Inspiring Future Naturalists – One Rubber Scat at a Time

Inspiring Future Naturalists – One Rubber Scat at a Time

Posted April 29, 2024

“I did not think I was doing this today,” said one of the nine students that make up the Wareham Middle School’s after school Naturalist Club.

“Whose Scat is That?!” tabling game displaying some of WLT’s newest educational outreach additions.

 

Admittedly the activity students were going through that day was quite an unexpected one. Arrayed on the desks before them was an assortment of replica scat models of species that they could encounter when on a walk in the woods in Massachusetts. The students had to attempt to guess which species would produce the ‘plops’, ‘pellets’, or ‘tubes’ laid out before them using small hints on the model’s label. In addition to identifying scat, students also learned to identify and remember the songs of common backyard birds using ‘birder talk’, to measure and to compare animal tracks, and to use a dichotomous key to identify photographs of animal skulls as part of a Field Identification unit.

The Naturalist Club seeks to spark these students’ curiosity and build their knowledge about the natural world around us. Since February 29th, these students have been able to explore mosses and lichens, winter tree identification, flight in birds, and nest building with so much more in store. Dissecting owl pellets, exploring natural pigments, and playing a game to mimic echolocation in bats are all still to come in the program that will run until June 6th.

Students work to create a bird nest from recycled materials and craft supplies during the “Nature’s Architects” activity unit of the Naturalist Club.

 

The Naturalist Club program was designed as one of Wareham Land Trust’s ‘23-’24 TerraCorps Service Member Julia Ledo’s capacity building projects. The aim of this project was to create a set of educational activities that future WLT volunteers could use to run classroom programs or attend outreach events. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Wareham Cultural Council, a local agency that is supported by Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. Thanks to this funding, the Wareham Land Trust now has an impressive array of supplies that can be used over and over, including the scat models, binoculars, recordable sound buttons, tape measures, and rubber mallets, as well as the bins to organize, transport, and store the various activity supplies.

These activities are also adaptable for use out at Wareham Land Trust properties and at tabling events. In the past month the Wareham Land Trust was able to attend three such tabling events where “Whose Scat is That?!”, the scat identification guessing game, and “Backyard’s Got Talent”, a bird song identification game, were unveiled for the first time to excellent results. Both of these activities were developed first as part of the classroom activity that caught the Naturalist Club students by surprise. With a few extra display materials they were ready to grab the attention of event goers. Excited members of the public tried their hand at matching the models and recordings to their respective counterparts and received a bite-sized lesson on the animals in their own backyards.

“I see them all the time, but never knew what they sounded like.” One mother remarked at the Wareham Garden Club’s Arbor Day Celebration when one bird call was revealed to be an American Robin.

“I won’t be able to hear them the same ever again now!” another said with obvious excitement at hearing the call of a Blue Jay and the song of a Tufted Titmouse, “That is so cool!”

At the Cape Cod Canal Cleanup, hosted by AmeriCorps Cape Cod and the US Army Corps of Engineers, those who approached the table were quick to laugh before seriously pondering over the scat models and their clues

“Using latrines… makes me think it’s a skunk or a raccoon – is that right?” One guest asked, and she wasn’t wrong!

Left: Wareham Land Trust’s table at the CCC Cleanup with “Whose Scat is That?!”, Right: Children at the Honor the Earth Fair in Mashpee learn their backyard birds with “Backyard’s Got Talent”.

 

Caring about the environment and working towards its protection starts with having a relationship with it. By promoting exploration, curiosity, and interest we can inspire both young and old to get involved. With these activities, materials and supplies the Wareham Land Trust is ready to captivate the next generation with the incredible, exciting, sometimes silly, natural world around them.

Written by Julia Ledo, WLT’s 23′-24′ TerraCorps Service Member

(C) Wareham Land Trust ~ provided by New Bedford Internet