“I’m here just to teach children about conservation and different habitats,” said travelling teacher Linda Sheplawy-Woodcock, who has been touring Northwestern Ontario as part of an educational program launched by the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters.
The “travelling teacher” program provides students with hands-on workshops to help them become familiar with Ontario wildlife and its habitat.
Woodcock, based in Thunder Bay, last week visited Robert Moore School here and Crossroads in Devlin for the first time.
“It has been going in southern Ontario for nine years now,” she noted. “They get a lot out of it.
“We’re teaching conservation–to use but not abuse,” she stressed.
After a brief presentation, students were divided into groups and visited a number of stations, where they were asked to answer questions and complete puzzles with hands-on activities.
Topics included studying the feet and legs of birds, studying beaks, looking at furs, investigating wildlife in a typical backyard, looking a freshwater habitat, and the effects of zebra mussels.
They also played a game that involved controlling the rabbit population.
“Some groups totally wipe out the population,. Road kill is always popular,” laughed Sheplawy-Woodcock.
She has returned to Thunder Bay but plans to visit Rainy River District again. “I come whenever a school phones to book,” she remarked.
“It’s a great opportunity for kids, it’s a great hands-on program,” enthused Crossroads principal Brian Love.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
