Welcome to Wildlife 210!

Hello there. Jeff Black here! Most students just use the nickname Prof. - short for Professor.  I’ll be your wldf 210 instructor/facilitator. A hearty WELCOME to all!

As you get ready for the semester to begin, this site will be your quick reference for answers to some Frequently Asked Questions about our shared journey, called Introduction to Wildlife Conservation & Administration (wldf 210). If you don’t find what you are looking for, please reach out to me. I’ll be glad to hear from you, and I’m happy to help.

When you’re ready to get started, visit my Welcome Video and explore the items on the rest of this page, including my Tips for Success. Enjoy!

Oh, in case you're wondering, those are Barnacle Geese from Scotland/Norway!

• Let’s keep in mind that we are in this together, and that we are all coming from different starting points, including cultural backgrounds and experiences with cherished loved ones - our pets, the big outdoors / the natural world, including animals in the wild and Nature (with capitol N!).
• For example, some might love horses, big cats, little dogs, snakes, or lizards, while others are nuts for the wild because of nature documentaries, or you go rock climbing, biking, and hiking, or fish, hunt, or bird watch on weekends. 
• Let’s celebrate each other – your classmates – that have chosen this class (and perhaps this Wildlife major) as an opportunity to study the wonderful world of more-than-human animals, our fellow-creatures.  
• Keep in mind that we are different from each other, capitalize on this realization, and build a better way forward.
• Our differences allow us to practice collaboration that will enrich learning. 
• Let’s build a little wildlife community of learners and support each other along the way! 

1. Have fun with this wildlife journey. Mixing and mingling with classmates, thinking about wildlife, more-than-human animals, and their needs. What could be better?

2. Implement whatever it takes to get organized because – heads up – there’s lots of homework, mainly extracting info from mini-lectures and chapters from cool books about wildlife, and then finding a way to – warnings – look inside and describe how the new info affects you.

3. Get ready for some feedback about your 'scientific-style' writing skills and organization so you can improve throughout the semester. I’ll give you plenty! 

4. Writing etiquette: Prepare to practice (again and again) giving an author credit for ideas or concepts learned when reading their works. I’ll ask you to practice this skill called - sourcing a reference - each week when preparing a summary and response to the weeks’ readings.

5. I’ll be cheering you on the whole way, trying to encourage a thoughtful and successful whole person – not just a student that simply checks all the boxes.

6. Finally, grab a pair of binoculars and get happy and healthy outside on weekends while practicing ‘fieldcraft’ noticing and questioning our more-than-human animal neighbors on campus, in the woods, at the beach, or down at the marsh!