RALEIGH, N.C. (December 1, 2022) – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Education Division recently released a free tool for North Carolina educators. North Carolina WILD Places: A Closer Look is a free, downloadable book about the state’s native wildlife and plant life.

“Educators often want students to know about the wildlife and habitats that live around them, but seem to have more access to resources on the tropical rain forest and African savannah than North Carolina,” said Tanya Poole, special initiatives coordinator with the Wildlife Commission. “Place-based education is critical to supporting students who will one day make decisions that impact local wildlife and natural resources.”

The book focuses on the three geographic regions of North Carolina and highlights the three to four ecosystems within each region. It also includes maritime ecosystems.

For elementary education, North Carolina WILD Places: A Closer Look can be used to address science content such as communities, life cycles, adaptations and habitats. For middle and high school education, the book also addresses concepts like energy transfer, human impacts on the environment, and the interdependence of living organisms.

Multiple generations of wildlife professionals collaborated to write the book, and it’s illustrated by Anne Marshall Runyon.

Educators can download a PDF copy of the book at ncwildlife.org/educator. Many other educational resources are available on the agency website, including short videos, lesson plans, wildlife profiles and additional resources on North Carolina wildlife and habitats.