Our Field, Their Home: Caring for Urban Wildlife

The kindergarten classes at John A. McDougall learned the importance of caring for the land and animals. Students began by learning about animal habitats, ranging from local parks and farms to underwater ecosystems and the animals right in our own school field. One morning, we went out early to search for signs of animal life on our school grounds.

We learned that we can identify which animals have walked the grounds by the way their tracks look, specifically discovering prints from birds and rabbits. While exploring, we discussed how the immense garbage that collected over the winter, now visible due to the melting snow, can be harmful to the animals we share the field with.

To dive deeper, we read the story The Messy Magpie, in which a magpie who loves "shiny things" discovers they are actually human trash that affects his nest and the friends living around him. Inspired by the story, students were encouraged to look for the "shiny things" that others had dropped.

Together, we performed a yard cleanup and filled two large trash bags. We also extended this learning into a larger conversation around Earth Day and brainstormed additional ways we can help our Earth on a classroom anchor chart.