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Students learn burrowing ways
Published Thursday, February 7, 2008
Photo by Lauren Radomski
Inside the burrow, students used flashlights to see pelts and other objects. Classes from around Otter Tail County will visit the burrow through next week.
For 5-year-old BrookLyn Cordner, Wednesday’s field trip to the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center couldn’t come soon enough.
“She was up at 5:15 this morning,” said Cordner’s mother, Kellie, who chaperoned Sharon Tungseth’s kindergarten class as they took part in “Babies Born in Burrows” at the PWLC.
Now in its fourth year, “Babies Born in Burrows” consists of several activities designed to get students thinking about what animals do during the winter. Since Jan. 28, elementary students from Fergus Falls and beyond have come to the PWLC to identify animal tracks, learn about hibernation and discuss animal survival.
“Here we are walking across the prairie and we never think about what’s happening underground, especially in winter,” said Teresa Jaskiewicz, PWLC environmental education specialist.
Perhaps the highlight of the visit is the trip through the PWLC’s homemade burrow. Located in the PWLC barn, the burrow consists of cardboard boxes linked together to form a tunnel. The chain of boxes is covered by blankets, with a collapsed conference table forming a makeshift slide at the entrance. Inside the dark burrow, students — and sometimes teachers — crawl single-file, using flashlights to see animal pelts and other objects along the way.
Needless to say, the burrow was a hit with Tungseth’s kindergartners, who managed a second lap before the end of the day. The class had done some reading on winter survival around Groundhog’s Day (Feb. 2), Tungseth said.
Photo by Lauren Radomski
Students from Sharon Tungseth’s kindergarten class visited the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center Wednesday to take part in “Babies Born in Burrows” activities. For more on the program
In addition to visiting the burrow, students attending “Babies Born in Burrows” complete a track-related art project and walk across the winter prairie.
“I got high fives this year,” Jaskiewicz said. “They really like going out into the cattails and seeing what it’s like to be out in winter.”
No wonder BrookLyn Cordner heard all about the field trip before it began. Her brother, Tieler, visited with his first grade class last week and apparently had a lot to share.
“He told her about the burrow and that they’d be looking for rodents and all kinds of stuff,” Kellie Cordner said, adding, “She’s pretty brave so she was excited.
Area classes will continue to visit “Babies Born in Burrows” through the end of next week.
Comments
The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don't escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We'll take action if necessary. It's not hard. This should be a place where people want to read and contribute -- a place for spirited exchanges of opinion. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post at all.Posted by lenny (anonymous) on February 7, 2008 at 8:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I wonder why this article did not mention the fact that it’s Rodent Week at the PWLC?
Don’t they like rodents? Don’t they care about rodents? I like rodents, I think they are cute I wish our mayor was a rodent.
Posted by tracy (anonymous) on February 7, 2008 at 8:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This was news exactly one week ago at bob's page.
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