BURRILLVILLE – Third graders from Callahan Elementary Faculty in Burrillville participated in a cleanup of Eccleston Subject on Tuesday together with the city huge Earth Day cleanup, stated Julie Riendeau, a volunteer with the Nationwide Park Service’s Volunteers-in-Parks program by the Blackstone Heritage Hall.
Riendeau, who is known as “Ranger Julie” by college students, leads Callahan college students in nature applications a number of instances a 12 months, she stated.
“I am going to Erin Jasmine’s third grade class as soon as a month presenting environmental or historical past applications, so the character hike is one I do in April,” Riendeau stated. “The cleanup is one thing we do after to make it higher than we discovered it.”
Earlier than the clean-up, Riendeau led two teams of scholars on nature walks alongside the Clear River, stopping at stations she arrange alongside the banks to debate the totally different animals that make their properties there.
On the first station, Riendeau identified a squirrel nest within the bushes and talked about how squirrels construct their nests.
“My yard is actually a squirrel home,” stated third grader Nathalia D’Ambra.
The following cease was to look at a bat home somebody had put in in a tree subsequent to the river. When the youngsters recoiled on the concept of bats, Riendeau assured them that “bats eat bugs, so that they’re good.”
The scholars additionally mentioned camouflage and the way it helps animals. Riendeau held up an image of animals utilizing camouflage to mix right into a tree.
“The place? I can’t see it,” stated Tristan Brissette.
“That’s the purpose!” Riendeau replied.
College students additionally examined a taxidermied otter with fish as its prey, and several other actual birds’ nests with unhatched eggs.
In addition they dealt with actual deer antlers.
“Oh my god that feels so easy!” stated Liem Nguyen.
Riendeau held up a plastic turtle with eggs.
“Turtles lay eggs after which they return into the water and so they by no means know if the eggs hatched or not,” she stated to a dozen shocked faces.
Riendeau has done volunteer work like this for 20 years, she said.
“She’s amazing. She gets all of the supplies and information and does a different theme for each program,” said Anya Wilczynski, interim director of the Blackstone Heritage Corridor. “She’s all about connecting kids with nature.”
Wilczynski said it’s her hope to get more schools involved in the program.
“It’s a way of getting involved in nature at a school-aged level,” she said. “Also the students had statewide testing earlier today, so it’s great to get them outside.”
