The nature of learning
Smallwood Academy’s pine marten hair snag program a success
Several years ago, a chance meeting started a program that is seeing many schoolaged children learn important lessons in conservation and stewardship.
Max Pike is an avid outdoors person, hunter, trapper, firearms/outdoor education instructor and conservationist. He is also a Grade 2 teacher at Smallwood Academy.
About seven years ago while attending a public information session about wetlands in Gambo, Pike met Intervale Associates’ senior fish and wildlife technician, Eric Bennett.
“Eric and I got to chatting and he gave me some info about a non-profit conservation group that he worked called Intervale,” Pike says. “I became interested in helping out. We became good friends and the rest is history.”
Intervale offers curriculum-based education sessions for students on marten, piping plover, bats and marine animals, which are interesting for those involved, Pike says.
Organized at the school level and offered by Intervale, the pine marten hair snag program has been offered to seven classes of students in two different schools.
The project started with intermediate students in Centreville Academy seven years ago and followed Pike to Smallwood Academy, where they modified it a little and offer it to Grade 2 students.
“This year, we are fortunate to have a great bunch of students and Mrs. Susan Roberts who are interested in conservation and helping the environment,” Pike says.
During the program, which runs during the winter months, non-harming traps are set that collect marten hair.
Students snowshoe and hike to check the marten hair snag traps weekly.
“This year, we are looking for marten DNA in the area behind our school,” Pike says. “We snowshoe about a kilometre in the snowshoe trail and check our traps every Thursday or Friday (weather pending).”
Despite the distance, the students really enjoy the hike.
“We have a great hike and checking the traps is fun,” student Brody Norman says.
His classmate Ethan Hunt adds “checking the marten traps is so much fun.”
The collected hair samples are sent off and used for data collection. From the hair, students receive a report of the age, gender and overall health of the marten.
“From our collaboration over the past seven years we have determined the presence of marten in Indian Bay and Gambo area, we have organized beach cleanups at several local beaches, posted poaching hotline signs (at) various salmon rivers in the area, handed out good quality brass snare wire that will catch rabbits and not marten to many hunters in the area, and most importantly, educated hundreds of youth in the area about endangered species, environmental stewardship and what we can do to help the various species of animals at risk in our province,” Pike says.
Intervale has even logged into several of the classes during online learning and presented to the students, allowing both students and parents to be actively engaged in the information presented.
“The benefits that students have gained from this program over the years has been phenomenal,” Pike says.
“Students learn about various species and lifecycle of animals, habitats, causes of population loss, predatorprey relationships, etc. In addition to these things, we also have the added benefit of physical activity. I am thankful for the partnership between Intervale and our students. It has been an extremely rewarding experience.”
He said he has many wonderful memories from his years involved with the program, including some students who now have a career in conservation or biology.
“I have had many young men and women tell me that they are outdoors people now,” he says. “They fish, hunt … and their interest started from getting outside and learning about nature. When we go outside and spend time in the woods, there isn’t a complaint to be heard. Students absolutely love everything about the experience.”
“I like looking at all of the trees with snow on them,” student Jaxon Vardy adds.
Many of the Grade 2 students this year are asking their parents for snowshoes, Pike says.
“I like checking the marten hair snags, student James Wilkins says. “And going snowshoeing the best.”