Welcome to the NEW Junior Wildlife Scientist Program!

The Alabama Wildlife Federation created the Junior Wildlife Scientist Program to:

• Introduce children to the outdoors so they will have an appreciation for Alabama's amazing biodiversity and
• Teach our children about the wise use and conservation of our wildlife and natural resources.

Teachers will guide their students through a collection of inquiry-based, hands-on activities designed to help teach the Alabama Department of Education’s Course of Study Standards while integrating STEAM with English-Language Arts.

Students will earn two new merit badges and a new Junior Wildlife Scientist certificate each school year as they complete the Junior Wildlife Scientist activities in conjunction with their schoolyard habitats and outdoor classrooms.

As of May 2024, kindergarten, first, and second grade ARE available. Over the next few years, we will continue to offer more grade levels. Third grade will become available for the 2025-26 school year, fourth grade the 2025-26 school year, and fifth grade the 2026-27 school year. This means you can start with your K-2 students for the 2024-25 school year, and then all of those students can continue to participate in the program until they graduate from elementary school in 2027.

Click on the links below for more details:

Student Activities & Merit Badges | Teacher's Guides | Classroom Kits & Ordering

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Eligibility

• The AWF designed the JWS program to be taught by classroom or homeschool teachers.
• All teachers who teach Kindergarten, 1st, or 2nd grade students at public or private schools, and all homeschool parents and teachers are eligible.
• Nature centers, student clubs, after-school programs, government agencies, and city, state, or federal parks are NOT eligible.

JWS Student Activities & Merit Badges

JWS Activities
Each student participating in the Junior Wildlife Scientist program receives a nature notebook full of fun, hands-on, inquiry-based activities that help teach him/her the Alabama Course of Study Standards for his/her grade level.

CLICK HERE for more details about the types of activities found in the nature notebooks.

JWS Merit Badges & Certificate
Each school year, students have the opportunity to earn two new merit badges and receive a new level of certification in the JWS program by completing JWS nature notebook activities.

For each badge, the student must complete at least three of the JWS nature notebook activities (total of six activities) for their specific grade. The *REQUIRED and *Suggested activities for each badge are marked in the Table of Contents in both the nature notebooks and teacher guides.
The merit badges and JWS levels for each grade are shown below.

Click on the grade levels below to learn more about the nature notebook activities, merit badges and certificates for each grade level.

Kindergarten Level 1 Certification: Biologist The Study of Living Things			First Grade Level 2 Certification: Zoologist The Study of Wildlife			Second Grade Level 3 Certification: Entomologist The Study of Insects
Third Grade (Coming in 2025!) Level 4 Certification: Herpetologist The Study of Reptiles & Amphibians			Fourth Grade (Coming in 2026!) Level 5 Certification: Ornithologist The Study of Birds			Fifth Grade (Coming in 2027!) Level 6 Certification: Ecologist The Study of Ecosystems

JWS Teacher's Guides

The JWS Teacher’s Guides give teachers an overview of the Junior Wildlife Scientist program and include details about how the activities help teach the Alabama Department of Education’s Course of Study standards for science, math and English-language arts.

The guides provide background information, educational resources, lesson plans, and activity answers for ALL of the activities in the students’ nature notebooks.

CLICK HERE for more details about the types of educational resources that are included in the teacher guides for each grade level.

“These lessons are laid out in such a way that a new teacher could feel confident teaching this with little background knowledge. There’s enough info packed into the lessons.” – JWS Pilot Program School Teacher

JWS Classroom Kits

Each Junior Wildlife Scientist Classroom Kit includes:

• (1) Teacher's Guide
• (1) Nature Notebook (with 15 activities) per Student
• (2) Merit Badges per Student (with clear loop to attach to backpack)
• (1) Level Completion Certificate per Student

Cost = $5 per student (includes Shipping & Handling)
(for example: Classroom Kit for 20 students costs $100)

Classroom Kits for Kindergarten, 1^st Grade & 2^nd Grade are available now!

Place your order online by clicking the green ORDER NOW button below. Payment can be made by credit card or Purchase Order #, or you can select the "Please invoice me" option to receive an invoice for your order.

*Deadline for all orders: Friday, July 26, 2024 | *Orders will be mailed by: Friday, August 16, 2024