The original item was published from 4/12/2018 12:17:09 PM to 5/11/2018 12:05:06 AM.

News Flash

Community

Posted on: April 11, 2018

[ARCHIVED] You're Invited: Coexisting with Carnivores Open Houses

The City of Issaquah has partnered with Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo to explore the community’s relationship with local wildlife. Join us at one of two open houses to learn more about the project.

In 2017, Woodland Park Zoo and the City of Issaquah received a $321,000 grant over three years, from IMLS, to establish a community-based science education and conservation model that will equip Issaquah residents to successfully coexist with carnivores.

Sixth-grade Issaquah middle school students and Issaquah residents will have opportunities to gain knowledge of carnivores, their roles as part of healthy local ecosystems, and engage in community-driven learning and problem-solving around issues of human-wildlife interaction in a growing region.

The grant will also build on an already successful four-year program within the Issaquah School District allowing sixth-grade Life Science students to develop their science inquiry, civic literacy, and leadership skills as they investigate solutions for living with carnivores in their community.

Community Engagement
As a part of the project to broaden the impact beyond the school audience by providing opportunities for engagement, dialogue and collaborative problem solving by all segments of the community.

You're invited to join zoo and City staff at two family friendly, open house, kick-off events to learn more about the program:

Following the open houses, a series of community events will be scheduled along with the formation of resident learning teams for further dialogue and problem solving.

Resident volunteers will also have the opportunity to be involved in remote game camera work beginning in early 2019, continuing through the end of the program in 2020.

Framework produced by this project will be applicable to other communities attempting to balance urban expansion with wildlife conservation.

For more information visit zoo.org/coexisting.