N.Y. to offer a conservation magazine

Outflanked by iPods and Xboxes, state environmental officials are introducing a new youth magazine aimed at reconnecting kids with nature and the outdoors.

"Conservationist for Kids" features information and activities to encourage young readers to explore the outdoors.

The 8-page magazine targets 9- and 10-year-olds and will be distributed free to New York's 8,500 fourth-grade classrooms in March. A limited run of the magazine is being evaluated in about 500 classrooms statewide.

Copies of the pilot issue also were sent out in December to the 92,000-plus subscribers of "The Conservationist," the state's 62-year-old outdoors magazine.

"Each issue will be focused on some information, but it will be information you have to use outside," said Gina Jack, an environmental educator with the state Department of Environmental Conservation who is the editor — and the whole staff — of the fledgling magazine.

"We want kids to use the magazine, read it. That's the indoor activity. But then take the information and go outside, use it as the little shove out the door," she said.

The inaugural issue encourages readers to "Become A Winter Wildlife Detective." There's a page on how to properly keep a field journal; a two-page spread on recognizing common winter tracks; a section on identifying animal droppings; and another with tips on finding places where animals feed.

"I'm excited about getting kids involved in some of the real world problems that we are facing," said Rich Hurley, a 7th-grade science teacher who is the education committee chairman for the Sierra Club's Atlantic Chapter, which has 45,000 members across New York.

"Conservationist for Kids" will be published three times a year to coincide with schools' fall, winter and spring semesters. Idaho is the only other state that produces a children's outdoor magazine, although it is mailed to classrooms by subscription, said Jack.

"If we are to recruit our successors in the protection of the Adirondacks, or of any place that we greatly value, then we have to encourage regular contact with something real in nature," said David Gibson, Executive Director of the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks.

"That in turn builds awareness, appreciation, and concern for special environments we wish to protect, as well as aspirations in both school and the workplace," Gibson said.

Each issue will be published with a teacher supplement to enhance classroom learning, said David Nelson, editor of "The Conservationist," the nation's third-largest circulation state-produced outdoors magazine. The supplements were developed to correlate to the New York State math, science and technology learning standards for fourth graders, Nelson said.

"Teachers are always looking for new materials to stimulate young readers. This new magazine, written to the learning standards in mind, will nurture developing readers while it taps into a love for the outdoors," said state Education Commissioner Richard Mills.

The next issue will feature birds and include information on the bluebird — the state bird — plus hints on bird-watching and a how-to on participating in the national Feederwatch bird count program run by Cornell University.

Climate change will be the subject of the spring issue.

Nelson acknowledged that there are other nature magazines available for children, among them "Ranger Rick" and "Your Big Backyard," both from the National Wildlife Federation. However, "Conservationist for Kids," is aimed squarely at young New Yorkers.

"This is New York state-focused. So when we do the climate change issue, the kids aren't going to be reading about polar bears. We want them to understand what the impacts are going to be in their own backyard," Nelson said.

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On the Net:

Conservationist for Kids: http://www.cforkids.org