By Bruce Urben, President
This article appeared in the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s June 2025 Newsletter edition.
The WWA was invited back to the Pulaski Community School District (PCSD) 4th annual Natural Resource Day in the school forest on May 13th. Along with WWA, several other groups were represented, including WDNR Forestry – Recreational Safety and Fishing, USDA’s NRCS (tree planting and forestry), and Wisconsin Greenfire-Invertebrate sampling and Brown County Parks-wetland animals. Eight groups of 4th graders from the District rotated through the seven areas and were overloaded with information, hands-on learning opportunities, and various tools and trade tips. Over 150 students took advantage of this day in the field.
WWA’s Green Bay Chapter Board members Jeremy VanSistine, myself, and, later, volunteer Lily Urben, provided information on wood duck ecology. The students were able to handle taxidermy mounts of wood ducks, decoy models, and wood duck box construction and cleaning, as well as take photos of the nesting process and collect migration data. The groups passing through were highly attentive and surprisingly knowledgeable about wood duck ecology, from migration to nesting, feeding, and loafing, to the ultimate fledging of the hatched chicks.
The Field day was tabbed as a success, and maybe some of our future Wildlife specialists or Conservation Group Leaders were part of this event!
Equally important was the fact that the School district had its first incubating hen in one of the WWA-provided nesting boxes on the grounds. And, one of the other boxes had a nesting Screech owl — a hot item with the students. Planning has started to install a camera in the nest box to observe the nesting process firsthand in 2026.
Thank you to PCSD middle school teacher Kaleb Santy and grade school teacher David Landers for coordinating the event. A fitting end to the student’s science curriculum!
