"Tracks to the Future" Becomes a Catalyst for Change

"Wolf Journal," a young adult novel that adults should read, too, was written by Brian Connolly and was set in the Allegheny Mountains of northern Pennsylvania. Jimmy Warren, a farm boy, finds wolf tracks in the snow. No wolves have been in these woods for a hundred years. The tracks lead him deeper into his passion for nature guided by Hawk, an old Susquehannock storyteller. Along the way, Jimmy falls in love with the beautiful Sherry Woolman who shares his love of the wild. As a school project, Jimmy keeps a journal on wolves. In order to protect the wolf he's discovered, Jimmy writes about him as if he is fiction. The Tanner brothers, a derelict pair of would-be bounty hunters, threaten to destroy the perfect balance of nature that Jimmy has found.

"Wolf Journal" is a journey into the natural world where intricate details, like the imprint of a wing in snow, tell a larger story, one of endangered species, an endangered planet, and the human spirit that strives to understand and protect.

Throughout Wolf Journal, especially the last two chapters, the author, Brian Connolly, raises awareness about the potential for wolves to recolonize their historic range in the Northeast by encouraging young readers to envision the wolf's return to the Northeast as well as to consider the challenges they may face when they reclaim their wild home.

The Wolf Conservation Center offers the opportunity for teachers to preview one of its "Tracks to the Future" learning activities based on Wolf Journal that invites young adults to read the story, consider the potential benefits wolves can bring to the Northeast landscape and envision solutions that will encourage others to accept wolves on the wild landscape.  Check out - Wolf Journal Vision Activity

Despite the vast effort, resources and support invested in wolf reintroduction, the future of the wolf and its proven benefits to ecosystems across our nation remains at risk.

Wolf Conservation Center has become a catalyst for change among a new generation of stewards who can reverse this trend before it is too late. “Interdisciplinary Curriculum in Wolf Education: Tracks to the Future” partners with educators in the implementation of a unique unit of study that affords elementary and middle school students differentiated opportunities to learn and master many of the required common core academic standards in Language Arts, Reading, Math, Science, Social Studies and the Arts while using the theme of wolf conservation as its integrating theme.  It goals encourage students to pose and answer relevant questions about wolf recovery and conservation while they simultaneously acquire new knowledge, tools and the critical thinking skills that they will need as life-long learners, in general.