“Don’t touch that!” is what most kids hear when they
investigate dead animals. But in Hayden, Colo., elementary school
teachers are encouraging students – armed with maps and global
positioning systems – to go in search of roadkill.
Second-
and fourth-grade students at Hayden Valley Elementary School have
produced a map of roadkill patterns along U.S. Highway 40 in
northwestern Colorado. On the “Critter Control Project” map, which
covers an entire hallway wall at the school, students pinpoint
wildlife-crossing trouble spots. The results will help state
officials decide where to place new signs, as well as devices that
emit high-pitch sounds to scare off wildlife.
The Orton
Family Foundation Community Mapping program established the
Colorado pilot project, along with others in Vermont and New
Hampshire, to support community involvement of teachers and
students through mapping exercises.
For more information,
contact the Orton Family Foundation at 802/773-6336 or
www.orton.org, or visit the Community Mapping Program at
www.communitymap.org.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Roadkill 101.
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