Students in Ms. Anneli Schadeli’s Grade 4/5 class from Kootenay Orchards Elementary (KOE) in Cranbrook recently put on snowshoes and went out into the snow to harvest lichen for our endangered mountain caribou.

Patty Kolisnichenko, a local educator who leads EcoStewards, Wildsight’s stewardship-based education program for kids, visited the class several times to teach the students about ecosystems, food webs, mountain caribou and their role in protecting our inland temperate rainforest—the only one in the world! Before heading out to gather lichen, the students were also treated to a visit by local biologist Dave Quinn, who has worked extensively on the Mountain Caribou Recovery Project.

The class spent the morning at Camp Stone harvesting lichen. The lichen will be fed to mountain caribou cows from the struggling South Selkirks herd after they’re placed in a maternity pen next spring. The maternity pen will provide a safe place for the cows to give birth and for the calves to get on their feet in the dangerous first few weeks of their lives. There are roughly 12 animals left in the herd.

The students also played games to help them understand the predator/prey relationship and learn about how healthy forests help protect and provide habitat for caribou and many other amazing organisms.

“I feel so honoured to have work with these amazing young people and their teacher.  They not not only took on the Eco stewardship project with such enthusiasm and passion but they also want to continue to make positive change by sharing what they have learned about the endangered Mountain caribou and the need to protect wild spaces,” said Kolisnichenko.

The students are excited to write letters to government officials and spread the word throughout the school and community about mountain caribou and the need to protect our old growth forests.

Wildsight

Article Share