Champions for Wildlife - Inspiring Our Next Generation
Champions for Wildlife Helps Boy Become a Bug Buddy!
Author: Loti Woods
The first grader was bragging about stomping bugs in his backyard. After the art lesson where the kids "pretend flew" to chalk flowers to gather pollen on their cotton ball bee, they held some dead bees to look at them more closely.
Two weeks later, we were back to teach about the monarch butterfly migration to Mexico. While we were decorating butterflies to mail to a classroom in Mexico (part of the Symbolic Migration program), the same little bug-stomping boy came up and exclaimed, "I saved a bee!" "How?", we asked. He described seeing a bee drowning in their bird bath. So he scooped the bee up with his little hands and put it on the ground to dry. Then he went and got a rock and put it in the bird bath so the bees would have a place to land and not drown. This 7-year-old went from bug killer to bug buddy in 2 weeks!
The more you learn, the more you love, the more you protect. Learning about the importance of pollinators and maybe even holding dead bugs changed this boy's perception! Just one of the many cool things happening in our wildlife/art classes where, so far we have taught over 3,900 kids in Western NC.
Champions for Wildlife celebrated our two-year anniversary in late January and we have hit the ground buzzing in 2024. We already have 68 classes scheduled this spring in Polk County's four elementary schools and the Middle School. For more information on our classes offered, check out our newly rebranded website Champions for Wildlife.
And we have brought back our Seeds in School program in partnership with Gardening for Life Project (GFLP). This year, we are studying moths and decorating native seed packs with these cool insects. If you were one of the 700 folks lucky enough to snag a ticket to the GFLP event on March 30th (all the tickets are already reserved), you will get to hear moth expert Jim McCormac, speak and get a free seed packet.
Some of our kids are also making brochures about the benefits of moths and will be on hand to distribute them at the GFLP event. Be sure and stop by our exhibit (we'll be in the library). We might even have some dead bugs (moths) that you can look at and compare to butterflies!
And finally, we hope you’ll join our new Dead Bug Society. Now that sounds cool! Back to the bug stomper. We need more dead bugs to transform stompers into bug buddies. Membership is 10 dead bugs and you have to find them dead. Moths, butterflies, bees, spiders, wasps, and beetles are just a few of the insects we use in the classroom. To donate dead bugs, volunteer or make a donation, reach out to loti@championsforwildlife.org.
