PORT OF STOCKTON - OWL PROGRAM Community/Educational Outreach The - PDF document

PORT OF STOCKTON - OWL PROGRAM Community/Educational Outreach The Port of Stockton (Port) is passionate about giving back to the City of Stockton and the greater region. As part of this mission, the Port regularly undertakes educational initiatives that inform the community about the maritime industry and environmental issues that affect the Port, and in turn, the region. In the past year, Port staff have gone into public schools to teach young students about biology, the environment, and the Port’s operations, all through the lens of their successful Owl Nest Box Program. This well-established initiative provides habitat for barn owls and in return, the owls serve as highly-efficient, environmentally friendly pest control, hunting rodents that would otherwise weaken the levees around the Port. 1. WHAT ARE/WERE THE ENTRY’S SPECIFIC COMMUNICATIONS CHALLENGES OR OPPORTUNITIES? In 2013, the Port installed video cameras in two of the barn owl nest boxes located at the Port’s West Complex. Exterior cameras were added in 2014 to allow us to see what happens on the outside. The cameras are equipped with infrared vision to allow for night viewing when the owls are most active. The video is streamed live on the Port’s website and has been enjoyed by school-age children and adults alike. Recently, the Port saw an opportunity to share this with the community and developed an educational program to share in science classes at nearby schools. Designed for elementary school students (typically 5th graders), the hands-on, interactive program engages students and encourages them to appreciate the nature in their backyards. The program begins with a 15-minute presentation on the background and life history of barn owls ( Tyto alba ). Students then watch the nesting owls live on the Port’s owl cam website and see them hatching, eating, and learning to fly. Then comes the really fun part for the kids: owl pellet dissection. Because the purpose of the Port’s program is to control the rodent population, the students get the hands-on opportunity to dissect sterilized owl pellets to determine what species have been consumed by the owls. Using tweezers and probes, the students can remove the bone fragments from the fur and compare them with a key that is provided. The students can then identify whether their owl consumed a shrew, gopher, mole, rat, or mouse. At the end of the activity, Port staff provide a small stuffed barn owl and other Port memorabilia for students to remember their day. 2. HOW DOES THE COMMUNICATION USED IN THIS ENTRY COMPLEMENT THE ORGANIZATION’S OVERALL MISSION? Our overall mission is to provide excellent service to our current business partners and attract new business, all while being a positive force for the local Stockton community and an exemplary steward of the environment at large. This entry exemplifies both the

community and environmental aspects of our mission. Public schools, especially in low-income neighborhoods, often struggle to provide students with hands-on experiential learning that grabs their attention and holds it. The owl program gets the students involved and shows them how the science they learn in school can have real-world applications. The program also demonstrates the Port’s commitment to environmental issues and may spark interest in science and environmental careers for some students. 3. WHAT WERE THE COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMPONENTS USED FOR THIS ENTRY? The goal of the program was to give back to the community by providing students a fun, informative couple of hours of science education. T o do this, the Port took the following steps: Spark the idea The idea for the owl program first came about when Jeff Wingfield, Director of Environmental and Public Affairs for the Port, was working on an ad campaign (”I’m a Part of the Port”) that featured a teacher at Spanos Elemntary School. Wingfield and the teacher started talking about the owl program, which sparked the idea to develop a program that we could use to take around to local schools. Develop the program First, the Port had to plan out what material it wanted to present and how to present it. General biological information about the barn owl and its life cycle was collected. The live owl cams would be an important piece. Then the owl pellet dissection had to be planned (logistics, supplies, etc.). Coordinate with local schools The Port reached out to Spanos Elementary School and Washington Elementary School and proposed their owl presentation. Dates were partially coordinated around the owl’s nesting season so the live cams could be utilzed, in addition to consideration of the Port’s and the schools’ schedules. Pellet collection With about 120 owls per year using the Port’s owl nest boxes, finding pellets would be fairly easy. The pellets then had to be sterilized for classroom use. Present On the day of each presentation, Port staff gathered all the needed supplies and travelled to the schools. After being introduced by the teacher, the presenters gave the introductory presentation on barn owls, showed the live owl cam footage, then conducted the dissection portion of the program. Finally, the Port staff distributed the stuffed owls to the students and bid them farewell.

4. WHAT ACTIONS WERE TAKEN AND WHAT COMMUNICATION OUTPUTS WERE EMPLOYED IN THIS ENTRY? T o implement this program successfully, the Port took a deliberative approach by first creating an outline of what we wanted to accomplish (detailed in Question 3) and breaking down tasks to pull it off. The Port sat down with one of their consultants to develop the curriculum over a period of a few months. Typically, three or four Port staff will attend the classes to provide helping hands, answer questions, and provide any assistance needed during the pellet dissection. 5. WHAT WERE THE COMMUNICATIONS OUTCOMES FROM THIS ENTRY AND WHAT EVALUATION METHODS WERE USED TO ASSESS THEM? The owl program was very popular with the students and the teachers wherever we went. We’ve received numerous thank-you notes from both teachers and students, and we’ve been requested to return to a number of the schools. Below is a small sample of the feedback received: “Thank you so much for coming to our class and giving us the opportunity to learn about something so cool! I would love to have you come again for a repeat. Let's plan on next year when I get a new group of 5th graders. It will give them something to look forward to.” —Kristeen Hymes, teacher, Spanos Elementary School “The owl program has been a tremendous success for our school and a day that the students look forward to all year! Jeff and his team do a great job and keep the students engaged the entire time.” —Shana Lowry, principal, Washington Elementary School This program succesfully demonstrates to the students, parents, teachers, and faculty that the Port is a conscienteous neighbor that cares about the community that it lives in. It also demonstrates the Port’s commitment to the environmental health and well-being of the San Joaquin Valley and the San Francisco Bay Delta by providing habitat for the barn owls and choosing them as their go-to solution for rodent control.