Conservation in the Classroom: Teller Wildlife Refuge creating curriculum for schools

Two sandhill cranes warble while passing over over Teller Wildlife Refuge in Corvallis on Tuesday morning as the new education program manager for the refuge, Sarah Daman, is starting her day.

Daman was hired a month ago to help bridge a gap between Teller Wildlife Refuge and the school systems throughout the valley, and to help manage and run multiple programs for youth and adults throughout the year including summer camps.

Originally Daman is from Maryland, but she came out West in 2010 to get her master’s degree and spent part of her time in her program at the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, where she led middle school science classes through the park teaching them about the area and camping with them. The experience helped her realize she wanted to be a science teacher.

Daman’s love of science started early, and she says she was a self-proclaimed dinosaur kid who slept with a toy velociraptor every night. She would frequently visit her aunt who was a science teacher in Tennessee for 30 years. While visiting she would get to go to the zoo, the aquarium, and even went to a dinosaur expo when she was around eight years old. When she arrived and saw all the dinosaurs and science activities she thought, “This is my moment. I’m going to be a dinosaur scientist!”

Her love and passion for science continued and she says she is excited to be working at the refuge now.

“When this job became available I kind of figured it would mix my two favorite things," Daman said. "Still getting to help teach and help other teachers teach science, and then also getting to be outside."

She is currently working multiple programs that involve partnerships with groups such as Trout Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks and the Forest Service. She is working with the organizations to bring an initiative they are calling Conservation in the Classroom to local schools.

Conservation in the Classroom was started by a group of teachers and organizations with the help of the Montana Natural History Museum to develop conservation-based curriculum for kindergarten through eighth grade. The curriculum consists of lessons initially taught in the classroom by a teacher, with a second part where Daman comes in to help teach lessons, and then a third portion involving a field trip  — which in this case would be to Teller Wildlife Refuge. Daman said the program hasn’t gotten off the ground yet, but they are looking to start testing lessons out this spring in a couple of classrooms.

“Those are all thematically connected, and then there's a set of lessons for every grade,” Daman said. “So, by the time they leave middle school, they've had this extensive place-based science education about our valley.”

A large part of Daman's job is writing grants to get funding, and she plans to use some of the funding to provide materials and resources to teachers so they don’t have to pay to teach the curriculum, which she said she knows firsthand will be helpful to not have out-of-pocket costs.

Another big project Daman has coming up is the Youth Expo in May, where 30 to 40 government and nonprofit organizations will set up at the refuge with conservation and recreational themed activities for kids and families. Some of the planned events include a rock-climbing wall, hunting dog demonstrations, fishing and an archery course.

Daman said conservation is something important to her, and helping the community learn about responsible hunting and fishing as part of conservation education is something she is looking forward to. She herself is a bow hunter and has a love for sport, adding her father gave her her first bow when she was young.

“That was another part that really drew me to this, was making that connection for people, that this is where your food comes from, your connection to the land, and doing so ethically,” Daman said.

Even though she is new to the job she said she has already had quite the experience. One of her favorite moments came during her second week, when Teller Wildlife Executive Director Dan Bailey told her some trout had gotten stuck behind one of the irrigation ditch walls.

Daman and her coworkers went out with nets and waders and caught all the trout and relocated them into the river. She said she appreciates her team and that they can do things like take a break in the middle of the day to save trout.

One of Daman’s favorite things is going to the riparian area near the river during her lunch to see what kind of animals she can spot. She often sees moose, elk and she even spots porcupines hanging out in the trees.

"It's just so cool that we have that in our backyard and as part of my job," Daman said. "I know I'm spoiled."