Taking care of our animal allies in a city wild space:
learning about weather and food
learning about weather and food
Week 1: Thinking about what we know and gathering more information
Kayla and Jeremy investigated a nest of leaves and nuts
During our first week, we made a seasonal chart by dividing a large piece of paper into four quarters and drawing our neighborhood during the four seasons. We thought about these questions in particular:
How do animals survive in winter and early spring? What is the weather like during those seasons?
What kinds of food do animals find in our city during the winter and early spring? During our next backyard science class, we went to our local library, the John J. Bach Library, and explored the wild space in their Backyard Story Garden. We looked for evidence of the animals that live in and near the garden. Our goal was to learn what animals we could support and find out what they eat and where they live in the garden.
How do animals survive in winter and early spring? What is the weather like during those seasons?
What kinds of food do animals find in our city during the winter and early spring? During our next backyard science class, we went to our local library, the John J. Bach Library, and explored the wild space in their Backyard Story Garden. We looked for evidence of the animals that live in and near the garden. Our goal was to learn what animals we could support and find out what they eat and where they live in the garden.
Click play to hear Elijah and Kayla explain the evidence they found of animals who live in the Bach Library's Backyard Story Garden. Jacob suggests where we can hand food garlands in the garden.
Week 2: Making and hanging food garlands
Elijah, Mrs. Rodriguez, Kayla, and Jacob making food garlands
During our second week, we made food garlands using all natural (and some organic) ingredients. Hemp twine was used to string pieces of dried mango, pineapple, apple, pear, apricot, and plums onto garlands. We spread pumpkin seed butter on mini-bagels and dipped them in a mixture of oats and thistle seed. These treats were also strung on the food garlands. The colors of the garlands were lovely, soft, spring colors. During our next backyard science class, we again went to the Backyard Story Garden. We hung the garlands where we thought animals would be able to reach them. It was a very exciting day! The librarians were pleased to have us visit and help. We had a visitor from the country of Moldova who wanted to observe our service learning project! (She is the young lady on the left in the center photograph below.)
If you are interested in learning how animals live in American cities, explore these sites: finding urban critters and living with urban wildlife