Comparing bear foot sizesFor the trail mapping project, Lily Fan volunteers are arriving, putting us all in good hands. If anyone gets hurt, we have a paramedic. If we need to call someone, we have a 911 dispatcher. For filling out waivers and volunteer applications, we have a Legal Contract Administrator. If anyone gets out of line, we have have a policeman and a jailor. If we need to do math, we have a Finance Controller. More professionals are arriving tomorrow. Basically, we have good, level-headed professionals with many talents.
Black Bear Box logoNot all the work is rocket science, though. Some of these high-powered professionals are scooping poop and doing whatever is needed to make the mapping project a success.
A lot of work lately has centered around Education Outreach. Upgrading the Black Bear Box program is a focus. Technically, the Education Outreach Team incorporated Common Core Curriculum Requirements and in some case Minnesota Standards so the Boxes can augment many classroom subjects with the bear education materials. 
Children learning from bear boxThey upped the rental period to a month at the same price of $150 that covers shipping to and from the school. The month-long rental period enables many classes to take advantage of it. Click here for more info: http://www.bear.org/website/black-bear-boxes/introduction.html
Some contents have been revised since this photo was taken.Trish Kirk wrote, “With the increased loan period of four weeks with the same rental cost, the Teacher Packs will enable multiple classrooms to be able to utilize one Black Bear Box simultaneously. For example, a 3rd grade classroom could be learning about Black Bear characteristics and behavior, while a 6th grade classroom learns about Tracks, Scat and Sign, while a 5th Grade classroom could help read selected books to a Pre-K or Kindergarten class, and a 4th grade class can play the educational games. All the subjects can be rotated during the 4-week period."
Way to go, Team.
On a side note, the cubs in the update photo last night were Juliet's triplets from 2010, Sharon, Shirley and Boy Named Sue. We are unsure about the single cub.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center