The eagles have landed

Gen. Patton, Rainbow, Jezebel and Don Juan

By Jayne Spencer

IU's Bradford Woods is home to two nesting pairs of American bald eagles, unusual in a state where there are only 12 to 15 pairs in any given year.

And although eagles are notorious for their monogamy, there's been, according to Bradford Woods naturalist Carri Price, some, ahem, nest jumping in the past few months.

It seems that Gen. Patton has left his mate, Rainbow, and moved two miles away, to a nest maintained by an eagle outdoor educators are calling Jezebel. Rainbow, meanwhile, has accepted into her nest a younger newcomer, Don Juan. Chicks are anticipated in the spring.

Bradford Woods to be site of environmental science classroom initiative

By Ellen Mathia

Indiana elementary and middle schoolchildren will learn about national environmental issues through a new program that will involve them in hands-on field experience and new technologies.

A $50,000 grant from the Coca-Cola Foundation to Indiana University's Bradford Woods Outdoor and Leadership Development Center will underwrite the "Eagles to the Nest" program. According to Tony Mobley, dean of the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, the grant was awarded on the basis of the school's leadership role in environmental research and creative activity at the state, national and international levels.

"General Patton"
Using the American bald eagle as the focus, the program will teach students about water quality, habitat destruction, environmental legislation, species reintroduction programs and the protection of endangered species. They also will learn how to conduct scientific research and collect data.

The students' fieldwork will take place at IU's Bradford Woods, which is one of the oldest continuously operating environmental education programs in the state and serves more than 5,000 elementary schoolchildren each year.

Bradford Woods also is home to two sets of nesting eagles.

A 15-station computer lab is to be installed for the program. Indiana Department of Natural Resources personnel and a computer consultant are assisting the center in creating World Wide Web pages with classroom activities and information about the bald eagle.

Initially, five schools will be selected for the pilot program, and 10 to 15 teachers from five other schools will field test the activities and databases.