Got Nature? Blog

Have you ever wanted to set up your own scent station? Here’s a great video that will teach you how! Scent stations are a non-invasive alternative to other trapping methods for determining what species of wildlife populate an area. Scent stations work by using a scent lure surrounded by sand in which animals will leave their tracks. These tracks can then be identified later for each species that visits the scent station.

However, it can be difficult to set up an animal scent station for the first time. In this video, Robert Cordes, assistant regional wildlife biologist at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, shows you step-by-step how to construct your own scent station.

“How to Construct a Scent Station” is a companion to Lesson 2 in The Nature of Teaching’s Unit 1: Animal Diversity and Tracking. This free lesson plan includes a data sheet you can fill out after setting up your scent station, as well as other fun projects that can be used in a classroom. You can find other free lesson plans at the Nature of Teaching website with topics like food webs, watersheds, and the scientific method.

Resources:
How to Construct a Scent Station – The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
The Nature of Teaching Unit 1: Animal Diversity and Tracking – The Education Store
The Nature of Teaching – Purdue Extension
Nature Publications – The Nature of Teaching

Megan Kuechle, Undergraduate Extension Intern
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Dr. Rod Williams, Associate Head of Extension and Associate Professor of Wildlife Science
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources