A new K–12 education initiative will bring mountain lion science, coexistence, and the connections that shape healthy ecosystems directly to students and teachers.
This September, the Mountain Lion Foundation is taking an important new step in our education work with the launch of a Montana-based K–12 Mountain Lion Education Initiative—the first phase of what we intend to become a free, nationally accessible education program for students and teachers across mountain lion country.
Leading the effort is Joshua Lisbon, MLF’s Director of Education and Community Outreach, who is working with educators, scientists, and partners to translate mountain lion science into engaging, age-appropriate lessons teachers can readily bring into their classrooms.
The curriculum will begin in Montana with standards-aligned materials for elementary, middle, and high school students. Once tested and refined, the core program will be adapted for other states across the mountain lion range
More Than a Set of Lesson Plans
The initiative is being designed to connect students not only with information, but with the people, places, and experiences behind the science.
Teachers will have access to free downloadable curriculum and recorded classroom programming they can use on their own schedules. Live virtual programs will bring the outside world into the classroom, creating opportunities for students to connect with scientists, conservation professionals, and experiences from the field.
Over time, these live and recorded programs will become a growing library of educational resources available to teachers wherever they are.
Students will begin by exploring mountain lion biology, behavior, habitat, and coexistence. As they progress, they will encounter more complex questions about food webs, predator-prey relationships, interconnected ecosystems, and what happens when one part of those systems changes.
Older students will have opportunities to model ecological relationships and consider how wildlife-management decisions can create effects that ripple through an ecosystem.
From Facts Over Fear to the Lion Effect
The initiative brings two ideas at the heart of MLF’s work directly into the classroom: Facts Over Fear and The Lion Effect
Facts Over Fear starts with credible science. By giving students an accurate understanding of how mountain lions live and behave, we can help build knowledge before fear and misconceptions have a chance to take hold.
The Lion Effect expands that view.
Mountain lions become a gateway to understanding the extraordinary web of relationships around them—predators and prey, plants and landscapes, human decisions and wildlife, and the many ways a change to one part of an ecosystem can affect another.
These ideas will be woven through the curriculum, from introductory lessons for younger students to more sophisticated ecological questions for middle and high school students.
Education Is Conservation
Protecting mountain lions cannot depend on any single strategy.
It takes strong science, effective policy and advocacy, practical coexistence tools, public communication, partnerships—and education that builds understanding for the long term.
Reaching students and teachers gives MLF an opportunity to work upstream: building ecological literacy and helping the next generation better understand mountain lions, their role in the natural world, and the landscapes we all share.
Montana Is Just the Beginning
After the Montana curriculum has been tested and refined, MLF plans to adapt the core program for other states, incorporating local ecosystems, species, conservation issues, educational standards, and community perspectives.
Utah is expected to be among the first states to follow, with the longer-term goal of making these free resources available to educators throughout the mountain lion range.
And this September, we’ll invite you inside the project.
MLF will host a special webinar with Joshua Lisbon for supporters, educators, parents, and anyone interested in the initiative. Josh will share what we’re building, how the curriculum will work, and where we hope to take it next.
The Lion Effect is about understanding the connections that shape the wild. Now, we’re bringing those connections into the classroom.
