Lesson Plan

National Park Legacy - Wildlife in Cities
Grades K - 2

Scientist measuring canine teeth of a mountain lion.
Grade Level:
Lower Elementary: Pre-Kindergarten through Second Grade
Subject:
Science
Lesson Duration:
90 Minutes
State Standards:
K-LS1-1
1-LS1-1
2-LS4-1
Thinking Skills:
Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words. Analyzing: Break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts. Creating: Bring together parts (elements, compounds) of knowledge to form a whole and build relationships for NEW situations.

Essential Question

Will pet food and trash provide wild animals a healthy meal? Every yard can feed wildlife!

Objective

Students will watch video clip phenomena of wildlife eating cat food and feeding from trashcans.
Students will construct “Nature Neighbor” signs -such as stop signs or caution signs- to hang as reminders that wildlife should not be encouraged to eat food intended for pets or people. The students will create a “Nature Neighborhood” sign display for classes to tour.

Background

  1. Housing and human services border on natural landscapes, resulting in an increased opportunity to view wildlife in and near neighborhoods. Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area lies adjacent to urban centers in Southern California and seeks to educate residents about coexisting with wildlife in a program called Nature Neighbor Project. 
  2. Coexisting with wildlife requires that actions be taken to reduce conflicts and minimize impacts from human activity so that a healthy appreciation of wildlife can be fostered. Specifically addressed in this lesson are efforts SMMNRA is making to encourage residents to clean up unintentional food resources such as pet food, and secure trash cans so that unwanted wildlife do not seek food on personal property.
  3. “Rookie Actions” listed in Take Action suggestions.
  4. Students will watch video clip phenomena of wildlife eating cat food and feeding from trashcans. Students will construct “Nature Neighbor” signs -such as stop signs or caution signs- to hang as reminders that wildlife should not be encouraged to eat food intended for pets or people. The students will create a “Nature Neighborhood” sign display for classes to tour.

Preparation

  1. “Nature Neighbor” road signs can be crafted using inexpensive paper plates decorated with crayons or markers. Templates for hexagonal “stop” signs and triangular “caution” signs can be printed as well.

Materials

Templates for hexagonal “stop” signs

Download Stop Sign

Triangular “caution” signs

Download Caution Sign

Lesson Hook/Preview

What are they eating?

Three 30 minute lessons. 

Procedure

 

  1. Show students the video phenomena of a raccoon eating cat food in a garage alongside pet cats. (1:17)

Day One, 30-minutes

  1. Ask students what phenomena they observed in the video. Discussion prompts might include… describe the food the cats and raccoon were eating…describe the location where these animals were living and eating…describe the different ways cats and raccoons use their bodies when they eat food.

  1. If students have observed raccoons in their neighborhood, ask about the behaviors they noticed. Focus on food that wildlife can find in neighborhoods discussions. Expand the discussion to reinforce that other common wildlife is seen in urban neighborhoods, and show additional video phenomena of wildlife eating pet food.

    1. Squirrel eating on porch (6:32)

    2. Mice eating dog food (3:01)

    3. Possum eating cat food (:58)

  2.  
  1. Explain to students that National Park Rangers at SMMNRA want the public to learn through the Nature Neighbors Project that wildlife living in our neighborhoods should find and eat food that nature provides, not food made for pets. List “natural” food examples as a class: Raccoons eat plants, insects, mice, bird eggs. Squirrels eat nuts, seeds, insects. Possum eat fruit, insects, snails, mice.
 Day Two, 30-minutes

Remind students that natural food is best for wildlife living in cities with us. Introduce the lesson with video phenomena of wildlife eating human food from a trash can.

Ask students what phenomena they observed in the video. Discussion prompts might include…describe the food the squirrel was eating…what clues helped you know where this squirrel was living …describe the ways the squirrel used his body to gather his food. 

If students have had experiences within wildlife eating human foods from trash cans in their neighborhood, encourage them to share their observations. Use the following video clips to reinforce that many types of wildlife search for trash can food.

 

Explain to students that National Park Rangers at SMMNRA want the public to learn through the Nature Neighbors Project that wildlife eating from trashcans can chew wiring, leave droppings, bother outside pets, get choked or tangled, and become dependent on unhealthy foods. List solutions that will prevent wildlife from trashcan feeding: tightly replace lids on cans, bungee cord lid onto trash can handles, move cans away from climbing structures like fences, put a heavy cinder block on top of the lid.

Day Three, 30-minutes

Remind students that wild animals coexist with them in their neighborhoods and they are interesting to observe! City wildlife have natural food to eat, so encourage each student to take actions to be a “Nature Neighbor” by storing pet food inside and keeping trash cans tightly covered where they live.

Invite students to design signs that will remind them to let wildlife find natural foods in the places they live around the city. Show “stop sign and caution sign” shapes, paper plates, and coloring supplies. List suggestions of designs 1) to hang near pet food… inside at night! only for cats! only for dogs! not for wild animals! no sharing! Etc. 2) to hang near trashcans…close the lid! tighten lid! weigh it down! no climbing! Etc. When students complete their signs, hang them around the classroom, invite classes to visit the “Nature Neighborhood,” and ask students to explain the ways they are helping National Park Rangers teach about coexisting with wildlife. When students take the reminder signs home, encourage them to hang them and share the Nature Neighbors Project with family and neighbors.

Vocabulary

  1. Coexist: exist together peacefull.

Assessment Materials

Keep Wildlife Wild

Beyond pet food and trash can food resources, students may have observed wild animals in the city being hand fed and generally tamed.

The “Keep Wildlife Wild” resource describes urban coyote problems at Golden Gate National Recreation Area such as increased risk of traffic fatalities because coyote approach vehicles expecting visitors to offer handouts. “A Fed Animal is a Dead Animal” is the phrase used at Golden Gate National Recreation Area to bring attention to this issue. Interested students could design a Nature Neighborhood road sign to discourage hand feeding of wildlife.
 

Additional Resources

  1. Many city residents are composting food scraps, and this often provides a food source for wildlife.

  2. Students can discuss methods to “secure” compost areas with fencing, netting, etc.

  3. Provided here are video clip phenomena of urban wildlife eating compost.

  4. …raccoon eating pumpkin (:45).

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Last updated: January 20, 2022