Environmental education soars at Land O’Lakes PS

May 06, 2010

Dan Richard and Tessa bring Environmental Education to students at Land O’ Lakes P

Students at Land O’Lakes Public School in Mountain Grove were treated to a special presentation on April 29 by Dan Richard and his feathered friend Tessa.

Dan, who recently graduated from the environmental technology program at Loyalist College, is now partnering with them and bringing his environmental/raptor presentation to various local schools.

Dan returned to school hoping to pursue a career in environmental education for children and now is doing just that through the college’s environmental education programs. The aim of the programs is to help students of all ages understand and appreciate the environment and natural resources in the hopes that they will develop lifelong environmental connections and concerns.

Dan explained, “I’m hoping to show kids how they can impact the world and their future in a positive way.”

Dan’s presentation began in the classroom, where he covered a number of topics including basic ecology, current environmental issues and concerns, conservation, recycling, and other related topics. Throughout he presented the students with the cold hard facts: such as that Canadians on the average each use 600 litres of water per day when in fact just 1-2 litres per day of water are necessary.

He spoke of how in the last 60 years 10% of the of the world's tropical rain forests, which contain 50% of all living species on the earth, have been cut down at the alarming rate of 200,000 acres per day.

He spoke of the environmental impact of DDT on nesting birds and the pollution caused by burning garbage in barrels. 

Students had a chance to mull over these facts and figures and later discussions ensued about the difference between our wants and needs and how students can make practical changes in their daily lives.

Dan saved the most impressive part of his presentation for the last. He invited the students outside to meet Tessa, an immature female Harris hawk with whom Dan has been practicing falconry since September.

He spoke about birds of prey in general and predator/prey relationships in the natural world. In order to demonstrate Tessa’s keen ability to snatch prey from the wild, he invited a student to run across a field with a stuffed animal tied to a line. In full flight Tessa was able to grab the toy in the blink of an eye.

Dan, who is a passionate and licensed falconer, was encouraged by his professor at Loyalist to incorporate falconry into his presentation and the staff at Loyalist were so impressed with this presentation that they partnered with him to bring the presentation to local schools.

Barry Harding, who teaches grade 7 and 8 students at LOLPS, was thrilled with the presentation and spoke about how it ties in perfectly to the curriculum he is currently teaching in his class - namely ecology, ecosystems and the diversity of living things. 

Dan hopes that he and Tessa are “helping to reconnect kids with the wonders of nature and make them see how all species are interconnected”. In closing he added,  “I’m hoping to touch the kids in some way and encourage them to realize that small changes can make a very big difference.”

Anyone interested in bringing Dan and Tessa to their school can contact Dan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 613-335-4475