Day/night scopes Based upon the interview, Beth the Brown Bear determines that Victor the Vole’s lunch was stolen at nighttime. Par- ticipants will be provided with day scopes and night scopes depicting the crime scene. Only animals active during the day will be displayed in the day scope and only animals active at night will be displayed in the night scope. Based on the time of day in which the crime was committed, partici- pants will be able to eliminate one of the suspects.
Implementation Implementing this type of program requires extensive logis-
tical planning. Due to the current structure of the program, the facilitation will require a lot of staffing; you will need at least five staff or volunteers. If you do not have this luxury, there are certainly ways in which creative thinking could help you overcome this potential barrier. One example is to plan station activities that participants can complete inde- pendently. Eliminating the need for a facilitator at each sta- tion will greatly reduce the number of staff and volunteers necessary. In addition to staffing, timing and preparation are other
logistical concerns that will need to be addressed. Prior to the implementation of any events, plan all activities and acquire and organize any necessary materials. This orga- nization will allow for ease of set-up on the event days, and convenient storage of materials for future use within your park. Though potentially tedious, front-loading this type of work and diligent organization will allow your events to run smoothly once participants arrive on sight.
Community Partners We mentioned that our program required intensive staffing
to ensure its success and Eco-Detectives would not have been possible without the help of organizations within our community including the Sitka Sound Science Center, the Sitka Conservation Society, and the Girl Scouts of Alaska. If you choose to implement a similar program, don’t be afraid to seek staffing and volunteers from within your commu- nity. Utilizing existing partnerships or conducting a simple internet search to learn more about organizations in your area can help you to determine who may be able to fill this role.
Parting Thoughts It takes a certain amount of time and effort to develop an engaging hands-on learning experience for students. The following additional tips may assist you further in your own planning: • Collaboration is essential. This is not only limited to work- ing with the community, but among colleagues as well. Community support will help you facilitate the program and assist in marketing efforts. Collaboration among staff will be essential in brainstorming activities and creative thinking throughout the entire planning process.
• Patience is key. Our program wasn’t developed overnight and we faced a number of different roadblocks. Our patience in these times, and dedication to the success of our program were essential to reaching the facilitation stage.
• Don’t reinvent the wheel. It’s cliché, but it’s true. We allowed the program at the Vancouver Metro Parks to serve as inspiration for our event series and some of our station activities. Use our ideas and allow our program to inspire you.
• Have fun! We often get bogged down in the logistical processes of these types of learning experiences. Don’t forget to enjoy the creative planning process and have fun with your participants on event day. Experiential learning is a great framework to build an
engaging experience for students to learn about the environ- ment. For us, the mystery based and event series elements of Eco-Detectives allowed us to facilitate learning for our participants. We hope you found our ideas useful and have inspiration for developing a creative and engaging program of your own.
Jennifer Yurky is a recent graduate of Ohio University with master’s degrees in Environmental Science and Outdoor Recreation and Education. She worked to develop the Eco-Detectives Event Series as part of her master’s thesis. Ryan Carpenter a Park Ranger at Sitka National Histori- cal Park in Alaska, was involved with the development of Eco-Detectives and facilitated the program. Bruce Martin, Natalie Kruse and Andy Szolosi are all three professors at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. All five collaborated on this article in order to share the Eco-Detectives project with fellow educators.
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