Yellowhead Flyway Birding Trail Association - Youth Program 2004
Rural Volunteer birding association connects with Schools, seeking future birdwatching enthusiasts.
Youth Programs
Rob Wilson, a retired school teacher who lives in Saltcoats, was looking at the table of other bird watcher enthusiasts that made up his group and wondered how many young people there are that are interested in bird watching. Rob and other volunteers in their Association decided to put together a YFBTA youth program - an innovative example of schools linking with the wisdom of their community to create out of class learning in their own backyard.
Coordinators in the YFBTA approached the fourth grade teachers with their idea. If the teachers agreed then an Association member would go and give the class a presentation on local birds in their region.
Walter Farquharson was one of the many volunteers working on this project. He describes the work as follows “We invited children to do a work of art portraying a bird that was important to them, then they had to write an essay about why this bird was important.”
Once the students were done the artwork, the YFBTA members organized a lunch and bird-walk for students to walk through their own communities and learn from one of their community “experts” about the different bird populations.
This project is a great example of a small community using the expertise and resources already in the community to create a great learning experience for its students.
Rob Wilson would be more than happy to work with teacher and schools in other communities who want to initiate a similar project. You many contact Rob Wilson at (306) 744 8140 or Email him at rjwilson@sasktel.net.
http://econet.sk.ca/eco-ed/yhead_flyway.html