PORTLAND, Oregon - Students at George Middle School tend to think of their neighborhood as an urban area. And no wonder. Located on the north side of Portland where the local poverty rate is high, the area is criss-crossed with busy streets lined with both residential and commercial development. From a bird's eye view, however, this place is prime habitat, dotted with trees, parks, and other likely nesting places not far from the Willamette River. A recent project taught students to take a fresh look at their neighborhood and consider how to make it safer for their feathery neighbors.

"What Happened to Robin?" is the name teacher Ginny Rosenberg-Stern gave to the project. It combines service learning with memorable lessons in biology, math, public speaking, and technology.

Graphs illustrate relative dangers to urban wildlife.

Inspiration came to the veteran teacher one day when she happened to visit an animal rescue center operated by the Portland Audubon Society. Posted on a wall was a handwritten summary of urban wildlife injury data. A volunteer at the center explained that there was plenty of raw information about how animals get hurt, "but the staff didn't have time to analyze their records, let alone report conclusions and recommendations," Rosenberg-Stern recalls. That sounded like a perfect job for her students, who could help their community while learning some important concepts.

Back at school, Rosenberg-Stern explained her idea to a couple colleagues. Fellow teacher Carol Gonzalez and technology instructor Judy Carter shared her enthusiasm, and soon 90 students in grades 6-8 were immersed in environmental education. The school draws a diverse enrollment, including many students who are learning English as a Second Language.

The director of the Audubon rehabilitation center visited the school and helped students understand urban wildlife issues, including such topics as predator-prey relationships and animal adaptations. He also invited students to visit the center where injured birds and other animals are treated in a hospital-like setting and prepared for release back into the wild.

Next, students began to analyze the bird injury data. Carter used a projector to teach students how to enter the numbers into a spreadsheet. Rosenberg-Stern and Gonzalez showed students how to use the data to develop meaningful graphs. "I've noticed that kids can make incredibly beautiful graphs that say absolutely nothing," Rosenberg-Stern says. "There was a lot of back teaching about graphs. We taught students to create graphs so the information in them could be understood at a glance." For instance, graphs about the cause of bird injuries showed that cats pose the greatest danger.

With their well-designed graphs completed, students next developed presentations for their community. They enlarged their graphs into eye-catching wall displays and used presentation software to develop electronic slideshows to add visual impact to their public speaking engagements. They also used publishing software to produce brochures about what humans can do to reduce bird injuries. Practical suggestions (such as putting a bell on your cat) combined with powerful graphics meant the student researchers had a big impact on their local community, for the benefit of humans and birds alike.

Since developing the bird project, Rosenberg-Stern has moved to a different school where technology resources are more limited. She's missing the opportunities technology afforded in her old teaching environment. "The technology didn't just enhance the program," she says, "it allowed it to happen."

For a more detailed look at the lesson plans and resources for "What Happened to Robin?" see the unit plan, http://educate.intel.com/en/ProjectDesign/UnitPlanIndex/WhatHappenedToRobin/.