Get to Know Virtual Hike at Ellis Bird Farm

We asked the Grade 5 students at Spruce View school to pick 13 of the 20 species found on out Get to Know Virtual Hike site (26 students, divided into pairs). They then researched and wrote reports about "their" species. When they came on their field trip to EBF, each pair of students was provided with name tags of "their" species and, during the morning activities, our interpreters made sure to show the students "their" species so they could get to know them first hand. They watched the Purple Martins and listened to their chatter; they threw feathers up in the air for the Tree Swallows; they tiptoed over to where a mallard was nesting to peek at her sitting there; they dip-netted for scud and saw them up close in a bucket, etc.

The first comment we heard when the students got off the bus was "We're in Scene 2!!" The immediate recognition of where they were meant that the virtual hike had provided a sense of place for them, and had done its job of introducing them to their wild neighbours. When they returned to their school and revisited the Virtual Tour, the things they learned in real life would be reinforced yet again. Our conclusion? Melding technology with real-life discoveries is a meaningful and exciting way to learn about our natural world as long as the technology is not the end-point of the experience.

In the afternoon, invited guests were paired up with the students. The students were charged with the responsibility of teaching the adults all about their species. At the end of the program, the adults expressed amazement about how much the students knew (and were excited to share), not just about their assigned species, but also about the other species at EBF. The student-adult teams then participated in a scavenger hunt on the site. The scavenger hunt challenged them to find other species on the site, and then unscramble a mystery word using letters gleaned from finding hidden scent containers around the site. The final activity of the day was building bluebird boxes (these are rural students) and getting a copy of our Children's Bluebird Activity Book.

Mrs. McKinley has since written to us to say that Virtual Tour/EBF Field trip has been a life-changing experience for her students.

Myrna Pearman
Biologist/Site Services Manager
Ellis Bird Farm