School Programs Lisa Benish School Programs Lisa Benish

November Programs: Grayson County Public Schools

November was a busy month as BRDC joins the 1st, 5th and 7th grade classes to study Owls, Watersheds and Trout.

November was a busy month as BRDC joins the 1st, 5th and 7th grade classes to study Owls, Watersheds and Trout.

The K-2 Program for November brought Barn Owls to the forefront with a story by Melissa Hill, Barn Owls. Owl and raptor parts we brought for the kids to see, touch and compare. We finished the class with a couple of rounds of Owl Bingo.

The Natural Heritage program elaborated on our watersheds. We began with the Mississippi River and traveled upstream with maps of the US and Virginia discovering the way water travels across our country, as well as locally, to reach the oceans. Students were able to locate their community on a Virginia map based on their orientation to the New River.

Eyed eggs were delivered to the middle schools as part of the Trout in the Classroom Program. Each year, the classes set up a tank to replicate the habitat of our native Brook trout. The students receive eggs and watch the transformation from egg to alevin to fry and then release the small trout in the spring. It is a great lesson on stream ecology, water quality and life processes. The class is responsible for caring for and maintaining a habitable environment for the fish.   

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The Power of Owl Pellets

During the first week of November, Grayson County 4-H and BRDC teamed up to bring all of the 4th graders across Grayson County our famous owl pellet program. 

It always begins with ew, yuck and gross, because the idea of dissecting something that was once inside a living bird, summons visions of poop or puke. We explain that an owl pellet is similar to a fur ball your house cat occasionally coughs up. 

During the first week of November, Grayson County 4-H and BRDC teamed up to bring all of the 4th graders across Grayson County our famous owl pellet program. 

It always begins with ew, yuck and gross, because the idea of dissecting something that was once inside a living bird, summons visions of poop or puke. We explain that an owl pellet is similar to a fur ball your house cat occasionally coughs up. Basically, owls (and other raptors) avoid passing bones and hair through their digestive system by separating those parts out prior to swallowing the juicier bits. Yum.

We work with barn owl pellets due to the general ease of collecting them. Barn owls, true to their common name, like to roost and nest in barns, where they leave their neatly packaged pellets on the barn floor for us to find. Then we take them home, wrap them in tinfoil and sterilize them at high heat in our kitchen ovens. 

After overcoming their initial disgust, kids are instructed to dig in, break the pellets apart, and start poking around. We explain that this exercise is similar to archeology and forensic science. Our students use similar tools: tweezers, oversized tooth picks, small brushes and magnifying glasses. Each pellet comes with a chart that first lists the possible skulls they will find (rodent, shrew, mole and bird). After identifying which skull or skulls are contained within, they can then begin the task of identifying the smaller bones found under each skull on the chart. There is always a decent chance that more than one species of owl lunch will be found in a single pellet. By this time, the kids are completely engaged.

We also take time to talk about the barn owl’s life history, sharing pictures of this nocturnal majesty, and discuss more generally the habits of owls and which ones live in our Blue Ridge Region. We compare the call recordings of owls, and look at real owl skulls, talons and wings. It’s a pretty exciting owl hour for all, and the kids do not want it to end.

Many thanks to our 4-H leader, Erin Cox, and her enthusiastic interest in sharing this program with BRDC. 

 

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1st Graders Learn the Ways of Barn Owls

First grade students at Independence, Fries and and Grayson Highlands School learned about barn owls in this month’s K-2 Reading Program.

Volunteer Sarah Osborne read the book Barn Owls, and used talons and feathers from the BRDC collection to engage students in the study of these nocturnal raptors.

First grade students at Independence, Fries and and Grayson Highlands School learned about barn owls in this month’s K-2 Reading Program.

Volunteer Sarah Osborne read the book Barn Owls, and used talons and feathers from the BRDC collection to engage students in the study of these nocturnal raptors. Mrs. Osborne also used the Cornell Lab’s Merlin Bird ID app to play the sounds of the barn owl. After answering questions such as “What do barn owls eat?” and “How old do they get?”, the class played a rousing game of Owl Bingo.

The purpose of the Reading Program is to enrich nature discovery in grades K-2, using stories and illustrations based on the treasures of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  This program uses nonfiction, imaginative tales and hands on activities, both indoors and out, to encourage curiosity and build relationships with the natural world.

This school year, BRDC will be offering the program to all first grade classes, once a month. Each month, students will have the opportunity to learn about the habitat, ecology, biological diversity and life cycle of a variety of plants, animals and ecosystems. The November program will feature a book and activity about trees. What a fun way to discover the world around us!

 

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