A program is being developed by schools in Australia and led by Western Sydney University. called from Turtles in Schools, or translating into Portuguese, “Turtles at school”, aims to encourage the future generation of children to stay well-informed and take care of the environment.
Read more: Giant tortoise thought to be extinct found in Galapagos
see more
MEC offers 6,000 places in an international cooperation program
Cell phones in class: Experts advocate moderation and…
Today, the program is still being tested in schools in the state of New South Wales, which would be the place where students care for animals. inside the school and make visits to nearby natural areas to observe animals in their natural habitat, being able to learn even more about life from them.
It was during one of these visits that students at a primary school in Sydney noticed that there were no interesting places for turtles to sunbathe in a creek, for example. This is because they had just learned that in the spring, turtles need to bask on a rock or log so that the eggs can develop.
So now they are carrying out research and developing an idea with the aim of presenting it to the local council to to be able to introduce new resting areas like some wooden logs or even platforms so that the animals can to use. “That's very powerful, for 5th and 6th graders to really know how to make changes. We want children to understand why conservation measures are important,” said Professor Ricky Spencer, from the University of Western Sydney, in an interview with The Guardian.
Kane Durrant, who has been working at Turtle Rescues NSW conservation institute, said that these animals are among the most endangered vertebrates on our planet. A study also showed that over the past 4 years, the country's most common turtle species accounted for a 91% drop. “They really need all the help they can get,” she says.
The aim of the apprenticeship program is that, in practice, it can be available to all 5th and 6th grade classrooms in the Australian country by 2024. Even though the daily focus is solely on interacting with the turtles, Spencer said the show uses the animal only as a symbol for change and has much bigger goals. When guiding your students, they are encouraged to conduct some experiments on subjects such as growth rates and some behavioral observations, in addition to visiting the habitats. The teacher believes that this project “becomes a program for science and beyond” and can lead to activism “where students can really take their education forward into their day-to-day [life]”.
Lover of movies and series and everything that involves cinema. An active curious on the networks, always connected to information about the web.
