Youth Engagement, Education and Employment Programs

San Diego Zoo's Global Conservation Education Team has provided students, teachers, and community members with innovative lab-and field-based research experiences that strengthen their knowledge and appreciation of the science behind species conservation. These unique programs give students and teachers the opportunity to apply their textbook knowledge in biology and chemistry to real world scenarios in wildlife conservation. Since 2006, they have connected more than 55,000 Southern California science students to the ¿science of saving species conservation¿ through hands-on, conservation science field trips to the world-renown Beckman Center for Conservation Research. The program will provide a three-day comprehensive professional development workshop for 16 science teachers in San Diego and Los Angeles County, ready-to-implement conservation science lessons, and access to online conservation science kits. These teachers will then bring their classrooms (approximately 512 students) to the Beckman Center and Outdoor Learning Lab to do hands on field research and exploratory lab based conservation science inquiry programs. The following Department of the Interior financial assistance priorities are addressed by this project: Priority 1: Creating a conservation stewardship legacy second only to Teddy Roosevelt