City Kids Need Early Wildlife Encounters

Environment News Service, June, 2007

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (ENS) — --> The future of wildlife conservation depends on the next generation, but there is concern city children may not be in touch with wildlife, especially in their early impressionable years.

"Even in cities it's possible for kids to have really positive experiences with wildlife," said Charlie Nilon, associate professor of urban wildlife management at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.

Nilon and his colleagues conducted a study of the experiences African-American and Latino urban students have with wildlife.

"Remember, we're not talking about wildlife where you have to drive 50 miles to see it, but rather the kind of wildlife where you can walk out your back door and see...