Sixty-six sixth graders recently visited with some wildlife at the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem.
“It was really fun,” said sixth grader Kailani Waltzer. “We got to see wolves; we got to see them get fed and learn about them.
She added, “One of the wolves was just jumping up on the fence, all excited to be fed. I think that was really fun and I’m not going to forget that.”
Sonny McColl also enjoyed seeing and learning about the wolves.
“It was fun seeing what they do with the wolves and how they treat them,” the sixth grader said.
The trip came as sixth graders were reading Polly Carlson-Voiles’ “Summer of the Wolves,” a story about a young girl and her uncle, who studied wolves in Minnesota, finding the wolf pup of a dead wolf and taking care of the wolf pup at their home.
Students read the book in class while watching a webcam of the wolves from the conservation center.
“We would stop in the middle of class and see the wolves walking around and sleeping. Sometimes they would come up close to the camera,” said Waltzer.
Rhinebeck’s sixth graders have been reading “Summer of the Wolves” for several years. Learning about the wolves at the Wolf Conservation Center began as a virtual journey during COVID and became a yearly trip once the pandemic ended.
“We were looking for some online experience we could do and they offered a virtual experience,” said Brenda Palmatier, sixth grade reading teacher. “That’s the first time we stumbled upon them. We did that the first year, and after COVID was over, we realized we could go in person.”
Nikai and Silas serve as the ambassador wolves, and inspire onsite and webcam visitors for the center, which has Mexican gray wolves and red wolves.
“Meeting them in person after seeing them for so long on the webcam is special,” said Palmatier.
Nancy Erlanger, sixth grade writing teacher, shared what the students experienced at the center.
“You spend about 40 minutes with a tour guide who speaks in great detail about wolves,” she said. “The ambassador wolves are about 12 feet from you behind a chain linked fence. The kids get to see these amazing creatures up close and personal. There’s nothing like it.
“Our novel follows the development of a wolf pup. What the tour guide talks about, they read about in fiction.”