Wolf Conservation Center Offers A Wild After School Program

SOUTH SALEM, NY — School age kids have a chance to go a little "wild" in a structured after school program at the Wolf Conservation Center.

The upcoming program will explore the natural world and give students in grades two through five a unique learning opportunity among the wolves (and a few other woodland creatures). The Wolf Conservation Center's educational and interactive after school program is designed to encourage young students to embrace nature’s wild treasures and help foster an understanding of the importance of healthy and balanced ecosystems, according to organizers.

The program includes Wolf 101, where students will learn all about wolves. Participants will also learn about the coyotes, foxes, bobcats and other animals living in Northeast forests. Students will create crafts using natural materials, play a unique game of hide-and-seek using tracking and telemetry tools that real wolf biologists use in the field, create plaster paw prints from real tracks in the field and learn how to set wildlife cameras and capture photos of elusive animals.

Of course, when exploring the wilderness, it's always important to take time for snacks cooked over a campfire.

The Wolf Conservation Center has put coronavirus protocols in place to help keep participants safe. Activities will be held primarily outside with a limited number of students. The same vaccinated staff members will run each after school session. The after school groups will be separated from other WCC onsite visitors and masks will be used indoors, if necessary.

The program runs from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m on Wednesdays, beginning in October. The scheduled dates are Oct. 6, 13, 20, 27, Nov. 3, 10, 17, Dec. 1, 8, 15. The cost of the program is $150 per child for the entire 10-week course.