Avian Academics: Bird Watching Contest Provides Innovative Tool for Teachers

Camden County, NJ, April 30, 2009 --(PR.com)-- This May, the Fledging Birders Program is challenging teachers and students across America to discover their local birds of the annual spring migration. The Schoolyard Birding Challenge (www.fledgingbirders.org/challenge.html) will award outstanding classes across the country with prizes for taking walks and finding birds around their school grounds. "The fresh air, interaction with nature, and observations skills involved with birding provides both my students and me with a mentally stimulating start to the school day," notes Fledging Birders Program Director and middle school teacher Dave Magpiong.

For millions of Americans, bird watching is both a relaxing and exciting outdoor leisure activity. "Kids enjoy watching birds because they come in many different sizes, shapes, and colors. More importantly, however, bird watching also delivers profound developmental benefits for our youth," explains Mr. Magpiong, a former special education teacher. These birding benefits include:

- building observation skills
- promoting healthy recreational choices
- bolstering communication skills
- increasing students' ability to focus on tasks
- exercising multiple cognitive processes
- reinforcing curricular concepts (See www.fledgingbirders.org/files/ThisClassisfortheBirds.pdf for more information).

For the Schoolyard Birding Challenge, students will work together to find, observe, identify, and record the various bird species around their school. Participating teachers are encouraged to conduct their bird searches as frequently as possible before, after, or even during school hours to increase the number of species seen. Teams will submit their bird checklists online at www.fledgingbirders.org/challenge.html to win various prizes. Teachers can also request lesson plan ideas to incorporate the birding activity throughout their curriculum at www.fledgingbirders.org/contact.html .

The Fledging Birders Program's dual mission is to enhance the lives of our youth by reintroducing them to nature through bird watching and to promote public awareness of bird conservation issues. Mr. Magpiong emphasizes that, "showing them a beautiful bird like a Baltimore Oriole immediately impacts the life of that child but it also instills a concern for the well-being of these birds, as well as nature in general." This program is an environmental education initiative of National Biodiversity Parks Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

###