[APWG] On working with younger students who get discouraged easily

[WildLifeGardener]

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