An interactive and effective education program is a key component of all successful conservation initiatives. Since the inception of The Peregrine Fund’s formal Education Program and establishment of the Velma Morrison Interpretive Center, more than 750,000 people have been reached through on- and off-site programs.

The Interpretive Center’s environmental education program includes three components: adult education (general public), school-endorsed programs, and outreach programs. All three aspects of the program utilize our live raptors as an avenue for promoting conservation of birds of prey, their habitat requirements, and The Peregrine Fund’s national and international conservation projects.

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Interpretive Center
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2006 Results

This year brought a new direction in our off-site programs with a strong emphasis toward presenting programs to greater numbers of people at fewer events. This new direction allowed us to ultimately reach more people and gave us significant savings in travel costs. Improvements at the Interpretive Center for the past year include the addition of a replica hack box and an Aplomado Falcon nesting structure. Both included mounted Aplomado Falcons, courtesy of John Schmitt. A male Gyrfalcon was also added to the education bird roster in 2006 and is on exhibit in the courtyard area.

One of the primary methods of measuring the impact of our Education Program relies on visitation trends at the Interpretive Center and participant counts at off-site programs. During 2006, a total of 36,735 people were reached through educational programs, including 29,762 on-site visitors and 6,973 individuals at off-site programs. Included in these totals were 133 classes from 102 schools and 104 scheduled programs provided to other groups.

Once again our Education Program hosted the Idaho Project Wild workshop for teachers, Wild about Raptors. The goal of this biannual workshop is to give teachers a broad knowledge of Idaho's birds of prey and encourage them to utilize outside resources in the classroom. A brochure was created for teachers this year highlighting special topics available for school programs at the facility, and teaching resources related to birds of prey were made available through the web site.

A total of 95 volunteers contributed 7,510 hours to facilitate the education program. In 2006 the industry standard for the hourly volunteer rate went up to $18.05 an hour. Using this new value our volunteers contributed $135,555 worth of service to the organization this past year! In 2006 Phillip and Betsy Eldredge decided to hang up their volunteer vests for good, well-deserved after contributing more than 3,000 hours over the past 10 years. We were honored to present the President's Volunteer Service Award to 30 individuals at our annual Volunteer Appreciation Party, and we're indebted to all our volunteers and their commitment to the program. We are fortunate to enjoy one of the largest volunteer-driven programs in the state of Idaho.

In 2006 admission fees were increased by $1.00 to assist with the increased costs of operating the Interpretive Center. This was the first raise since the facility was opened in 1994. We also collaborated with the Boise Museum Association to obtain a sales tax exemption for admission fees and all program-related expenses. The combination of these factors increased the total admissions by 33% over the previous year and set a new record for the highest recorded year of admission fees collected.

Future Plans

As the Velma Morrison Interpretive Center ages, our primary concern is keeping the facility and the displays up-to-date and current. New exhibits are being planned, and educational programs will continue to be adapted and digitized where possible, to better meet the needs of educators utilizing our materials for their students. Summer programs and adult education programs will be expanded in the future to provide additional education opportunities.

Staff

Program and facility director, Jack Cafferty; Volunteers and Gift Shop, Nick Piccono; Raptor Specialist, Trish Nixon; Education Programs Coordinator, Mark Purdy; and Facility Maintenance, Brian Gloshen.

Cooperators

Financial partners this year include the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, U.S. Bancorp Foundation, Islands Fund, Decade Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, Harry W. Morrison Foundation, John Schmitt, Tesoro Petroleum Companies, Bank of America, Higgins and Rutledge Insurance, Ada County Association of Realtors Foundation, Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation, The Idaho Statesman, and numerous individual donors.

Volunteers Contributing Over 50 Hours of Service in 2006

Deb Anderson, Denise Bittner, Maud Bolstad, Helen Crewse, Louis Dewitt, Corki Duncan, Julie Ekhoff, Leo Faddis, Kit Fawcett, Claudia Fernsworth, Joni Frey, Mike Garets, Dina Golley, Martin Greitzer, Kathryn Hampton, Kathryn Hobson, Marianne Horen, Dale Howard, Ruth Kassens, Connie Leavitt, Eileen Loerch, Pam Lowe, Joe Macci, Kip Malone, Paul Malone, Mike McSweeney, Milt Melzian, Jack Osgood, Sadie Parker, Brit Peterson, Ron Price, Fred Pugh, Betty Purdy, Cathy Quam, Randy Rasmussen, Marcia Ross, Nikki Sartin, Ellen Shaw, Michael Shaw, Chan Springer, Charlie Stone, Diann Stone, Janie Stubson, Dick Thatcher, and Vivian Upton.