To coincide with the United Nations International Year of Biodiversity 2010, the Friends of Presqu'ile have unveiled their new Biodiversity offerings: the Kids ‘n Nature School curriculum, a revised format for the Park's Nature Centre, and new roving interpretation in the Park this summer, centred on our new Boardwalk.
Biodiversity is a big word and concept, but put simply it's life connected and interacting in all its variety. "Those interactions create communities and systems, and those systems provide goods and services such as oxygen production, pollination, water filtration and storage, pest control, food production, carbon storage and erosion control…biodiversity anchors nature's life support system.” [see http://www.biodiversityeducation.ca/ for more great information]. It has attracted UN attention because it is being degraded by human [in]activity: we stand inside, not outside, nature and affect it. Hence the mission this year to Retain, Restore, Replace, and Recover.
Presqu'ile, as probably the most diverse of Ontario's Parks, is well-situated, and has a long history of presenting an awareness of biodiversity. This year, though, we're problem-solving it…not just classifying it! Check out our new Marsh signage as an example of this.
The overall biodiversity theme is that variety of life matters for the survival of all interconnected species/habitats in nature. The focus is on producing a sense of awe, connectedness and stewardship in the student. It stresses linkages and interdependence, where the human is no mere observer. It avoids a sense of impending doom re pollution, loss of habitat, endangered species and invasive alien species, and focuses on grade 1-6 science themes.
This year's unit will teach using the Park's Class 1 wetlands/marsh as a topical theme; other features of the Park's ecosystem will be added in later years. Using the marsh, topics will include: food chain, habitat quality and interconnectedness, species and habitat sustainability, human benefit, and diversity. In future years we'll use the same approach to our old Field, Forest, Pannes, and Lake habitats.
The Kids ‘n Nature programs will use a new schools curriculum approach to project-based learning whereby students gather information, evaluate it, and then make decisions based on their findings in order to achieve authentic assessments. The revised school curriculum removes the focus from classification-based learning [dragonflies have 4 wings], and places a large emphasis on experiencing the relationship between science and technology [solving problems].
The Kids 'n Nature program is specifically targeting grades 3, 4, 6, and 7; however education opportunities for the entire elementary grades are available. The program works by delivering an in-class session to students to assess their knowledge of the program and introduce the elements of biodiversity. This lesson is followed up by a trip to the Park's Marsh Boardwalk, where they will experience the three new teaching areas (including Audrey's Place) and the two new lookout towers. Each program is tailored to the specific expectations of grade-related Ontario Curriculum.
The boardwalk allows visitors to enter a bio diverse landscape that would otherwise be inaccessible. It also allows for a variety of educational opportunities for the community and the Park. Interpreters can lead guided hikes through the marsh, school groups can solve mission based problems regarding the Presqu'ile Marsh, and visitors can walk quietly and observe a plethora of birds, fish, amphibians, and invertebrates on any given day.
We have been busy with recreation-based education: the things you learn when camping in the Park. This has focussed, first, on revisions to our Nature Centre to reflect habitats rather than species. We have secured support from the Biodiversity Gallery at ROM; establish a new floor plan; acquired additional props from other Parks; built new dioramas, and partnered with an ENSS art student to paint them, and mapped out what new species will populate the building. Lively and noisy this year! click here
We are developing a longer term concept of casual enjoyment of nature in the Park; drawing in local residents for specific events, healthy alternatives, bike riding, night hikes and NatureWorks programs. This should involve new community partnerships, making Presqu'ile not just a camping or beaching destination but a place to complete a healthy lifestyle across the region. Be prepared to meet our Interpreter in the most unlikely Park spots…she'll come to you!
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