By 维多利亚•伯恩
这是 十一月下旬一个多风的阴天. A group of Churchland High School students in Portsmouth – cups of hot cocoa in hand – gather around Ella DiPetto, bet8体育娱乐入口 生物学研究生研究员她把手伸进膝上的一个白色小包里.
“那么，有人知道这个包里有什么吗??她问这群人，其中包括ODU的研究生. 她的神秘俘虏掐了她一下. 迪佩托说:“如果它们咬我，那是个好兆头。. “这意味着它们很有活力，很健康.”
慢慢地, DiPetto reveals a small songbird cradled in her partially closed fist — a bander’s grip, 她解释说. “You kind of take it between your middle and your index finger and you grasp the neck and hold it firm so 这是 not moving around too much.”
切换到“摄影师握把”,那只鸟现在在她的指关节上方清晰可见了, 她鼓励学生们走近一点，看得更清楚. 她说，请注意黄色的眉毛和斑纹的头部，还有浅色和黑色 深棕色 它的翅膀，腹部黑色的触感和白色的喉咙.
“我们该怎么办?” 得到了ODU伙计们?迪佩托问.
“一只白喉麻雀，”有人回答. 它是被困的五个中的一个 几乎看不见 nylon mist nets set up along the wooded margins of the school’s property in the pre-dawn hours by students from ODU’s field studies in ornithology class.
The little bird had traveled 700 miles from its birthplace in Canada and was no more than 3 or 4 months old. 它被称重了, measured and a tiny silver band with a unique identification number was affixed to its leg before DiPetto released the sparrow back into the wild.
The bird banding demonstration was part of a field excursion that brought together roughly 50 high school students — members of Churchland’s new Wildlife Club as well as environmental and biology classes — and several ODU avian ecology lab students. ODU生物科学讲师 朱莉·乔·沃尔特斯获得了1万美元的资助 funded through the Department of Wildlife 资源 (DWR) and the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia (WFV) in 2023 to support the new club, 哪一个 开始 去年初秋. 助学金有帮助 沃尔特斯 purchase binoculars and field guides used by the students during the field excursion and trail cameras set up in the woods nearby.
沃尔特斯 and DiPetto volunteer to host club meetings every other week at the school with help from three Churchland science teachers, 卡米场, 卡莉·卡马克和朱迪思·科扎特. The pilot program aims to develop meaningful connections between underrepresented groups, 特别是青年, 还有野外的野生动物.
沃尔特斯说:“这是一种需求，我们正在满足这种需求。. “We want to merge the college that has the resources with the group of students that 不 有这个权限.”
她补充说，目标是向他们展示如何与自然世界接触. “我们更专注于培养对自然感兴趣的博物学家, 并且可以舒适地享受, 户外活动.”
沃尔特斯 said spring plans for the club include a visit from a Master Gardner to help plan a pollinator garden, 建造一条蓝鸟小径, 参加ODU研究生的巢监测研究, 以及大学蜱虫生态学实验室的访问.
Churchland High School is uniquely situated for wildlife field studies, 根据沃尔特斯. 这个箭头形状的地产两侧是树林和沿海潮汐湿地, 哪一个 buffer fingerlings of creek waters stretching from the nearby Elizabeth River. Industrial noises – train whistles and beeping Port of Virginia machinery – merge with natural sounds, 比如一只红腹啄木鸟高高地栖息在一棵死树上的叫声.
"It's these natural areas that they have around the edge of the school that most people think are wild and untamed and not of any value, 我们把它看成是相反的,埃里克·沃尔特斯说, ODU生物科学教授，朱莉·乔的丈夫.
埃里克·沃尔特斯认为 有 a disconnect between learning about biology in a classroom versus experiencing it outside. “It's hard to really understand wildlife biology without being out there and being part of it,他说. ”,然后 这是自发的,对吧? So, 你 看到事情的发生. 当一只秃鹰从你头顶飞过, 这对(学生)有一种影响，否则他们不会得到这种影响."
Field excursions help underscore the importance of coastal areas and their inhabitants, 特别是面对海平面上升, 根据沃尔特斯. 学生们有机会看到“他们的校园有多酷”.”
“It can be a lot more than just a place you go and learn inside of a classroom,他说, adding that the interaction between graduate and high school students provides an opportunity for cross-generational mentorship.
ODU graduate student Alex Wright spent the morning walking groups of high schoolers along the property’s wooded perimeter, 看到树上和电线上的鸟, fielding questions about gulls and describing the difference between the familiar “caw-caw” of the American crow versus the nasally “uh-uh" of the fish crow.
“我希望我有这样的东西, 尤其是在我读本科甚至高中的时候,赖特说, noting the significance of being exposed to another aspect of what people can pursue in STEM fields. “It's so rewarding when we're able to do something and then seeing these kids get excited about it.”
她补充说，即使是点燃兴趣的小火花也很重要.
Churchland juniors Cadence Weber and Nylah Echavarria each joined the Wildlife Club for varied reasons: Cadence saw the names of participating science teachers whose classes she has enjoyed, 尼拉想要克服个人的恐惧.
“我有点害怕大自然，我不想害怕大自然,尼拉说。, AP生物学学生.
“每个人都超级贴心. 和别人聊天，问问题的感觉很好,Cadence说。, 谁选修AP环境科学.
They were excited to 分享 some of the animals they had seen captured on the trail cameras set up in the woods around the school — raccoons, 负鼠, 即使是土狼. "I thought that not a lot of things like to stay near the school (because) 有 a lot of people around it all the time. 但看到这一切真的很酷." 凯蒂丝一边说，一边分享着她手机里的照片.
Iden Jost, 他是彻奇兰大学学习生态学的大四学生，也是野生动物俱乐部的成员, 我很欣赏迪佩托在戴手镯示范时处理小鸟的方式. “I'd be so nervous," they said, "because 这是 a three-month-old little baby in your hand."
这是 good to learn more about the environment you live in so you can help protect it, Jost said.
"I think I'll be looking at the trees more often now that I know actually what to look for."
