What is Endangered Species Day?
The 16th annual international Endangered Species Day will be held on May 21, 2020. On that day and throughout May, tours, exhibits, special presentations, film screenings, habitat clean-up and other restoration projects, and related activities will be held at schools, colleges and universities, zoos, aquariums, parks, wildlife refuges, and other locations around the world. This is an ideal opportunity for youth and college students to learn about endangered species conservation and raise awareness at school, on campus, and in the community.
Benefits of Participating
Why participate in Endangered Species Day?
- Raise awareness of the importance of conservation and protecting biodiversity
- Make an impact at your school, on your campus, or in your neighborhood
- Build skills in leadership, event-planning, and advocacy
- Have fun planning a cool event like a lesson on endangered species, field trip, nature hike, film screening, or garden planting.
Event Ideas
- Ask a teacher or professor to put together a lesson about threatened and endangered species on Endangered Species Day.
- Organize an Endangered Species Day fair on campus or a display in the library or other appropriate location.
- Plant a milkweed garden to expand Monarch butterfly habitat on school grounds
- Invite a local biologist, ecologist, environmental advocate or other expert to speak at your school.
- Encourage the school newspaper to feature an article about Endangered Species Day.
- Organize a film screening of a movie about endangered species, such as Racing Extinction.
- Plan a nature hike, birdwalk, or a visit to a local arboretum, wildlife refuge or nature preserve with other students (for youth, ask teachers if your class can do this as a field trip!)
- Is your school or campus mascot an endangered species? Launch a campaign to educate people about threats to that species and actions they can take to protect it.
- Do you have endangered or threatened species on or near your school’s campus? Consider working with your administration, facilities staff, and/or campus administrators to protect and restore their habitat on campus.
- College students can take the Campus Pollinator Pledge and act to provide healthy habitat for pollinators
- Enter the Endangered Species Day College Student Art Contest or the Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest.
More Information
It’s great if you can old an event or other activity on Endangered Species Day (May 21, 2020) or that weekend. However, if your spring semester is over by then, you can also schedule an activity in mid-late April. Additionally don’t forget to register your event on our event map at www.endangeredspeciesday.org.
You can also explore how colleges and universities across the nation have protected and restored habitat on campus for wildlife at The National Wildlife Federation’s Habitat and Wildlife page. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can email Kristy Jones at National Wildlife Federation at [email protected].
You can also earn certification for your environmental leadership through NWF EcoLeaders program, a career and leadership development program for college students.
National Wildlife Federation’s EcoLeaders Program is a proud partner of Endangered Species Day. In addition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), numerous conservation, education, community and youth organizations also support Endangered Species Day, including the Girl Scouts USA, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the North American Association for Environmental Education, Sierra Club, the National Association of Biology Teachers, the National Science Teachers Association, Center for Biological Diversity, Jane Goodall Institute, National Audubon Society and Defenders of Wildlife.
