A new twist on Environmental Education
Story by Jaime Tompkins, Outdoor Recreation Planner (NLCS), Montana/Dakotas State Office
teacher Jill Cammon and BLM
Natural Resource Specialist
Kirsten Boyle. Cammon
incorporated the Spanish version
of the BLM Jr. Ranger book into
her class curriculum.
Photo courtesy of Kirsten Boyle
As the BLM Montana-Dakotas State Office program lead for youth and environmental education programs, I have had the opportunity to reach out to our field offices with exciting news: there are now Junior Ranger booklets available in Spanish!
A handful of these new books were delivered to the Montana-Dakotas State Office and have since been distributed to the local libraries. I also supplied copies to the Billings High School Spanish teachers and field offices.
projects done with the BLM Jr. Ranger booklets.
Photo by Kirsten Boyle
Kirsten Boyle, Natural Resource Specialist for the Havre Field Office, saw an opportunity. She reached out to Havre High School Spanish teacher, Señora Jill Cammon, who incorporated the books into her curriculum.
“The BLM books were a great addition to my classroom and to me personally,” she said. “I used the new vocabulary when touring Montana with our Spanish foreign exchange student’s family last summer.”
She utilized the Junior Ranger Wildlife and Habitats book last year as an addition to a chapter on nature and the environment. The students enjoyed using real world materials to learn new vocabulary and test their Spanish language skills. All the students finished the books and completed additional projects to practice what they learned. Her Spanish 3 class intends to travel to Peru this summer and work on an environmental conservation project -- along with sight-seeing, of course!
BLM Jr. Ranger booklet to help a group of Scouts earn a
merit badge in Environmental Science. Photo by Jeremy
Siemens, Boy Scouts of America.
In January, Boyle used activities from the Jr. Ranger booklets at the Boy Scouts of America HiLine Merit Badge College held at Montana State University-Northern in Havre. She worked with candidates for the Environmental Science Merit Badge, which is a requirement for reaching the rank of Eagle. Besides discussing several points related to environmental science, Boyle talked with the Scouts about potential careers in environmental science and led them in conducting an oil/water pollution experiment. They tried different treatments for removing oil from water: fire, boom and suction, and sorbent pads (paper towels).
“We had a lot of fun,” she said, “even though nothing burned because it was only about 10-15 degrees (F).”
These publications are available through the BLM’s Printed Materials Distribution Service (PMDS)
- Jr. Ranger Native Plants Activity Book (English and Spanish available)
- Jr. Ranger Wildlife and Habitat Activity Book (English and Spanish available)
- Jr. Ranger Geology and Fossils Activity Book (English and Spanish available)
- Jr. Ranger My Public Lands Fall 2016 (English and Spanish available)