Issue link: https://fredparent.uberflip.com/i/722388
16 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • September 2016 Dr. jane Goodall says that "young people—when informed and empowered, when they realize that what they do truly makes a difference—can indeed change the world. they are changing it already." With this message, the world- renowned Jane Goodall Institute partnered with local environmental consulting firm, Marstel-Day, and Fredericksburg's Hugh Mercer Elementary School to launch the inclusion of wildlife conservation as a core area in the elementary school's science, technology, engineering and math (StEM) curriculum, as of the 2015-2016 academic year. the event taught the school's kindergarten through second grade students about chimpanzees, wildlife conservation, and the Institute's community conservation and environmental education programs. the activities included having the students perform "chimpanzee yoga" to spell the word "chimp," lis- tening to the sounds of chimp vocalizations (known as "pant-hoots") and having the student repeat these sounds, and watching a personalized video message recorded by Dr. Jane Goodall. "Saving nature is our top priority," says Marstel-Day's President and CEO rebecca r. rubin. "Marstel-Day is very proud to stand with the remarkable Jane Goodall Institute and Hugh Mercer Elementary School in inspiring our kids about wildlife conservation as part of our #StandWithWildlife campaign." Michele Phillips, a gifted resource teacher at Hugh Mercer, is one of the staff members incorporating the Institute's roots and Shoots program into their current StEM and conservation lessons. Other outside funding sources have allowed for StEM classes to be offered at Hugh Mercer; Marstel-Day and the Institute's roots & Shoots program provide additional support to Hugh Mercer staff so more teach- ers can incorporate conservation into their StEM programs. Marstel-Day is an environmental consulting company based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that offers a variety of innovative solutions to business, government, and nonprofit clients. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarstelDay/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarstelDay Jane Goodall Institute's global roots & Shoots program empowers young people to become environmental and humanitarian leaders. With 150,000 youth participating in more than 130 countries, roots & Shoots has been connecting youth who want to create a better world with service projects and youth-led campaigns in their com- munities since 1991, according to the Institute's website. to learn more visit: www.rootsandshoots.org #StandwithWildlife Campaign #StandwithWildlife is a lecture series that highlights critical habitat and wildlife issues facing our world today. Speakers have included experts who have pre- sented programs about saving habitat for just one more genera- tion, the human-wildlife interface, wildlife trafficking, plastics pol- lution, conservation leadership, getting kids out in nature and more. These talks are open to the public and are recorded. To see past talks, go to: www.marstel- day.com/stand-with-wildlife and email Ann Kuo at akuo@marstel- day.com if you would like to be added to the email list to learn about future talks. Jane Goodall Institute Joins Hugh Mercer's STEM Program Sponsored Material