The Making TRACKS Challenge for Schools

Summary: Make your own school nature trail. Identify plants, animals and interesting sites on your trail and add them to the Making Tracks database. The site will automatically generate an illustrated field guide for your nature trail that you, your students or anyone at your school can download anytime and take with them on the trail. Also take advantage of all the science activities, movies, and nature games provided to enhance your science curriculum. Learn science while having fun outdoors! Register for the challenge here.
  1. Adams MediaObjectives
  2. Guidelines
  3. Deadlines
  4. Prizes

I. Objectives:

  1. To familiarize students (and educators) with the educational value of natural habitats.
  2. To learn to identify the plants and animals that live in your local habitats.
  3. To learn to develop a trail guide for your trail.
  4. To learn to develop a map for your trail site.
  5. To learn about natural processes like life cycles and food webs.
  6. To identify 10 or more learning points where hikers can see interesting things like woodpecker excavations, decomposition, forest succession, animal nesting, etc.
  7. To see and become sensitive to the effect humans can have on natural habitats (litter, development, pollution, etc.) raising awareness about conservation and the environment.
  8. To use the trail to enhance science education in the classroom.
  9. To share trail information, maps and guides with other classes, so the trail can be enjoyed by your whole school.
  10. To produce a 3 minute movie or a photo essay about your nature trail and its development that can be displayed at school and on the Making TRACKS website.
  11. To add your trail to the Making TRACKS trail collection.

*Schools with no land on which to make a trail can use a local walking trail as their nature trail site. Be sure to get permission to put out trail markers and bring classes there.

II. Guidelines:

  1. Register your school group as citizen scientists for the Making TRACKS Challenge for Schools.
  2. Receive the Making TRACKS Challenge packet and find helpful links (below).
    Important Links:
    How to Build a Nature Trail downloads:
    • Making a Nature Trail - Choosing Educational Stations
    • Making a Nature Trail - Getting Started
    • Making a Nature Trail - Mapping
    • Making a Nature Trail - Your Nature Guide
    • Deciduous Trees by Leaf Shapes
    • Tree Identification
    • Fern Identification
    • Wildflower Identification in the Fall
    • Inquiry-based and Observational Activities for the Trail

      • All at: Fun Things to Do With Kids on the Trail

    Species Recording Sheet download

    How to Identify Species (in general) download

For more species information, register for this free site:
Exploring Nature Educational Resource (http://www.exploringnature.org)

Waterford Press

  1. Entry components include:
    1. Trail Map of your site — Students will map out their nature trail as close to scale as possible with a clear starting point for visitors. Nature trail length should be about .5 – 3 miles. Maps should show landmarks (school and parking), forest, open areas, streams and ponds, wetlands, and other visible features in an index. Trail learning points should be marked and indexed. The map should be in an 8.5 x 11 format easily copied for other classes to use as a resource.
    2. Trail Guide of your site — Students will identify the plants, trees and animals on their trail using a guide from their library or online. Online resources: www.exploringnature.org (free registration gives you access) and this site. A full color species guide will be generated automatically on the Making Tracks website for your trail and for anyone at your school to access and print out.
    3. Trail Video or Photo Essay — Videos should be short, concise vignettes of the development and content of your nature trail. Photo essays should be 2,000 - 5,000 word descriptions of the development and content of your nature trail with accompanying digital photos (2-4).
    4. Add Your Trail to the Making TRACKS Collection — Simple as that. Tell friends and family where they can look at your trail on the website. Congratulations!

III. Deadlines:

  • Complete trail by National Trail Day on June 7th 2008
  • It is our hope to continue the Making TRACKS Challenge for schools as an annual and ongoing event. We are always adding new activities, science experiments and movies to the collection, so keep coming back for more to do and learn. If you cannot complete your trail in one year, continue on and complete it next year. There are always new things to learn from the outdoors.

IV. Prizes:

When you have completed the entry components for your trail, including trail input on the website, email science coordinator at: sheri@makingtrackschallenge.com for completion certificate and prizes. Enjoy the outdoors!

Register for the Making Tracks Challenge for Schools!