Submitted by Wildsight

Students from Marysville Elementary School recently got to experience the joy of winter with Wildsight’s Winter Wonder program.

The lucky Kindergarten students in Natasha Burgess’ class went to a wild space near their school yard with Wildsight Educator Kim Urbaniak.

Students learned about animal winter strategies (migrate, hibernate, stay and cope). They pretended to be chickadees and worked to survive the winter by hiding their food, then seeking it out later. They learned how different body parts (adaptations) make it possible for certain animals to survive or even thrive in winter. Then, they went exploring for other signs of animal life, and found a lot of footprints in the fresh snow!

“We found squirrel footprints, and they were by the tree!” piped up one excited little learner as children tromped through the snow with observant and eager eyes.

Ms. Burgess’s class was so excited to have a visit from the snowflake fairy, they could hardly contain their energy. They explored intently and played hard! But along the way, they kept their eyes open and minds absorbing a lot of new information, like the mighty brainpower of the humble chickadee.

“I didn’t know chickadees did that,” one student exclaimed while learning about how chickadees hide stashes of food for the winter months.

Winter Wonder is a half-day, curriculum connected program for students in Kindergarten–Grade 3 and brings the magic and mystery of winter to life in a fun and engaging way. This environmental education program helps students develop a sense of curiosity, learn about the interconnected webs of winter ecology and instil a love of the natural world.

“Winter Wonder is a fun, hands-on outdoor lesson focused on the wonders of animals in winter and all the amazing ways they survive,” shared Wildsight educator Kim Urbaniak.

“Students get to slow down and look closely at their schoolyards and nearby spaces in new ways, and to experience their wild spaces in all seasons. Sometimes it’s so much fun, they don’t even realize they’re learning!”

To learn more about Wildsight Education, visit www.wildsight.ca/education

This winter, more than 1,430 students across the Columbia Basin participated in a Winter Wonder program. We’re grateful for the generous support of the Columbia Basin Trust, Consecon Foundation, Copernicus Education Products, Keefer Ecological, LeRoi Community Foundation, the Province of British Columbia, Teck Trail, and all of our individual donors that make programs like this possible!

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