[APWG] On working with younger students who get discouraged easily
WildLifeGardener
WildLifeGardener at sbcglobal.net
Thu Oct 9 12:09:01 CDT 2008
This is something grossly over simplified that I wrote a while ago to use
specifically when working with younger groups. Invasiveness is a hard
concept for them to grasp particularly when all trees and flowers start
looking the same to little ones after all of 15 minutes. Children become
discouraged so easily when they don't see what they can interpret as an
immediate result. They need our words of encouragement to help them make the
connection that what they are doing is worthwhile. They like instant
gratification and I've learned it's all how we present to them that makes or
breaks a teachable moment so lay out the instant gratification on a plate
for them at a level they can understand. After I read the following to them,
we take off and begin getting rid of Nutches that stole Nitches. Mostly we
focus on hand pulling Garlic Mustard in the spring but we hand pull anything
else they've been taught to identify that's able to be grasped easily by
their little hands. When the group invariably stumbles upon that "struggling
dogwood" or that "delicate wildflower" mentioned by Kim Yousey, and we
always do, we take the opportunity to let the kids know that plant now has a
chance at surviving because of their hard work removing the invasive species
around it that were out-competing it for nutrients, light, and water. We
stand quietly and look at the plant and the kids chests puff out and there's
a sense of pride and accomplishment one can feel as they stand around
looking at "their" plant. We tell them how they are great little weed
warriors and invite them to come back to that very spot next year so they
can see even better how "their" plant is doing in its cleaned up Nitch. This
has worked well for me and maybe it will help others working with younger
students?
Invasive Species In A Nutshell
Lots of talk these days about invasive species and seems as if
there are a lot of little people trying to make sense of all the bad
press some plants and animals are getting lately who are
interested in learning more about them.
We all know and love Dr. Seuss. In addition to 'The Lorax',
Dr. Seuss wrote another book I'd like to mention. Have you ever
read 'On Beyond Zebra'? It's about "the rest of the alphabet".
A very young child, Conrad Cornelius O'Donnel O'Dell, is very
proud that he has learned the entire alphabet from A to Z. His
friend, though, draws another letter and says-
Quote:
In the places I go there are things that I see
That I never could spell if I stopped with the Z.
I'm telling you this 'cause you're one of my friends.
My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends!"
He then proceeds to describe the alphabet on beyond Zebra.
One of his special letters is NUH.
"And NUH is the letter I use to spell Nutches
Who live in small caves, known as Nitches, for hutches.
These Nutches have troubles, the biggest of which is
The fact there are many more Nutches than Nitches.
Each Nutch in a Nitch knows that some other Nutch
Would like to move into his Nitch very much.
So each Nutch in a Nitch has to watch that small Nitch
Or Nutches who haven't got Nitches will snitch.
The invasive species problem we are all facing in a nutshell.
Every native species is a Nutch. Non native and highly invasive
species such as Albizia julibrissin (Tree of Heaven); Pueraria
montana var. lobata (Kudzu), Passer domesticus
(English House Sparrow), or Rattus norvegicus (Norway Rat);
don't have a Nitch (niche) of their own here on North America.
The only way they can get one is to snitch it.
-------Original Message-------
From: Kim Yousey
Date: 10/9/2008 9:47:37 AM
To: apwg at lists.plantconservation.org
Subject: Re: [APWG] APWG Digest, Vol 61, Issue 9, student response
Hello, I also have the same response from a school group that I am working
with. I think this is a personal decision on the part of each one. It can be
slow going and very discouraging. Finding a struggling dogwood in the middle
of a group of russian olive or recognizing a delicate wildflower amidst a
tangle of foreign grasses can be very inspiring. The inspiration comes from
opening the eyes to the possibilities and not dwelling so much on the amount
of work it takes to get there. This is the domain of teaching, so teach the
teachers. I went back to the dogwood I cut free last year and it had tons of
leaves and it was full of berries. Unfortunately, I didn't have anyone to
share it with, since I am a volunteer and not a teacher. I am on this list
to find good information and realistic techniques along with discussion of
the natural history aspects of ecology. I would like to see more localized
discussion groups, though it is interesting to see that this is going on
everywhere.
Kim Yousey
More information about the APWG
mailing list