Students Receive Wildlife Lesson from Trailside Museum

Thanks to a generous grant from the Dedham Education Foundation, the 4th grade students at the in Dedham were provided a visit from Perry Ellis of the

The Trailside Museum is located at the base of the Great Blue Hill in Milton, and they are committed to working with local teachers and students to help with environmental awareness in fun and interactive ways. The features over 150 miles of trails and is operated by the folks at the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Since acquiring their first property in 1922, the Mass Audobon now manages more than 34,000 acres of land across the state. Founded to protect the slaughter of wild birds in 1896, the group now has sanctuaries in 90 Massachusetts communities and helps protect many of the states 450 endangered species.

On the day of his visit to Oakdale, Perry Ellis gave three seperate one-hour presentations to the classes of Rachel McNamee, Christine Stec and Gillian Spoehr, Ed Paris and Lisa Walsh. The 70 plus students and their teachers were also treated to an up close and personal visit with the Trailside Museum`s screech owl and red-tailed hawk.

Each year the Mass Audobon Society provides educational programs for approximately 225,000 children and adults.