PUPILS OFFER THEIR HELP TO ECOLOGISTS

By DANGUOLĖ GIŽIENĖ

Biology teacher at the Šeškinė Secondary School

SUMMARY

Purposes:

1. Ehancing the awareness of the sustainable development approach among the young people.

2. Helping ecologists to preserve the baltic landscape for future generations.

3. Adventure therapy in nature.

Tasks:

1. Visit the Neris Regional Park and get to know its natural and cultural diversity.

2. Get knowing of methods of the investigation of the garden dormouse used by Dr. R. Juškaitis, an ecologist.

3. Searching of habitat sites of the garden dormouce.

4. Manufacturing of 20 small wooden boxes for garden dormice and putting them on trees in the Dūkštelis-river valley.

5. Organisation of expeditions in summer and autumn, observing of wooden boxes for garden dormice and recording of observation data.

At the sources of the concept of this project was the aim to help pupils to understand the importance of the nature sciences for development of productive and ecologically sustainabe world in contemporary age of fast economic development and new technologies.

Dr. R. Juškaitis, an ecologist, biological students, parents of pupils helped to carry out the project. The ecologist told about the ecology and investigation methods of the garden dormouce inscribed in the Lithuanian Red Book, the pupils put on trees the wooden boxes for garden dormice in the Dūkštelis-river valley.

This work done and adventures experienced, the pupils felt inspired for yet another actions including the participation in the opening of an ecological path and putting on trees wooden boxes for bats. The direction of the Neris Regional Park awarded the pupils with an official letter of thanks. As regards the garden dormice, if they will settle and have their little ones in those wooden boxes prepapared for them by us, it would be the greatest reward.