ZOO SCHOOL — Pupils from a Grade 4 class at Mother Teresa School dissect owl pellets and pick out the bones at the Saskatoon Forestry farm Park and Zoo, trying to figure out what the owl ate and calculating how many calories it would need to stay healthy. (Ledding photo)

 

Children suffering ‘nature deficit disorder’

By Andréa Ledding

SASKATOON — Grade 4 students at Mother Teresa School are enjoying a partnership with the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo, a national historic site. The pilot program is designed to give the children hands-on time with animals — and their by-products — in the Forestry Farm Learning Centre.

On Thursday afternoon, the students were enthusiastically examining owl pellets for bones under the supervision of their classroom teacher and two Forestry Farm facilitators.

“The program has just been fantastic,” said classroom teacher Brenda Daniels, noting that the hands-on and outdoor aspects of the program have been embraced by the youngsters. “We did a month of preparation, studying animals of the grassland and the local habitat.”

Incorporating all areas of study, some of the projects were artistic — making prints of various animals — or mathematical.

“The kids weighed different food sources for owls, like mice or snakes, and then would calculate how many calories an owl needed, and how much it would need to eat.”

But Daniels notes that, beyond the basic curriculum requirements, many other connections are being made.

“We are sharing the habitat of these creatures. It belongs to them. Their health and reproduction and survival matters, and it affects us, too. This generation is learning, these kids are learning, that these aren’t ‘just some animals — who cares?’ but we’re mammals too, and what happens to them can happen to us. We all share this habitat.”

As the children learn the importance of sharing habitat, and the interdependance of creation, it is hoped that not only will they have fun while learning, but take to heart the importance of living in a way that is ecologically responsible. The students also learn about the many animals housed at the Saskatoon Zoo, what it is like to be a zookeeper and care for the animals, and spend time hiking, learning about the national historic site, and exploring the outdoor environment.

A backgrounder from the Saskatoon Zoo notes that 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity, but it is a difficult thing to pass on to youth meaningfully — youth who are so attached to the digital world that they suffer from “nature deficit disorder.”

The Zoo Society programming staff, using a grant from the Royal Bank Foundation, established a cross-curriculum school program, and Daniels’ Grade 4 class is the second classroom to move from Mother Teresa School into the Affinity Learning Centre for a week. Students learn about ecostystems, species at risk, ecological footprints, and the local environment, as well as history and culture and their effects on today’s society.

Instead of learning about exotic rainforests or the African savannah, Zoo School makes Saskatchewan’s grasslands and local species the focal point, in order to bring about a deeper understanding and respect for the environment we all depend on for survival.