Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

Emergency Burn Ban In Effect 10/26/24 - An emergency burn ban is now in effect for all Connecticut State Parks, Forests, and Wildlife Management areas, prohibiting the use of all outdoor grills, firepits, and campfires, and the kindling and use of flame outdoors. DEEP and local agencies are working to contain several active fires across the state. Please avoid all affected State Parks and Forests, as well as the blue-blazed Mattabesett Trail. The Enduro Trail in Voluntown and portions of North Stonington within the Pachaug State Forest are closed at this time. Please note that today's forest fire danger report remains at an 'extreme' level. More information about the current fire danger, burn ban and recommended safety measures can be found here

Environmental Curriculum Topics:
Connecticut Wildlife

The DEEP Office of Education and Outreach offers a series of educator workshops throughout the year, with some that focus on wildlife. Go to the DEEP Calendar of Events and search using the key word "workshop", or call the DEEP’s Kellogg Environmental Center at (203) 734-2513.

The DEEP Wildlife Division also offers educator workshops on wildlife topics. Go to the DEEP Calendar of Events and search using the key word "Sessions", or call the DEEP’s Sessions Woods Conservation Center at (860) 675-8130.

Environmental Curricula  Boy using net to collect pond insects.

Project WILD
The DEEP is the state sponsor of the Project WILD, a national K-12 curriculum focused on examining environmental issues related to wildlife. The curriculum guide provides numerous interactive, well-balanced activities. The curriculum guide is distributed at Project WILD workshops. To schedule a workshop and receive the curriculum, please call the DEEP’s Kellogg Environmental Center at (203) 734-2513.

Additional Resources

The DEEP following sites may be useful for teachers, educators and students studying Connecticut wildlife.

Connecticut Wildlife Fact Sheets
Includes links to a series of facts sheets about Endangered Species, Common Connecticut Animals, Wildlife Habitats and more.

Just for Kids
Written just for kids, these pages provide fun facts about Connecticut’s animals as well as coloring pages for younger children.

Connecticut Wildlife Slide Shows
Links to an interesting slide show about endangered species in Connecticut and another slide show focused on peregrine falcons.

Linking Wildlife to the Classroom Curriculum:
State of Connecticut Science Curriculum Framework

The topic of animals is important in many grades levels as an area of scientific study. Here are some topic suggested grade levels for studying wildlife as identified by the State Curriculum Framework.

Grade K - Many different kinds of living things inhabit the Earth.

Grade 1 - Living things have different structures and behaviors that allow them to meet their basic needs.

Grade 1 - Organisms change in form and behavior as part of their life cycles.

Grade 3 - Organisms can survive and reproduce only in environments that meet their basic needs.

Grade 4 - All organisms depend on the living and non-living features of the environment for survival.

Grade 5 - Perceiving and responding to information about the environment is critical to the survival of organisms.

Grade 6 - An ecosystem is composed of all the populations that are living in a certain space and the physical factors with which they interact.

Grade 8 - Reproduction is a characteristic of living systems and it is essential for the continuation of every species.

Grade 10 - Evolution and biodiversity are the result of genetic changes that occur over time in constantly changing environments.

Grade 10 - Living organisms have the capability of producing populations of unlimited size, but the environment can support only a limited number of individuals from each species.

Content last updated December 2017