May 10, 2004

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HOUSTON – The Black Bellied Whistling Duck has an unlikely ally this year with an inner-city 4-H Science Club at Spring Woods Middle School.

This in-school, 4-H special interest group selected the duck to protect, starting by learning about its needs through the MarshM.A.L.L.O.W. Project.

MarshM.A.L.L.O.W. (Marsh Management Activities for Learning the Lifestyles of Wildlife) is part of Texas Cooperative Extension's curriculum enrichment program. Funding is through a grant from Texas Wildlife and Fisheries. The program teaches middle school students living in selected coastal communities about marshes, wetlands and other habitats. The curriculum meets many science requirements for Texas Essential Skills and Knowledge.

"The whole idea of it is for kids to come out and either try to preserve a species or eradicate a harmful species, such as mosquitoes," said LaVaughn Mosley, Harris County agent with the Cooperative Extension Program at Prairie View A&M University. "These kids were real passionate about providing safe habitats for ducks and other flying species."

The students built boxes for migrating ducks to nest in. Walter Anderson, Cooperative Extension Program assistant, taught students about construction and help them install the boxes.

"This project has made all the difference in how involved the students are and how excited they are about it," said Becky Morris, Spring Woods Middle School eighth grade science teacher and advisor to the 4-H Science Club. "It's not just something they read about now; it's something personal for them."

This is the second year Extension has been partners with the Katy Prairie Conservancy at the Nelson Farms Wildlife Preserve on the MarshM.A.L.L.O.W. project. The farm is 1,700 acres in the heart of the Katy Prairie. Since the 1800s the prairie has been in agricultural production. The Nelson family continues to farm rice on the preserve, which is home to many migratory birds as well as bobcats, coyotes, raccoons, frogs, lizards and snakes.

On a recent field trip, students visited the wetlands and tested the water to determine its quality as a suitable nesting ground for the ducks.

"It's nice to know there's a place where these animals are safe and everything," said Kelly Crown, a Spring Wood Middle School eighth-grader. "It's interesting to know how they live and to see their habitats."

Inspection of the boxes in late April proved their success. Not only was there evidence of a duck's nest, but a mother owl was also nesting in one of the boxes.

Mosley explained, "The kids really get a feel for the ecosystem and how mother nature works and how it all fits together. Then when they get back to their neighborhoods, the full picture really comes into view for them. They get to see the difference between the inner city and that there's other wildlife that has to live along with us in the city."