Salt Lake City's Tracy Aviary has received a $250,000 grant from the Toyota USA Foundation for its Avian Ecology in Schools project.

The funds will help the aviary expand its education program, which serves around 2,000 students per year.

The aviary picks a few local schools annually for the program, and their students get a series of lessons from experts in the classroom, field trips and a student workbook.

The program is more effective than providing one-day field trips, said Tim Brown, aviary executive director. The "depth-over-breadth" approach gives students a real introduction to birds and a memorable experience, he said.