NO TV, COMPUTERS OR TABLETS
Junior Naturalists Audrey Hopkins, 5, Natasha Turcotte, 5, and Luke Turcotte, 4, make paper-bag puppets at the Petrie Island Nature Interpretation Centre. Bruce Deachman’s Days of Summer series continues on
One by one, the youngsters, each between the age of two and five, and clutching a coin or two, tentatively approached one of the staff at the Nature Interpretation Centre at Petrie Island to pay their two-dollar fee for the morning’s 90-minute outing — a short hike to see and learn about mammals, as well as a post-walk, paper-bag puppetmaking craft.
They are Junior Naturalists, and there were more than 30 on hand, a record number that forced the centre’s staff to consider scheduling more such outings.
Their purpose is simple: to teach children about nature while also providing an alternative activity to screen-based electronics, and as the sun-blocked and bug-sprayed youngsters and their parents gathered around the rabbit hutch for a pre-game talk about what defines a mammal — “Something that HEARS!” shouted one enthusiastic camper — it was evident that the crowd was eager for a beaver, otter or muskrat sighting. Alas, it was not to be. “Nature can be very unco-operative,” said program co-ordinator Caleigh DellePalme. On a recent Turtle Day, she said, only the frogs showed up. On Frog Day, all they could see were turtles.
And while some of the Junior Naturalists reported seeing a wild squirrel (I’m not disputing this; I just didn’t see it myself ), there certainly was evidence that the island does support mammals other than weekly clutches of Junior Naturalists, including chipmunk burrows and trees gnawed by busy beavers.
Regardless, there was much else to see and learn, including: a (presumably deaf) turtle who clearly didn’t read the schedule; some pathside poison ivy — just enough to keep young minds from idling; numerous flowers, some of which kids picked to make bouquets for their mothers or fathers; and a small tractor, which four-year-old Aiden Hannah froze in front of, as though it was a deer he might startle with the smallest movement.
“I want to see the tractor,” he whispered. As we continued on to noisily stalk ANIMALS THAT CAN HEAR, Aiden, who prizes highly among his possessions a John Deere catalogue, felt compelled to share the fact the fact that “air boats” can travel both on water and land. “I learned that on Mighty Machines!”
Visit petrieisland.org for more information.