Bird-watching is better than bows & arrows
March 14th, 2007 by admin
A story in today’s Tallahassee Democrat described a program in Leon County that helps children connect with the environment and learn about animals. 90 fourth-graders from Ruediger Elementary School recently enjoyed a day outdoors at a wildlife refuge, and used binoculars to identify birds. One fourth-grader described the trip, “I learned that birds are important to the environment, and we have to keep them safe. I liked it when I saw a bird dive in the water and come back up with a fish, and then I saw a dolphin play in the water.”
The field trip was part of a school project in which children identify birds, sketch them and then write about their experiences. Another student enjoyed the lesson, “I like the bird project because … now I am having a terrific time learning about different birds, their habitats and what they eat. Last time we went to the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, we got to see a bald eagle in its nest.”
Unfortunately, Florida’s state wildlife agency has been slow to recognize that bird-watching is one of the fastest-growing outdoor activities in America. The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) would prefer that fourth-graders learn about shooting arrows (and hunting). Florida’s “Archery in the Schools” program encourages P.E. instructors to teach archery in a thinly-veiled attempt to halt the steady decline in sales of hunting licences. Of course, the sport of archery isn’t always about shooting animals, but the FWC asks schools that wish to participate in the program to contact one of its Hunter Safety coordinators.
There are currently 70 schools in Florida that have expressed interest in teaching archery. Click here to see if a school in your community is one of them. If so, please contact the school and demand that hunting not be a part of the physical education curriculum.