Brandon Pope
The evaluation of the ability of an
environmental education program to alter the preconceived notions of wildlife
by inner-city youth
My study will focus will on perceptions of wildlife by
inner-city children before and after their participation in an after-school
environmental education program. I will
use the 4-H Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program (WHEP, http://www.whep.org/) as a tool for involving children
in 4-5 middle schools in Kansas City, MO in an assessment of wildlife habitat
in and around their school. Small groups
of students will be interviewed before and after their participation in WHEP to
assess their perceptions of wildlife and wildlife habitat.
My goal is to
ascertain if an environmental education program can foster enthusiasm in
inner-city children about wildlife. In one dimension, this interest can
encourage the children to recognize that although they live in areas not
associated with wildlife, animals do reside in cities and should be given some
level of concern. On a larger scale, this awareness can lead to a diverse
group of future natural resource managers, an aspect lacking in our field.