Yay, the evenings are getting lighter and the weather warmer, allowing us to wander outside later and later. More time for the kids to play outdoors, to mosey on over to the park, explore the woods, run out in the fields! Of course the warmer weather brings out the critters. There are dragonflies, bees, butterflies and of course the ubiquitous mosquito!
And then there are bats! Somewhere along the way bats seem to have garnered a bit of a nasty reputation, they became the go-to creature for Halloween and other creepy- themed events or films. However, in reality the little bat (or big bat depending on where you are living!) is a masterful night hunter that helps to control insect populations, and fruit bats are invaluable as seed dispersers, helping to preserve healthy forest ecosystems. Here’s the Bat Song to get you dancing!
Introducing kids to bats, and highlighting the many benefits they bring both to our urban and agricultural communities helps to dispel the “creepy” factor and usher in respect and curiosity. Visit Bracken Cave, summer home to the world’s largest bat colony. Unfortunately many North American bat species are succumbing to White-nose syndrome, which affects hibernating bats. Building or buying a bat house to put up in your yard will help attract bats into your neighborhood and allow you to observe them safely with your kids.
The Little Earth Charter Principal Number One is Life, another fun way to explore the multiple facets of life with your kids! Bats101 has some good lesson plans and ideas for bat projects. So, enjoy the summer evenings and see how many bats you can identify!
Thursday 22 May 2014
Tuesday 13 May 2014
Cooperation
Cooperation is alive and well in nature, providing some great opportunities to observe this quality with your kids. For example, take a moment to watch a colony of ants. Ants cooperate in a myriad of ways, always working for the greatest good of the whole. They work together to collect food, assist other ants that are injured and endlessly transport grains of sand and debris out of tunnels ensuring the colony is spic and span. Of course it’s a little difficult to observe ants underground so if you’re feeling adventurous why not buy an Ant Farm? Your kids will enjoy watching the ants tunnel away! The Ant Song is a fun way to celebrate ants!
The Web of Life is truly a network of interdependent and interconnected organisms and humans are intricately connected to that web. Check out Principal Number 2 of the Little Earth Charter - The Interconnected Web. What examples of cooperation can you find in the backyard or at the park? Some might be:
1. Soil – all kinds of organisms work together to break down organic material into soil, providing fertile matter for plants to grow in.
2. Birds - Get to know your neighborhood crows – they are social birds that will often cooperate to collect nest-building materials.
3. “Smarty Plants” this AMAZING episode from David Suzuki’s The Nature of Things will blow you away! It's incredible how plants and insects cooperate!
Plenty of fun examples of cooperation in nature can also be seen in coral reefs. One research team found that some reefs being threatened by a plant that was disrupting their food supply, called in Goby fish to get rid of them! Here's the Cooperation Song to get you in a cooperative mind set! If you find some cool examples of cooperation in nature, please do share! Have fun!
The Web of Life is truly a network of interdependent and interconnected organisms and humans are intricately connected to that web. Check out Principal Number 2 of the Little Earth Charter - The Interconnected Web. What examples of cooperation can you find in the backyard or at the park? Some might be:
1. Soil – all kinds of organisms work together to break down organic material into soil, providing fertile matter for plants to grow in.
2. Birds - Get to know your neighborhood crows – they are social birds that will often cooperate to collect nest-building materials.
3. “Smarty Plants” this AMAZING episode from David Suzuki’s The Nature of Things will blow you away! It's incredible how plants and insects cooperate!
Plenty of fun examples of cooperation in nature can also be seen in coral reefs. One research team found that some reefs being threatened by a plant that was disrupting their food supply, called in Goby fish to get rid of them! Here's the Cooperation Song to get you in a cooperative mind set! If you find some cool examples of cooperation in nature, please do share! Have fun!
Thursday 8 May 2014
Family
Spring continues to make its presence known here in Quebec. At the Montreal Botanical Gardens today I watched a mother fox and her cubs playing in the grass. Here, in the heart of a big city, live these beautiful wild creatures that few of us ever get to see. As I watched the cubs frolicking about under their mother’s watchful eye, a little girl with her father standing next to me said: “They’re just like me and my friends, they like to play.” I think all of us watching those foxes knew we were witnessing something precious.
Watching such intimate family moments in the animal kingdom provides an opportune moment to cultivate empathy and compassion in children towards non-human beings. But while TV Shows and videos about animal families abound, there is nothing quite like actually observing real life family moments in nature. For this, spring provides ample opportunities if we can just get kids outside into parks, onto trails and simply hanging out in the backyard!
In Florida I witnessed some bottlenose dolphins, including one or two young calves, playing in the water near Marco Island. Dolphins are very family-oriented, social mammals that travel together in groups called pods. They will often collaborate to hunt and herd shoals of fish; they play with each other, and when females give birth other females called “aunts” provide assistance. Recently a research project discovered that dolphins even recognize each other’s signature whistles long after they’d last been in touch.
“Dolphin Teach Us To Play” is a song that celebrates the joy of life, something dolphins definitely seem to exude!
The Little Earth Charter Principle No 3 is The Family. The Principle of Family means doing everything that you can to make sure everyone in the human family is well treated. You can extend this principle to the -human family as well – check out Rosie's Heart (see sidebar) – a fun game that provides one way we can help to protect dolphins. Nurturing empathy in children helps them to not only be kinder to each other but also to all living things.
Watching such intimate family moments in the animal kingdom provides an opportune moment to cultivate empathy and compassion in children towards non-human beings. But while TV Shows and videos about animal families abound, there is nothing quite like actually observing real life family moments in nature. For this, spring provides ample opportunities if we can just get kids outside into parks, onto trails and simply hanging out in the backyard!
In Florida I witnessed some bottlenose dolphins, including one or two young calves, playing in the water near Marco Island. Dolphins are very family-oriented, social mammals that travel together in groups called pods. They will often collaborate to hunt and herd shoals of fish; they play with each other, and when females give birth other females called “aunts” provide assistance. Recently a research project discovered that dolphins even recognize each other’s signature whistles long after they’d last been in touch.
“Dolphin Teach Us To Play” is a song that celebrates the joy of life, something dolphins definitely seem to exude!
The Little Earth Charter Principle No 3 is The Family. The Principle of Family means doing everything that you can to make sure everyone in the human family is well treated. You can extend this principle to the -human family as well – check out Rosie's Heart (see sidebar) – a fun game that provides one way we can help to protect dolphins. Nurturing empathy in children helps them to not only be kinder to each other but also to all living things.
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