In our Ranger Community series, we hear from ANiMOZ Rangers out in the field about how they use the game to learn about, teach about and support wildlife.
The Rangers from Newland Park Kindergarten shared their recent newsletter article with Headquarters about how they use ANiMOZ!
Read it in full here:
Amelia and her family kindly donated a set of ANiMOZ Australian animal cards, which really captured the children’s attention and are proving to be a valuable learning resource as they contain so much information.
Some of the children have gone home with a photocopy of their favourite animal and you may wish to support their learning by visiting the website.
A group of boys were intrigued by the animals’ superpowers. Many others matched the cards to the Cleland Wildlife Park animal photos and to the toy animals.
One child was curious about the habitat picture symbols and created ‘Scrub’ with the materials and then, using the cards as a reference, selected the animals that live in that particular environment. “Does a numbat live in the scrub?” he asked.
Two other children sorted the cards by the animals’ rarity. Another girl was concerned about the very rare Mountain Pygmy Possum and during her investigations she showed her concern for all endangered animals; Just like a scientist, she theorised:
“If we knew how many were left, we could write it down. If it (the number) was very low, we would have to figure out why there aren’t many left.”
How can we extend and build on this amazing thinking and on all the children’s interest and growing awareness?
We have a display of preserved endangered species that are or were native to South Australia such as the Southern Brown Bandicoot which we saw at Cleland, and a Leafy Sea Dragon (or EQUES as it is known in the ANiMOZ cards).
The children can learn more about why these animals are under threat and how we can help protect them.
– Newland Park Kindergarten
Thank you to Ranger Bridget and the team at Newland Park Kindergarten for sharing this fantastic example of how Junior Rangers are engaging with Australian wildlife through the World of ANiMOZ!
Do you have a story to share with the Ranger Community? Get in touch via the contact form on the home page.