Volume No. 11, 2002
Applications
Like most states east of the Rocky Mountains, the majority of land ownership in Kansas (> 98%) is private (Figure 1). Publicly owned lands in Kansas typically do not have conservation as a primary goal or mandate. For example, the two largest public parcels (Fort Riley Military Reservation and Cimarron National Grasslands) have a GAP conservation status code of 3, as do most public lands (66.6%) in Kansas (for codes, see Crist 2000). Only 0.034% of publicly owned lands are categorized as code 1 and 11.7% as code 2. Lack of publicly held lands and infrequency of conservation goals suggest that most of Kansas represents a gap relative to protected habitats and species.
Figure 1. Stewardship map from the KS-GAP Project. Lands owned by conservation agencies and publicly owned land included both land and water acreages.
We propose a model for effective conservation efforts in states such as Kansas, which need to be different than those used in states with large public holdings. In states with little public land, it is not possible to contact enough individual landowners to effect management decisions for large tracts of land; conservation strategies will require a long-term approach to effect change (Figure 2). Therefore, we suggest a conservation strategy that directly educates and trains wildlife managers in charge of management decisions about the limited extent of federal and state lands. Further, we propose that educational materials be distributed in public places to encourage citizens, including private landowners, to appreciate the heritage and conservation value of wildlife resources. Finally, we suggest that to effect change indirectly, Internet programs need to be developed that can be used by interested adults and children in public places (e.g., museums, nature centers, and state parks) and by children in classrooms. Additional education of kindergarten through 12th-grade students could increase their knowledge of the natural world, which a recent study by Balmford et al. (2002) suggests is lacking. Based on this study, children had a greater ability to identify Pokémon figures than common plants, invertebrates, mammals, and birds living in the environment around them. This lack of knowledge likely is perpetuated in later life because appropriate information and insights were not gained in the formative years.
Figure 2. A proposed conservation strategy for states with few public lands.
The short-term objectives of the Kansas Gap Analysis Program (KS-GAP) Education Project are to educate elementary students and to use classroom lessons to elicit conversations between students and their parents or grandparents. The long-term objective is to give students an appreciation of natural habitats and wildlife resources in Kansas, so they become conservation-conscious adults. To accomplish this, we tested the feasibility of developing educational modules for 6th graders from data (e.g., land cover, stewardship, and predicted vertebrate distributions) collected by the KS-GAP project.
We conducted Internet searches for Kansas to assess conservation and environmental education programs, to identify science education standards, and to locate media files for vertebrates. We identified Web sites that provided information for teachers, students, and potential state projects (e.g., resources, links, and examples). Search results will be published in the KS-GAP Education State Project Resource Manual upon completion of this project. Further, examination of Kansas Science Education Standards revealed that, in Kansas, certification of our program was not required (Dr. J. Staver, personal communication) and that we could develop modules that encompassed five of the seven standards (KSESWC 2001). Finally, photographic images of species and their sign, as well as habitats, and audio files of calls for vertebrates were assembled and copyright releases obtained. Currently, we have 1,285 images of animals, 309 calls, and 154 images of vertebrate sign.
We assessed the KS-GAP vertebrate database/decision support system for information content, usability, and convertibility to an output/exploration system for students. Because so much information was not relevant to the education project, we created a new relational database (KS-GAP Education Program database) tailored to module development. Microsoft Access™ database information can be served by Data Access Pages™ or by simulation of these pages using HTML on the Internet.
We took a bottom-up “listen and learn” approach and worked with local teachers to develop educational products by forming partnerships with “trial” schools. We chose communities that varied in size (small-rural, medium-rural, and small-urban) and communities that were under-served (including schools in rural areas and those that varied in minority enrollment). Following selection of three rural and seven urban schools, letters were mailed to principals requesting the school’s participation and names of science teachers. Subsequently, teachers were personally invited to participate in our pilot project. We visited “trial” schools and demonstrated prototype products we could develop to help them meet the state science education standards. Our presentations generated much enthusiasm, and we gained valuable information and insight. Eighteen classes in seven schools in three school districts agreed to participate in the pilot project. Teachers lent textbooks to assist us in developing classroom materials. In contrast to the idea that all schools would be teaching the same science curriculum at the 6th-grade level (J. Staver, personal communication), we found that each school district made independent decisions. Therefore, we needed to develop several modules for each school district that related to topics taught at the 6th-grade level at each specific school. Modules were constructed independently of each other, so teachers could choose among the lessons used. Our modules are (1) Science is…, (2) Animals, (3) Classification of Vertebrates, (4) Environments and Biomes, (5) Local Landforms, (6) Application of Technology for Society, and (7) Knowledge in Action. Modules 1-6 each contain 4 to 7 lessons, and module 7 involves a field trip.
Following teacher and student evaluations, changes in modules and creation of additional modules will be considered. Because much of the pilot project is restricted to three counties, it will be necessary to expand informational content so that modules are available to any elementary school in the 105 Kansas counties. Therefore, we must automate queries and provide county-specific information for any school accessing the education database via the Internet. We need to develop materials for younger and older students to allow maximal exposure to environmental information relevant to their daily lives. We also should develop more content for casual Web visitors, both adults and children, using the site independent of a “trial” school. To this end, we have posted a number of engaging activities as “Sample Lessons.” Finally, we also want to implement additional phases of the proposed model to provide environmental information in other public places for use by interested citizens in a state with few protected or conservation lands.
An expanded version of this paper may be found at www.ksu.edu/kansasgap/KS-GAP-Ed/Publications/GapEdProducts.pdf.
Balmford, A., L. Clegg, T. Coulson, and J. Taylor. 2002. Why conservationists should heed Pokémon. Science 295:2367.
Crist, P.J. 2000. Mapping and categorizing land stewardship, Version 2.1.0. In: A Handbook for Conducting Gap Analysis. (http://www.gap.uidaho.edu/handbook/Stewardship/default.htm)
Kansas Science Education Standard Writing Committee (KSESWC). 2001. Kansas Science Education Standards, http://www.ksde.org/outcomes/science_stds2001.pdf.
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