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> Port
Hi John & All, June 24, 2014
You have a point.
Several of us have independently discovered that not having a turtle at
home is more fun and less bother than having one at home. So why should
future generations of children, especially if they are budding Biologists,
have ts learn such matters by experience ?
Some suitable inspirational lectures, starting by the second trimester,
supplemented by officially sanctioned posters in the Nursery should not only
confer protection to turtles but snuff out ideas of getting involved in
Biology so that children grow up to do something useful, such as being avid
consumers.
Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
----- Original Message -----
From: "John and Nhung" <nhungjohn@eastlink.ca>
To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2014 2:37 PM
Subject: RE: [NatureNS] Miner's Marsh offleash park...
> Good commentary about the need for kids to be exposed to nature, but as an
> initial part of the exposure, kids need to be told to leave nature where
> it
> sits.
>
> I was acquisitive when I was small, as well, and accumulated quite a
> collection of live amphibians and snakes. After some of them died,
> despite
> my best attempts, I realized that collecting was not a good idea. So then
> I
> kept paper records, instead: species, colour, length, ... can't remember
> what else I tabulated, but do remember the biggest garter snake I ever
> caught measured 33 inches from snout to tail!
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca]
> On Behalf Of bev wigney
> Sent: June-24-14 12:00 PM
> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Miner's Marsh offleash park...
>
> On 2014-06-24, at 10:23 AM, Fred Schueler <bckcdb@istar.ca> wrote:
>
>> * it's hard to see this as bullshit - it's one of the fundamental
>> problems facing naturalists and nature in these latter days. Both kids
>> and society suffer from Nature Appreciation Deficit Disorder, and from
>> the consequences the grotesque exploitation of the Earth by those
>> afflicted with NADD. It's a big part of the job of naturalists to
>> reverse this, and temporarily holding Turtles in captivity is one of
>> the classic ways of communing with nature and getting started with
>> science
>>
>> fred.
>
> * I would like to echo what Fred Schueler has just commented. While I'm
> definitely not advocating that parents should capture painted turtles for
> spoilt children, etc..., I do wonder if there is a natural history
> education
> program available at that site (and others as well). Being close enough
> to
> observe small creatures is one way of inspiring interest and empathy for
> the
> natural world. Some will say, "But there are interpretive signs!" To
> which
> I will reply, "Those are not enough."
>
> For several years, I conducted volunteer stream surveys in the Ottawa
> area.
> A science teacher at one of that city's high schools asked if she could
> bring her Grade 10 biology class out to spend a full day with my survey
> partner and I once each season. I believe we did four of these annual
> class
> outing surveys. I soon learned that, almost without exception, no child
> had
> ever held a frog, crayfish, turtle, fish, butterfly, or dragonfly. In
> fact,
> many of these kids were quite afraid and sometimes even terrified of
> touching, being touched by, or even looking closely at these creatures. A
> couple of times I had to have talks with kids who screamed and immediately
> crushed fishing or wolf spiders on sight. However, by the end of a day of
> survey work, most of the kids were quite comfortable about picking up
> crayfish, netting and releasing minnows, carefully holding a dragonfly, or
> having a frog sit on their hands. I hope that, out of that hundred or so
> biology students, at least one or two will have chosen to pursue some
> line
> of work in the field of natural history, environmental studies, or
> conservation management. I hope that a further few may have become
> teachers
> who will find a way to transfer their experience that day in some way to
> another generation of students. I hope that a goodly number of those
> students, should they ever have children of their own, will remember that
> day spent on a river counting and measuring crayfish or learning
> something
> about identifying frog species.
>
> Unfortunately, the opportunities for nature encounters are becoming
> increasingly few. As it was, during the four years of our class stream
> surveys, we went from fairly simple arrangements for an outing, to
> increasingly more difficult arrangements where the school wanted to know
> if
> my partner and I had life guard training, rescue gear, etc... We were
> volunteers with one of the region's conservation authorities, so acting as
> life guards was not part of our schtick. We were working in quiet,
> mid-calf-deep streams, so you can see where all of this was going. As
> well,
> even locating a suitable study area - clean water with excellent
> biodiversity - became increasingly difficult as several of the best
> reaches
> of river were basically ruined by subdivision development just within that
> small period of time I am describing. A lot of this makes me feel sad
> and
> sick. I wonder how, and where, and from whom, children will learn about
> nature.
>
> bev wigney
> Round Hill, NS - in summer.
>
>
> -----
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