Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Wildlife educator Michele Ortega gives a yummy snack to 'Sembra,' a coatimundi, while on a visit to Lakewood School. The coatimundi is a relative to the raccoon and indigenous to Central and South America, parts of Texas and Arizona.




Lakewood students get a wildly enriching assembly

Sunnyvale school taught a science lesson with animals

By Amy Jenkins

Students received a special assembly presented by the organization Wildlife Associates on Oct. 25 at Lakewood Elementary school. Kindergarten through fifth graders sat cross-legged on the gymnasium floor, staring attentively as a snowy owl, turkey vulture, coatimundi and African serval cat were brought on stage.

The executive director of this non-profit education group, Steven Karlin, began Wildlife Associates 22 years ago in Sunnyvale and has since moved to a 120-acre wildlife sanctuary in Half Moon Bay. He says the purpose of this pioneer organization--which has reached 7 million students in the greater San Francisco Bay Area since its inception-- is to teach children about the interdependence between animals and humans.

"Children get fragmented knowledge about the environment in school," Karlin says. "We want to change their perception by letting them see animals for themselves and reminding them about the important relationships humans have with animals."

This was the first time many of these students saw wild animals firsthand, says Principal Sheri Holbrook. She adds that many of them have not been to a zoo, since the closest one is in San Francisco.

"The most important part of this assembly is for kids to understand what taking care of an animal is about," she says. "Many have pets at home, and they need to learn how important it is to take care of them and feed them."

At the beginning of the assembly, the students were excited as they shouted, "Good morning Steve!" in unison. When asked how many had pets, who liked plants, and who liked going to the beach, everyone raised their hands. Karlin's lesson was that wild animals are not mean and should be respected.

The wild animals used for assemblies have all been determined non-releasable because they are unable to survive in the wild. They have been hurt by people, kept illegally as pets or had their habitat destroyed. Karlin says Wildlife Associates adopts the animals that are able to travel and teach, and keeps them for the remainder of their lives. The animals never work more than two days in a row or more than three days a week.

First-grader Ignacio Madera said his favorite animal was the African serval cat. He says what he learned from the assembly is that this cat can jump 14 feet and run 35 mph. Classmate Marisa Lorenzana said she learned that the snowy owl lives where it is very cold. Their teacher Sarah Shukis says, "Every year they come with new animals, so it keeps the kids interested."

The coatimundi came from a family in Marin County who were keeping it as a pet and feeding it cooked broccoli--the wrong kind of food for this species. Karlin said the only thing that kept it alive was going outside for an hour a day and feeding on insects. The Humane Society found out about the animal when neighbors complained about a rodent-like animal they had never seen before.

"Lurch," the turkey vulture, has been touring for 18 years after he was living with a woman who nursed his injured his wing back to health. She had the vulture for 17 years, so they assume he is 40 years old.

School assemblies make up 80 percent of the wildlife education, and the other 20 percent is adult corporate training. Money from assemblies only covers a portion of the cost of caring for the animals, so grants, individual donations and corporate support make it possible for the organization to provide more than 1,000 educational presentations in Northern California each year.

"In the corporate world training animals are the catalyst that teach people communication skills," says Bernadette Glumac, involved in the development and marketing for Wildlife Associates. "It makes it fun and exciting for people to learn."

"We have different strategies with the different age groups we teach," Karlin said. "We want this elementary school age to understand basic concepts like caring for living things and the cycle of life."

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Lakewood students get a wildly enriching assembly

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