A Strategy for Integrating Principles and Concepts of Wildlife Damage Control into the School Curriculum

This paper reports an approach to educating today\u27s youth concerning the importance of regulating numbers of wildlife species that threaten property, products and health. The emphases are on preparing teachers to integrate principles and concepts into the existing curricular materials, justifying control measures with ecological understandings and economic information and dealing effectively with sensitive animal rights issues. Opportunities for integration of specific wildlife damage control topics are suggested for lessons in the life sciences, social sciences, health, language arts and mathematics. Examples of conflict between groups of different opinions about the seriousness of a pest\u27s activities or appropriateness of control are given with rationale for resolution of the problem. Evaluation by the classroom teachers of the applicability and effectiveness of the strategy was generally enthusiastic