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Bringing the outdoor in: Missoula’s Inspired Classrooms delivers Montana’s grizzlies, eagles to schools all over the U.S.

February 7, 2019 /

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Bear Paw Development Corporation is a private non-profit organization created for the purpose of administering programs to help improve regional economic conditions in Hill, Blaine, Liberty, Chouteau and Phillips Counties and the Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy's Indian Reservations.

As video classes go, it’s hard to beat a studio with a view of the snowcapped Bitterroot Mountains and an eagle trap out the window.

“The sense of place is so important,” Kathleen Dent said of the makeshift arrangements in the MPG Ranch living room. “And it’s really exciting to hear what kids in a more urban environment are wondering about.”

Dent and partner Allie DePuy own Inspired Classrooms, a video-conferencing service that connects students all over the country with wildlife biologists live on scene. This week they were preparing to link a class in Hoboken, New Jersey, with a presentation on golden eagle migration featuring members of Raptor View Research Institute and MPG. In a few days they’ll set up another studio with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists, endangered species advocates and private ranchers for a session on grizzly bear management.

“The kids do their own research and come up with their own solutions.”