My Reflection

When I initially proposed doing this project, I knew that it was right up my alley, so to say! I have in the last few years developed and fostered a deep understanding about birds, the threats they are facing and understanding what needs to be done to help their conservation. I am always looking for new and different ways to share my passion to people, and this opportunity gave me a great avenue to do so!

I have not worked with primary aged children for a while, since I was a Park Ranger at a Provincial Park, and so at first I was rather intimidated by what it was I was going to have to do. Literally thousands of people were at the Royal Ontario Museum during the March Madness event, and I would get the chance to talk to them all about what it is I find most interesting in life. 

Of course there were people that came by that had very little interest in what it was we were doing, but I have to say that the majority of visitors stopped and were genuinely fascinated with something we had displayed. Whether it was the “bird popsicles,” the wing comparisons or, most of all, the dissection, everyone seemed to learn something new and gain a greater appreciation about our avian friends from this experience.

While the days were long, your back ached from bending down to talk to your new primary aged friends, and you feel you have said as many words in one day as you would normally say in a year, but you ended your day with an intense feeling of accomplishment. It was exactly the experience I had wanted! I realize that this work requires a lot of energy and planning, but this is where most advocacy work takes place. We make stewards out of the children who learn about, and subsequently want to protect, the warblers and finches that grace the trees of their neighbourhood. This is the work I aim to do for the rest of my life!

Learning about the Environment....

I believe that this project mostly focusses on learning about the environment, seeing as we were confined by the walls of the Royal Ontario Museum. That being said, this was a very good introduction to birds. As the old saying goes "A bird in hand is worth two in the bush." Children, and parents alike, could appreciate the subtle differences and physiology of the different birds that we had presented. 
Most people have little to no knowledge about the avian diversity that abounds us. This gave a very well-rounded introduction to birds and their biology. Learners were exposed to the many diverse ways that scientists conduct field research, such as bird banding, using a scope to read bands and how to use field marks (feather patterns) to identify a bird using a field guide. Visitors also got to have an up-close experience when they interacted with the bird skins, as well during the dissection. I think the dissection was so well received because there is so much about birds that people do not know, but is extremely fascinating. Avian physiology is very different to that of a mammal's. The gut has stones for digestion instead of a jaw with teeth, the eye to brain ratio is extremely large, and their lung system is completely different and much more efficient. We also provided many links and email sign up opportunities for the learning to continue.

Learning for the Environment...

The reason why I am so passionate about avian conservation is because of how much trouble all bird species are. Take a look outside of your window. If you see any birds at all, they are more than like one of these three: Rock Pigeon, House Sparrow or a European Starling. All three are incredibly invasive pushing out our native species. Then, what area is left for our native species, is being degraded, fragmented or completely destroyed. The use of commercial insecticides are causing insect eating birds to plummet. Intensive agriculture means ground nesting species are having little to no breeding success. The more than three billion feral cats in North America are destroying nests, young and adults. Yet the biggest threat to birds is us; our windows. Every year, bird collisions with buildings kill over one billion birds and represent the single greatest threat to birds. Depressed yet? Ornithologists and conservationists have been ringing the alarms for years, but little has been done. This is where I come in (in my small parts, but let's hope the ripple effect turns it into a tsunami of positive conservation efforts)!

In this experience, learners got a guided experience where experts explained about all this factors that are affecting avian diversity and population sizes in North America. Not only did they learn about the perils, though, but they also learnt what is being done, and how they can help. It can be a very powerful experience for these young minds to think about how much change they could have! This helped to bring back a sense of positivity to the atmosphere, although still maintain that something must be done and urgently.