Wildlife Habitat Council - Three Rivers Habitat Partnership

What do 5,000 native wildflowers and grasses, 100 elementary students, hundreds of volunteer hours, three organizations, and two corporate wildlife teams equal?

The start of a unique new partnership called Wings of Wonder. In 2001, the Three Rivers Habitat Partnership (TRHP) launched the Wings of Wonder program. Partners include Allegheny Schools' Science, Education and Technology (ASSET, Inc.), Bayer Corporation, PPG Industries and TRHP.

Wings of Wonder is a site-based environmental education program developed by and for Corporate Lands for Learning sites. This unique hands-on, minds-on curriculum uses inquiry-based education to explore migratory wildlife, such as birds and butterflies, and can be customized to any WHC member site that provides habitat for migrating wildlife.

Wings of Wonder provides the perfect educational program for corporate sites with projects to enhance pollinator habitat through the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign and bird habitat through WHC’s Corporate Campaign for Migratory Bird Conservation. Do you have a butterfly garden or native meadow? This can be an ideal project to integrate the guidelines with efforts as simple as adding plants that various pollinators prefer. Download the Pollinator Friendly Practices Guidelines.

All types of wildlife have four basic needs: food, water, shelter, and space. Meet these needs and you create a habitat, a home for wildlife. How you provide for these needs, as well as the habitat present in your nearby area, will dictate what type of wildlife you attract.

By using corporate wildlife habitats as outdoor learning laboratories, students take part in standards-based activities that make classroom curricula come alive, participating in the real science and conservation efforts happening in their own neighborhoods. Students of all ages are welcome to explore Wings of Wonder and their surrounding habitat.

Backyard Conservation provides excellent resources to undertake community-based ecological restoration at homes, schools, businesses and parks.

With the emphasis on community, Backyard Conservation provides a vehicle for helping teachers and students of all ages meet and integrate curriculum requirements in areas such as science, math, social studies and language. For information on planting your own meadow, visit the State Resources where you will find native plants, nurseries plus more.

Teacher guides are also available online in the Backyard Lesson Plans section. Team Flight field journals are designed to inspire a sense of stewardship and respect for migratory birds and to empower students to take personal action to conserve their local habitats. The Team Monarch field journals may be used to introduce students to the concepts of butterflies, other pollinators and their meadow habitat.