Project FeederWatch can help engage children in the excitement of nature study and the wonder of scientific investigation by
- encouraging careful observation and note-taking
- stimulating children to ask questions about the natural world
- encouraging independent study
- providing opportunities for meaningful Internet use and exploration
Donation to support FeederWatch in the classroom
Thanks to a generous gift from the family of FeederWatch participant John Waud, in honor of his late wife Doris Waud, 50 schools a year will be able to participate in Project FeederWatch without a participation fee. Doris, a long-time public school teacher, was actively involved in the creation of Classroom FeederWatch at the Cornell Lab. That project has since evolved into BirdSleuth. Doris lost her battle with cancer and her family wanted to honor her with a gift that would allow schools to participate in the project Doris loved and helped bring into so many classrooms.
Due to the overwhelming response, applications for the 2018-2019 season have been closed. If you are a teacher and would like to apply, check back here in spring of 2019. You need only provide your contact information and a few details about how you intend to use FeederWatch in your classroom. We will select 50 schools every year to participate for free, and we will post stories on the FeederWatch blog from those schools to give other teachers ideas about how to put FeederWatch to use in the classroom. We hope you enjoy this opportunity and we look forward to hearing about your students’ FeederWatch experiences.
FeederWatch in the Classroom
Many teachers at a variety of grade levels have incorporated Project FeederWatch into their classrooms. Here are some of their stories…
Guilderland, New York
At a time when technology inundates our lives, it can be difficult to connect with the natural world. Jennifer Ford, a teacher at Farnsworth Middle School, has put FeederWatch to use in her classroom to do just that: connect students with nature and science in a very tangible way.
Jennifer wrote to us and said, “I have been doing Project FeederWatch with my 8th grade students for 3 years now. This year, so many students were showing up during study hall, lunch, and after school that I had to start a sign up sheet to make sure everyone was able to have space at a window to watch the feeders. Here is a picture of a group of my students watching our feeders. Thank you for this program—it is such a wonderful way to get students involved in science!”
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dennis Demcheck, a volunteer in Pamela Fry’s 4th grade science class at Westdale Heights Academic Magnet School, put together a slide show of student drawings inspired by their classes FeederWatch participation. Dennis wrote, “Several science teachers … have come to me and remarked that the students’ intense interest in birds … has sparked a wider interest in science.” Read more and see the slide show on the FeederWatch blog.
Graduate student helps middle schoolers FeederWatch in Maine
The National Science Foundation’s Graduate Teaching Fellows program at the University of Maine places graduate students in K-12 science and technology classes to enhance the level of interest and quality. Students from four Maine schools participated in Project FeederWatch under the guidance of graduate student Brent Horton, who also showed students how birds are banded.
FeederWatch for Homeschool
Join other homeschool families who have incorporated Project FeederWatch into their science curriculum, using our Homeschooler’s Guide to Project FeederWatch. The free guide is provided by BirdSleuth, a project at the Cornell Lab that creates resources for building science skills while inspiring young people to connect to local habitats, explore biodiversity, and engage in citizen-science projects.
What homeschoolers say about Project FeederWatch
“Project FeederWatch converts casual bird observation into disciplined science and has become an integral part of the science curriculum in my daughter’s home schooling program.” —Nancy Hough, New York, New York
“As home schoolers, one of our goals is to empower our children to be motivated self-learners. That means they need to see learning not as a scheduled assignment–done Monday through Friday–but as a lifestyle. Project FeederWatch is perfect for this.” —Leigh and family, Nebo, North Carolina
FeederWatch for Groups
Each year educational groups participate in Project FeederWatch. Scout troops use the project to help meet the requirements for the Bird Study Merit Badge. For example, Project FeederWatch can help scouts learn to identify 20 species–the 5th requirement for the Bird Study badge. The project can also help Girl Scouts earn their Wildlife Badge as well as an All About Birds Interest Project Award.
Other groups participate as a way to learn more about birds and nature. One 4-H student won a science award based on her FeederWatch participation and represented her state at the National 4-H Congress. Read her story.
Project FeederWatch can help engage children in the excitement of nature study and the wonder of scientific investigation by
- encouraging careful observation and note-taking
- stimulating children to ask questions about the natural world
- encouraging independent study
- providing opportunities for meaningful Internet use and exploration
Options for group participation
Option 1.
A group can choose a single bird feeding location to observe together or to observe on a rotating schedule. For example, some groups work together to count birds at a local nature center. With this option, only one registration is required since only one set of data will be submitted for the single location. The group can register under one name, or in the case of a nature center, the group can register under the name of the nature center if the center is not already registered. The group representative or the nature center will receive a Research Kit and our annual publication, Winter Bird Highlights.
Option 2.
The group can provide bird identification and bird feeding information to its members, and each group member can participate in Project FeederWatch from their own feeder sites. For example, a researcher used Project FeederWatch at a large boarding school in Maine, where students participated at each of their residences. Most groups are more informal, though, and any group in the U.S. with an educational component can qualify for a group rate when six or more participants are registered, according to the following fee schedule:
1-5 participants = $18 per participant
6-10 participants = $15 per participant
11+ participants = $12 per participant
With this option, each participant receives their own Research Kit and our annual publication, Winter Bird Highlights.
In order to qualify for the discount, a group leader or sponsor must fill out a group rate order form (below) and send it to Project FeederWatch along with the names and addresses of the group members who wish to participate and a single payment for the entire group. All group members must submit their data through the FeederWatch web site.
