People, Plants, and Pollinators - March Edition

March 21, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Caitlin Hassey, a pollinator conservation specialist with the Xerces Society, hosts Janie Kodish, an educator with the Wild Friends program at the University of New Mexico Law School. The episode details how Wild Friends combines wildlife conservation education with hands-on civics, enabling students to draft and advocate for nonpartisan memorials on topics like forests and insects.

Program Structure and Process

Wild Friends engages students from fourth grade through high school in an interdisciplinary curriculum. Each year begins with students voting on two conservation topics, introducing democratic processes. Kodish then designs lessons covering ecology and science—such as insect anatomy, myths (e.g., insects are not inherently "gross" but vital), and differences from arachnids—followed by civics basics on government branches.

Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.

Read Full Summary →

Free • No credit card required

Listen to Audio Summary Open in App

What you'll learn

1 (01:03) **Wild Friends Program Overview** - Describes hands-on civics education using student-voted wildlife topics like insects or forests
2 (02:02) **Civic Engagement Emphasis** - Highlights student voice in legislation drafting and advocacy
3 (03:33) **Interdisciplinary Hands-On Learning** - Combines subjects with real government branches exposure at capitol
4 (04:10) **Program History and Reach** - Started early 1990s at UNM Law School; 70% legislation success rate
5 (06:05) **Age Group Experiences** - Covers 4th grade to high school, including dual-credit programs
6 (07:21) **Legislation Types and Strategy** - Focuses on nonpartisan wildlife conservation memorials
7 (11:38) **Capitol Field Trip Impact** - Students advocate as authors of their memorials

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

This episode's guest is Janie Chodosh, Educator with the Wild Friends Program at the UNM School of Law. Janie and host Kaitlin will discuss the Wild Friends civics education program offered to public schools in New Mexico, the amazing students and teachers who participate, and the recent and past wildlife conservation legislation this program has supported in the New Mexico state legislature.

wildfriends.unm.edu