For a recent grade 2 project, my daughter was to create a poster. In my era, this poster would have been along the lines of “Don’t be a Litter Bug!” or “Help Smokey the Bear and be sure to put out your campfire!” You know, that kind of thing.
The title of her poster reads: “Oil Spill: Sea Animal Nightmare”
And the captions read:
- The oil blocks the whale’s blowhole
- Air bubbles in sea otter’s fur damaged by oil
- Fish gills clogged with oil
- Oil makes bird cold and sick
- Oil makes plankton toxic
- Crab eats things bathed in oil
- Shellfish suck in toxic water
*sigh*
Photo Credit
“Oil Spill: Sea Animal Nightmare: provided courtesy of Julie Harrison
Article reprinted with permission from Coffee with Julie…, June 2010
Hey there Julie – it does cause one to sigh – I agree. But, what if she wasn’t learning this stuff? I love that she has this knowledge because it will help us all in the future. It’s also crazy to think that the “Smokey the bear” message about campfires is still necessary. When will humans learn?
Hi Christie – Thanks for your thoughts … and I hope you’re right about the future. My girl in particular has a real bent for science combined with an enormous heart, so when she tells me she wants to be a biologist, I keep my fingers crossed!