FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 26, 2009
 

MEADOWVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ENDS THE YEAR WILD
Elementary school certified as a WILD School Site
          

     MILFORD, OH – Meadowview Elementary School ended the 2009 school year as a WILD School Site after being certified by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

     The WILD School Site program was established by the ODNR Division of Wildlife in 1994 to encourage schools to take action in order to improve their school yard habitat for wildlife while using the site to learn lessons in the many subjects of their curriculum. Since then 95 school sites statewide have been certified, with Meadowview Elementary becoming the 96th and the second in Clermont County. The WILD School Site certification served as recognition for the teachers’ and students’ hard work.
  
     The students and staff at Meadowview along with several Boy Scout troops have participated in this ongoing project not only to create a more pleasant school ground but also to provide much needed wildlife habitat. After four years of hard work the site includes a self guided nature trail, seating area, bird watching blind, nest boxes, bird feeders and also a garden area with bird bath.

    All of the projects have served as a basis for various classroom lessons, a main component of the WILD School Sites program.  Science, math, and language arts are highlighted. 

Meadowview teacher Amy Steinle is the project coordinator and has been instrumental in the promotion and ongoing use of the site in the schools curriculum. She advises the Nature Club; made up of fifth and sixth grade students. The students are involved in each step of the planning and implementation of the site. The club originally included the fourth grade class as well, due to the high participation and limited time the club was scaled down to fifth and sixth grades only.  

     Steinle also noted that the school site would not be possible without funding from the Southwest Ohio Chapter of Safari Club International, SCI.  SCI funds and manages worldwide programs dedicated to wildlife conservation, outdoor education and humanitarian services. Southwest Ohio club members advance many local, regional and global wildlife conservation projects each year. Take a look at their web site to see some of the ways they’re working to help wildlife, www.sciswo.org .

     For more information on the WILD School Site program visit us on the web at www.wildohio.com .