I would not have my love of trapping or anything in the outdoors for that matter, if no one ever took the time to take me with them. As much as we like to claim our accomplishments, relatively little of what we know of our trades consists of ideas that are truly our own. A sincere thanks to all of those who did their part in helping me learn what is today my greatest passion. Take a kid with you, give them something they will remember forever, and spread the tradition for future generations.
The memories made and the experiences shared by all parties involved will be priceless.
The memories made and the experiences shared by all parties involved will be priceless.
The following is from an original Post I placed on Trapperman.com back in the Trapping season of '09-'10. Simply the most fun, greatest undertaking I have experienced while I have been in the field of education.
" ...Can't say as my own traps have been as good to me as I would like, but I sure have been having a heap of fun this season - and this is a BIG reason for that...
A few months back my wife and I got the idea that we really needed to persuade the principal here at the school that a trapping project integrated into classes was a relevant undertaking, as many of the children here in the village don't really seem to have anything that they get into.
It turns out that trapping and the associated possibilities can cover 14 state education standards for math and more than 20 standards for science - if you do it right. After all, to estimate the materials needed for building a weasel box - you have to have an understanding of the surface area of rectangular prisms....and if you want students to figure out how many (thousands of - heh, heh ) fox it would take to fundraise a couple new school basketball uniforms, you can get them to do a word problem. :) In addition, analysis of food chains and population dynamics would be covered and dissections/stomach content exams would be performed on every catch.
The short of it is that we did convince him, and this winter just after Christmas break, the projects began.
The Seventh grade class began learning about Ermine and their prey species, and they had to create powerpoint presentations to help educate us all about the animals.
Then they had to see who could come up with the best design for a weasel box made out of cardboard. Plywood is almost $70 a sheet here, and people will stop on a dime for a decent scrap of wood alongside a trail - so, yep, cardboard. It has been holding up extremely well actually, as dry as this snow is...but anyway, each group of two decided what to use for bait/lure in their own box, how high they wanted the entrance hole off the ground, what dimensions, and where to place them, all based on the new knowledge they obtained - in part, from T-man (Shout-out to the almighty weasel thread!):
Notice the sweatshirt being used to cover the nose! :) "Weasel lure STINKS!!!" :)
For the eighth graders, the target animals have been fox - same procedure and general plan, except they got to learn about snowholes, post sets, and snares instead of designing boxes. I supplied the traps, snares and lure - not a school-funded project, of course.
Trying to stress care in not disturbing the set location has been the hardest part - but the fox have been better teachers than us on that topic:
It has been great so far...and it has been impressive to see the results and watch the enthusiasm grow. My wife will call one student to tell them there is a bouncing red ball in one of the sets, and three will show up. :)
Kids who have trouble showing up for class are now showing up to check traps - and running outside to check weasel boxes at lunch. It's GREAT to see. Some of them are learning fast.
From biology, to sets, to fur handling, to dissections..it is a total learning experience - it's not just an excuse to get out and trap - though that is a perk. It has been a privilege to watch it happen. And both classes send a thank you to T-man - there should be a few new members here soon....
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