Why should children be introduced to wild animals wearing black masks? Love summer daycare class provides answers: Love | Wildlife | Black

As soon as an animal with a black mask on its face appeared on the screen, a dozen or so small hands were raised high in the classroom and said, "Teacher, I know! It's a raccoon dog!" This was a scene that happened in Tianlin Elementary School today.

Starting from July 3rd this year, the 2023 Shanghai Primary School Love Summer Care Class will be opened simultaneously in 16 districts throughout the city. This summer, more than 870 environmental protection public welfare courses will be offered at 579 caring summer care centers in the city, covering wildlife protection, plastic restriction and reduction, food conservation, water and electricity conservation, etc. It is expected that more than 30000 primary school students will benefit from these courses.

Customized courses to compensate for the "sense of boundaries"

The rapid development of cities has gradually blurred the boundaries between urban and suburban areas, rendering many natural habitats of wildlife non-existent. As a result, a phenomenon known as "wildlife entering cities" has emerged frequently in recent years. The national second level protected animal raccoon, which now lives in the same community as some residents, is a typical case. They have gradually adapted to the urban environment, with a continuous increase in quantity and an expanding distribution area, making them typical "urban wildlife".

According to the questionnaire surveys organized in 2021 and 2022, combined with visiting surveys, volunteer feedback, and complaint information provided by the forestry department on the 12345 platform, as of November last year, there were at least 260 communities or green spaces in Shanghai with raccoons distributed. Except for Chongming, raccoons were recorded in all other districts of Shanghai. According to the Shanghai Forestry Department, the number is likely to approach 300.

Although the distribution heatmap of wild raccoon dogs in Shanghai has become increasingly prominent in multiple areas, there are still many people who do not know or understand this "indigenous" species to this day.

"I have seen it online before, but I have never met it in the community." Fu Lina, who is going to be promoted to fifth grade in the new semester, was completely engrossed during the class. She said this is the first time she has gained a detailed understanding of so many wild animals in Shanghai, and also learned about the "four no's" after encountering wild animals.

The reporter saw at the scene that the instructor asked the children to stick stickers with animal patterns onto the corresponding classification boards one after another. Ducks are livestock, cats are pets, and red bellied squirrels are wild animals... If they are not placed in the right position, the instructor will prompt the children to try again.

"We are doing this because we have found that many children have insufficient understanding of wildlife and lack a sense of 'boundaries'." Shen Xin, a young volunteer in the Shanghai Greening and Urban Appearance industry who has just become a lecturer in the Love Summer Care Class this year, said that if children mistake wild animals for pets or livestock, there will be safety hazards and negative impacts on wild animals.

"All environmental public welfare courses should be meticulously crafted before the start of classes." Liu Qi, Deputy Minister of the Social Work Department of the Youth League Municipal Committee, stated that the content of open environmental public welfare courses strives to achieve misalignment and complementarity with school classrooms. Every year, adjustments and optimizations will be made based on the opinions and suggestions of children, parents, and lecturers after the start of classes in the previous year.

Taking the wildlife conservation course as an example, the school lacks corresponding courses and textbooks, and it is necessary to popularize such extracurricular knowledge. Therefore, the Youth League Committee and the Municipal Greening and Urban Appearance Bureau have formed a volunteer lecturer team mainly composed of young people in the greening and urban appearance industry, college students, and volunteer backbone of environmental protection organizations through social recruitment, to tailor professional courseware for the course and give regular lectures. The earliest batch of garbage classification knowledge lectures has been held over 1600 times, directly serving more than 80000 primary school students.

Science popularization education delivered to "doorstep"

Adding "animal classes" to the Love Summer Kindergarten is just the first step, and natural science education for minors still has a long way to go.

The reporter noticed that due to limited human and material resources, each caring summer daycare class can only attend one "animal class" at most this summer. After attending, if there is no continuous education, children may forget. How to extend the effectiveness of animal classes, preferably from the classroom to the home, is a question that every educator and social worker needs to consider.

Zheng Yunxiang from the Wildlife Conservation Department of the Shanghai Forestry Bureau stated that "community raccoons" continue to attract attention, and the competent authorities and some social welfare organizations are working hard to strengthen relevant science popularization and education materials, such as the "guide" for community management in communities with raccoon populations, and a science popularization manual for Shanghai's "indigenous" wildlife. A special promotional video for raccoons is also being produced and is expected to be launched and broadcasted in the fourth quarter of this year.

"Science popularization education at the doorstep often leaves a deeper impression on children." Zheng Yunxiang said that in the near future, some communities with good ecological environments and a variety of wild animals will be organized to "socialize", with families as units and volunteers leading them, to fully understand what wild animals they and other communities have and how to treat these "little elves" correctly.

On July 15th and 22nd of this year, the Shanghai Forestry Bureau, together with the Conservation Biology Research Group of Fudan University and the Shanshui Nature Conservation Center, jointly launched the second "raccoon population census". Nearly 200 volunteers participated in the survey of 90 residential areas in two nights, including residents who participated in the "whole family battle". According to incomplete statistics, raccoon dogs were found in 47 communities, and more than 350 survey questionnaires were collected.

The raccoon dog rummaging through the garbage in the night.

The Shanghai Forestry Department stated that the Love Summer Care Class is a good source of clues. Through relevant courses, we can understand which aspects of wildlife knowledge teenagers currently lack and want to know the most, and explore the reasons behind it, providing reference for further investigation, research, and protection of "wild animals entering the city" in Shanghai in the future.