Each issue will feature a particular animal or group of animals found in New England.
By Terry Karkos
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA – Children and teachers can now take an educated walk on the wild side thanks to a joint partnership between agencies in two states.

Wild New England, an online wildlife magazine, just made its debut thanks to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.

Geared for children in grades 4 through 7 and teachers, every issue covers two months of wildlife topics related to the seasons, along with interactive fun activities.

“This project is designed to attract the interest of our young people and take advantage of their comfort with the Web and computers,” said Don Kleiner, director of information and education for MDIF&W.

New Hampshire Fish and Game wildlife educator Marilyn Wyzga said the new site gives them another avenue to reach students and teachers with interpretive material.

“We know that children are spending a lot of time on computers and we hope Wild New England will prompt them to go outside and learn about our wildlife,” Wyzga added.

Wyzga said New Hampshire Fish and Game educators began working out the idea about a year ago when the department revamped its Web site.

“One of the things we wanted to do was develop kids’ specific Web pages. So we hooked up with Maine and that doubled our budget. Now, we’re able to provide a product that’s something both agencies can benefit from,” Wyzga said.

On the magazine’s Web site at www.wildnewengland.org, children can participate in wildlife surveys, track wildlife activity with a monthly calendar, and learn about actions they can take to benefit local wildlife.

The premier issue, which features “Wildlife Mysteries,” explores commonly and seldom seen animals like chickadees, weasels, bobcats, lynx and cougars. It also tells children how to find wildlife sign and what biologists do to study the comings and goings of certain animals.

Kleiner said the new online magazine is a tool for teachers who can assign the articles for student research and find wildlife literature in the Wild Book Nook.

Instructors can also use the frameworks pages to link their classroom curriculum with the bi-monthly Wild New England themes.

Twelve magazines are in the works, providing two years worth of issues. Each issue will feature a particular animal or group of animals found in New England and an ecological concept, from wildlife myths to winter adaptations to habitat.

Content for each magazine issue was prepared by an education team from Antioch/New England Graduate School in Keene, N.H., while design was provided by Erika and Scott Hutchings of Colorado.

Visitors can also access Wild New England through each agency’s Web site at www.wildlife.state.nh.us or www.state.me.us/ifw/.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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