their fields.
AWLS is professional development for educators. If desired, it can be taken for college credit. They also offer continuing education units.
It is about learning to use the outdoors as a classroom – balancing indoor with outdoor classes. It is about learning to incorporate conservation education lessons into existing curriculum content: math, science, language arts, social studies, physical education and art.
The North American Model of Wildlife Management is the core of conservation understanding. A basic law of ecology is that everything is connected to everything else – interconnected Like nature everything in the AWLS Educator workshop is interconnected.
Educators renew their energy and enthusiasm for teaching with an eight-day professional development workshop.
How Many Teachers are Reached?
Recently, the education program sent out over twelve-hundred invitations to educators across the nation inviting them to renew their energy and enthusiasm for teaching with an eight-day professional development workshop for educators while receiving continuing education units from AWLS and college credit through Colorado State University.
The Instructors
Poignant guest speakers like Harlan Kredit, high school science teacher and summer Yellowstone Park Ranger and college professors Dr. Gary San Julian, PhD, Professor Emeritus Penn State University and Dr. Bart Ballard, PhD, Research Scientist and Professor, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute & Department of Animal and Wildlife Sciences, Texas A&M University–Kingsville, Kingsville, Texas will inspire them for years to come.
Content-relevant field trips to Pinedale, Wyoming Gas Fields, National Elk Refuge, Teton Park Visitor Center, and Jackson, Wyoming and meetings with Wyoming Game & Fish Biologists and the Bureau of Land Management land managers will provide ‘real-world” experiences they can take back and share with the students in their classrooms.
A Variety of Sessions are Available
Educators may choose from one of six eight-day Workshop sessions, June 11th through August 10th. They may sign up now, as a limited number of tuition sponsorships, a $900 value, are still available. For information on registration, program specifics, and session dates contact Karen Crehan at KCrehan@safariclub.org or 520.620.1220 x231.
Mzuri Wildlife Foundation Scholarship Applications
Click links below for 2016 AWLS scholarship applications sponsored by the Mzuri Wildlife Foundation.
2016 Sponsored AWLS Educator Application
2016 AWLS Student Application
Testimonials
“The program was initiated and managed with teachers in mind. From the hands on use of firearms, archery and lab skills to the curriculum instruction on Project Wild and Project Wet, we were shown how to incorporate a variety of approaches with our own students at our respective schools. It was very nice to work with a rich mix of teachers from elementary to secondary since the two of us represent both areas. We both found the activities we were involved with will be very useful in our classrooms. Most of all, we would like to thank you for the opportunity that reminded both of us that experiencing the natural world should and will be incorporated into the preparation of our youth for the lives they will lead as well rounded adults.”
John and Alane Wolner, Colorado