New Yorkers benefit from Congresswoman McCarthy’s leadership on Environmental Education

Julie Larsen Maher©WCS

As Chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and Labor Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities, Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) understands the importance of working to ensure that each child is prepared to be a productive, successful member of the global knowledge economy.  Environmental education, which is under the jurisdiction of Congresswoman McCarthy’s Subcommittee, teaches skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, analysis, and teamwork, all necessary for success in this economy.  As a senior member of the Education and Labor Committee, Congresswoman McCarthy supports the continued improvement of teacher professional development and education, including environmental education, so that each child can get the education he or she deserves.  She also recognizes the critical role that informal education can play in sparking the motivation and creativity of our nation’s students, and supports such activities at the Bronx Zoo.

For example, the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society has recently established the first ever School for Wildlife Conservation. Teachers at the school--some of who will be trained by the Wildlife Conservation Society, will incorporate the Bronx zoo’s cutting edge environmental education program and resources into many facets of the curriculum.  A math lesson may require observing the behaviors of the Zoo’s bison herd or snow leopard family to calculate how many calories they use and the amount of food needed to replenish the energy.  Art classes will include sketching expeditions to JungleWorld, the Zoo’s enormous indoor rainforest.  And students at the school will gain new role models —not just doctors and astronauts, but the conservation biologists and zookeepers who will be their neighbors. Students come from some of the most underserved parts of the Bronx—itself one of the most disadvantaged communities in the country.  Educators expect this new program will stimulate interest among the students to pursue careers in science, conservation, or zoo/aquarium professions—all areas where minorities are under-represented.

The Bronx Zoo’s award-winning Education Department was established in 1929—the world’s first zoo education program. Today it is a source of science curricula and professional development for teachers in all 50 states in the United States and 20 countries. As a partner in the School for Wildlife Conservation, the Bronx Zoo will provide curriculum development, extensive programming for students, activities for parents, and teacher training. A family science day at the Bronx Zoo for students and their parents will help kick-start the school year on September 29, 2008.

We are grateful to Congresswoman McCarthy for her support of the No Child Left Inside Act, a bill which would increase the capacity of our nation’s schools to include or augment environmental education in the curriculum and enhance current professional development opportunities for environmental education teachers.  Congresswoman McCarthy recently spoke in support of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s education program during a congressional briefing held in Washington on July 16, 2008. We thank Congresswoman McCarthy for her pivotal role on the House Education and Labor Committee and for representing the interests of New York in federal education policy debates. For more on Wildlife Conservation Society’s Education Program, please visit: http://www.wcs.org/sw-education

About the Wildlife Conservation Society

The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth. For more information, please visit: www.wcs.org

For more information on the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Federal Affairs Office, please contact:
Kelly Keenan Aylward
Wildlife Conservation Society
Washington Office
444 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 397
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 624-8195
kaylward@wcs.org