[NatureNS] Miner's Marsh offleash park...

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Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 15:45:46 -0700
From: M gayle Maclean <dashis9@yahoo.ca>
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Perhaps the NS Young Naturalists group & their adult leaders, or the NS Mus=
eum Of Natural History, might put together a package that could be shared w=
ith the NS Dept.of Education?=0ANot sure what age group would be=A0best sui=
ted towards, mind you. =0AAm sure there are many on this list, who could ad=
vise or suggest. =0AInteresting topic, indeed!=0A=0AGayle MacLean=0ADartmou=
th =0A=0A=0AOn Tuesday, June 24, 2014 7:17:41 PM, desolatechair <desolatech=
air@gmail.com> wrote:=0A  =0A=0A=0ABudding biologists should learn to obser=
ve wild animals in their natural habitat, no? =A0Do you really condone this=
 behavior?=0A=0A=0ASent from Samsung Mobile=0A=0A=0A-------- Original messa=
ge --------=0AFrom: David & Alison Webster =0ADate:06-24-2014  6:43 PM  (GM=
T-04:00) =0ATo: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca =0ASubject: Re: [NatureNS] Miner's =
Marsh offleash park... =0AHi John & All,=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 June 24, 2014=0A=A0=A0=A0 You have a point.=0A=0A=
=A0=A0=A0 Several of us have independently discovered that not having a tur=
tle at =0Ahome is more fun and less bother than having one at home.=A0 So w=
hy should =0Afuture generations of children, especially if they are budding=
 Biologists, =0Ahave ts learn such matters by experience ?=0A=0A=A0=A0=A0 S=
ome suitable inspirational lectures, starting by the second trimester, =0As=
upplemented by officially sanctioned posters in the Nursery should not only=
 =0Aconfer protection to turtles but snuff out ideas of getting involved in=
 =0ABiology so that children grow up to do something useful, such as being =
avid =0Aconsumers.=0A=0AYt, Dave Webster, Kentville=0A----- Original Messag=
e ----- =0AFrom: "John and Nhung" <nhungjohn@eastlink.ca>=0ATo: <naturens@c=
hebucto.ns.ca>=0ASent: Tuesday, June 24, 2014 2:37 PM=0ASubject: RE: [Natur=
eNS] Miner's Marsh offleash park...=0A=0A=0A> Good commentary about the nee=
d for kids to be exposed to nature, but as an=0A> initial part of the expos=
ure, kids need to be told to leave nature where =0A> it=0A> sits.=0A>=0A> I=
 was acquisitive when I was small, as well, and accumulated quite a=0A> col=
lection of live amphibians and snakes.=A0 After some of them died, =0A> des=
pite=0A> my best attempts, I realized that collecting was not a good idea.=
=A0 So then =0A> I=0A> kept paper records, instead:=A0 species, colour, len=
gth, ... can't remember=0A> what else I tabulated, but do remember the bigg=
est garter snake I ever=0A> caught measured 33 inches from snout to tail!=
=0A>=0A> -----Original Message-----=0A> From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca=
 [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca]=0A> On Behalf Of bev wigney=0A> Sen=
t: June-24-14 12:00 PM=0A> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=0A> Subject: Re: [Na=
tureNS] Miner's Marsh offleash park...=0A>=0A> On 2014-06-24, at 10:23 AM, =
Fred Schueler <bckcdb@istar.ca> wrote:=0A>=0A>> * it's hard to see this as =
bullshit - it's one of the fundamental=0A>> problems facing naturalists and=
 nature in these latter days. Both kids=0A>> and society suffer from Nature=
 Appreciation Deficit Disorder, and from=0A>> the consequences the grotesqu=
e exploitation of the Earth by those=0A>> afflicted with NADD. It's a big p=
art of the job of naturalists to=0A>> reverse this, and temporarily holding=
 Turtles in captivity is one of=0A>> the classic ways of communing with nat=
ure and getting started with=0A>> science=0A>>=0A>> fred.=0A>=0A> * I would=
 like to echo what Fred Schueler has just commented.=A0 While I'm=0A> defin=
itely not advocating that parents should capture painted turtles for=0A> sp=
oilt children, etc..., I do wonder if there is a natural history =0A> educa=
tion=0A> program available at that site (and others as well).=A0 Being clos=
e enough =0A> to=0A> observe small creatures is one way of inspiring intere=
st and empathy for =0A> the=0A> natural world.=A0 Some will say, "But there=
 are interpretive signs!" To =0A> which=0A> I will reply, "Those are not en=
ough."=0A>=0A> For several years, I conducted volunteer stream surveys in t=
he Ottawa =0A> area.=0A> A science teacher at one of that city's high schoo=
ls asked if she could=0A> bring her Grade 10 biology class out to spend a f=
ull day with my survey=0A> partner and I once each season.=A0 I believe we =
did four of these annual =0A> class=0A> outing surveys.=A0 I soon learned t=
hat, almost without exception, no child =0A> had=0A> ever held a frog, cray=
fish, turtle, fish, butterfly, or dragonfly.=A0 In =0A> fact,=0A> many of t=
hese kids were quite afraid and sometimes even terrified of=0A> touching, b=
eing touched by, or even looking closely at these creatures.=A0 A=0A> coupl=
e of times I had to have talks with kids who screamed and immediately=0A> c=
rushed fishing or wolf spiders on sight.=A0 However, by the end of a day of=
=0A> survey work, most of the kids were quite comfortable about picking up=
=0A> crayfish, netting and releasing minnows, carefully holding a dragonfly=
, or=0A> having a frog sit on their hands.=A0 I hope that, out of that hund=
red or so=0A> biology students, at least one or=A0 two will have chosen to =
pursue some =0A> line=0A> of work in the field of natural history, environm=
ental studies, or=0A> conservation management.=A0 I hope that a further few=
 may have become =0A> teachers=0A> who will=A0 find a way to=A0 transfer th=
eir experience that day in some way to=0A> another generation of students.=
=A0 I hope that a goodly number of those=0A> students, should they ever hav=
e children of their own, will remember that=0A> day spent on a river counti=
ng and=A0 measuring crayfish or learning =0A> something=0A> about identifyi=
ng frog species.=0A>=0A> Unfortunately, the opportunities for nature encoun=
ters are becoming=0A> increasingly few.=A0 As it was, during the four years=
 of our class stream=0A> surveys, we went from fairly simple arrangements f=
or an outing, to=0A> increasingly more difficult arrangements where the sch=
ool wanted to know =0A> if=0A> my partner and I had life guard training, re=
scue gear, etc... We were=0A> volunteers with one of the region's conservat=
ion authorities, so acting as=0A> life guards was not part of our schtick.=
=A0 We were working in quiet,=0A> mid-calf-deep streams, so you can see whe=
re all of this was going.=A0 As =0A> well,=0A> even locating a suitable stu=
dy area - clean water with excellent=0A> biodiversity - became increasingly=
 difficult as several of the best =0A> reach