What is Humane Education?

A Legacy of Hope

Humane education nurtures compassion and respect for living things with its traditional focus on the protection of animals, PLUS its relationship to the environment, the compassionate treatment of people, and the interconnectedness of all things. It casts a broad net of biodiversity and its interdependence. Saving one species saves many.

The Heart of Animal Protection

With the advent of at-home and hybrid learning environments as a result of COVID-19, we've ramped up development of educational content that makes it easier for teachers to teach, for students to learn, and for parents to adapt to their unwitting and unfamiliar roles as academic coaches. Even as children and teachers head back to the classroom in the coming months, or if they're already back, innovative lessons and activities facilitate navigation through what could still be an environment in transition. 

Our conservation- and animal protection-themed lessons incorporate a project-based formula in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful activities that allow them to work independently. Standards-based, lessons encourage critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, self-management, project management, and collaboration. All can be applied across multiple academic disciplines, whether to enhance instruction in life sciences, geography, media and technology, vocabulary, mathematics, social studies, writing, or just about any other academic subjects. Very importantly, the lessons are engaging, with games, graphics, videos, and more. Best of all, we offer the lessons for free.
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As a a wildlife conservation and animal protection organization that makes its greatest impact through education, New England Primate Conservancy is committed to leaving a legacy of hope, and tools to create a better tomorrow for all of the Earth's citizens. What we do in our daily lives impacts the future. Every small change in the right direction carries hope.

The goal is responsible stewardship of our planet and her creatures because...education is the heart of animal protection. ​

Here's Some of what you'll find

Lessons and Activities

WHAT IS NATURE?

 
Lesson 1, How Nature Works, is a lesson for understanding the natural cycle of life, how nature transfers energy from species to species to support that cycle, and how Mother Nature is self-nourishing, self-maintaining, self-renewing, and self-sustaining. If we strive to live sustainably and within nature's rhythms, we must first understand how nature works!

Lesson 2, How Pollinators Rebuild Our World's Ecosystems and How You Can Help Them explores the world of pollinators, the resources they need to survive in their environment, and how cross-pollination is vital for ecosystem recovery and resilience. It investigates the unique adaptations plants have to communicate with their pollinators and the reasons behind pollinator flower preferences.

Targeted for or ages 10-14, they can be modified for younger or older audiences. Accompany Educator's Pages outline goals, objectives, resources, activities keys, and more. Activities reinforce the lessons, make them fun, and crossover to multiple academic disciplines. The lessons include videos, graphics, and beautiful photos for visual interest. We invite you to incorporate these beautiful lessons into your curricula, share them with your children, or enjoy them yourself for your own interest.

What is Nature?—Introduction

• Lesson 1: How Nature Works
• ​Lesson 2: How Pollinators Rebuild Our World's Ecosystems and How You Can Help Them

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(April 2021)

YOUR EVOLUTIONARY FAMILY TREE: YOU'RE THE SCIENTIST!

​Students become Scientists who use the downloadable Lab Notebook to follow the Scientific Method and discover the shared evolutionary history between and among primate species, including humans. Students are introduced to Venn diagrams, building phylogenic trees, and how to conduct and analyze research to establish a working hypothesis. Videos and graphics lead the way.

Developed for high school students, minor adjustment can target younger and older audiences. This is a unique lesson that reinforces the awareness that humans are one animal species out of many, that we are all related through evolutionary history, and that each plays an important role in Mother Nature’s biodiversity.

Your Evolutionary Family Tree: You're The Scientist!

(January 2021)

THE CASE OF THE DISAPPEARING HABITAT: THE CANDY CULPRIT

Do you love a good detective story? Check out this project-based lesson for understanding how one's daily choices ​impact rainforests thousands of miles away. It's a great way to captivate kids' imaginations while they learn at home or in the classroom. Fun and engaging film noir style detective videos introduce and explain each lesson.

Students embark on a detective story in which each lesson builds upon the one before it. The students are the detectives who uncover how the ingredients in their candy may be harmful to the rainforests and those who live in them. They learn about sustainable practices and companies that follow them or don’t. And they are charged with very clear and specific Action Items in each of 5 project steps that walk them through how to accomplish each task. Good Detective Strategies and Helpful Hints are included. ​The lessons target grades 4-8, but may be easily adapted for younger or older grades.

The Case of the Disappearing Habitat: The Candy Culprit-Starts Here!

​(June 2020)

PRIMATES AT-A-GLANCE

View and Learn! Primates At-a-Glance is a media gallery of beautiful graphics that give you glimpses into the worlds of a variety of primate species -- apes, monkeys, and prosimians. ​​Species are listed in alphabetical order by common name. Click on any photo for the full species profile. ​​

• African Apes At-a-Glance
• African Monkeys At-a-Glance
• African Prosimians At-a-Glance
• Asian Apes At-a-Glance
• Asian Monkeys At-a-Glance
• Asian Prosimians At-a-Glance
• Latin American Monkeys At-a-Glance

CYBER FLASHCARDS

Cyber FlashCards are here!

They’re a fun and educational resource and activity with so much to discover
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• 10 of the most well-known primate species
• 10 of the weirdest primate species
• 10 of primate species you've probably never heard of
• 10 of the most Endangered primate species

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Plus find out why each species may have multiple common names, but only one scientific name. Find out where in the world they live. And so much more. Best of all, have fun while learning!

Cyber Flashcards start here!

(September 1, 2019)

THE ALPHABET SOUP OF CONSERVATION

The study of conservation is filled with acronyms. From the organizations that make determinations about threats to species (IUCN, to those that regulate trade agreements (CITES), to the many scientific teams that the provide critical data (SSCs), to the Conservation Statuses assigned to each species, it is a veritable alphabet soup of wordplay and abbreviated shortcuts. In this lesson, we focus primarily on the Conservation Statuses, the "codes" that tell us health of about species and their habitats, and the threats that they face. 

​More than 28,000 species are threatened with extinction, including 70% of primate species. Why? Conservation Status categories help us to understand how and why they are at risk. They also help us to understand that there is hope for most species if we all take action, even in small ways, starting today. 

In the accompanying lesson, you'll learn more about the primate species featured throughout the video, and what each person can do to protect and preserve endangered species. Dive into the Alphabet Soup of Conservation.

(August 2020)

WHERE PRIMATES LIVE

​The Where Primates Live learning activity takes its inspiration from a short video that we created to take you on a tour of the world's continents and learn where nonhuman primate habitats naturally occur and which species live there. Human primates, of course, inhabit every continent. What happens when our world collide?

With 5 distinct Lessons and Activities, learning goals and objectives are clearly outlined. This is a lesson and activity for understanding the need to preserve and protect natural habitats.

(Revised November 2021)

PRIMATES AND THEIR HABITATS

Primates and Their Habitats includes card games and activities that introduce the diversity of primate species and the habitats in which they live. Fun ways to occupy your kids without phones and tablets. You’ve never seen a card deck like this before! 36 beautiful printable cards represent 27 primate species and 7 habitats. Select from 4 game options based on players’ ages, interests, or just for fun. Want to learn more about “Who’s in the Cards?” Go back to the tablet, visit the website below, and one click or tap reveals each species’ profile. You might find a species you’ve never seen before. You might be surprised by their habitats. Best of all, IT’S FREE!

Looking for fun ways to occupy your kids without phones and tablets? Try Primates and Their Habitats, card games and activities that introduce the diversity of primate species and the habitats in which they live. 

Who doesn’t love monkeys and apes? Learn where your favorites live as you enjoy playing fun card games. 

You’ve never seen a card deck like this before! 36 beautiful printable cards represent 27 primate species and 7 habitats. Select from 4 game options based on players’ ages, interests, or just for fun. There’s even a solitaire game to enjoy alone. Illustrated game instructions are included. Just print the cards and you’re ready to play! 

Want to learn more about “Who’s in the Cards?” Go back to the tablet, visit the website below, and one click or tap reveals each species’ profile. You might find a species you’ve never seen before. You might be surprised by their habitats. Best of all, IT’S FREE!

LIFE IN THE TROPICAL RAINFORESTS

Life in the World's Tropical Rainforest includes five activities based on the lessons in our self-guided slideshow of the same name. It incorporates great photos, rainforest sounds, and Fun Facts interspersed throughout.

​Most importantly, you'll learn about why the world's rainforests must be preserved and how we all, from thousands of miles away, can protect them in our daily lives.

Play our Levels of the Rainforest matching game to learn more about who lives in what levels of the rainforest. Other activities guide you to learn why those levels are important to biodiversity.

Each of the five unique learning activities allow you to have fun while learning about the world's tropical rainforests and the creatures that live in them.