Bringing creative clay experience into Squamish schools and the community
Thank you to the students of Garibaldi Elementary School for providing this information about the American Mink!
The American Mink can be up to 68.7 cm in body length and lives in B.C.. They are brown coloured with white markings on the ventral side (belly), chin, throat, chest and groin areas, and have short ears and short limbs.
Partially webbed toes and short limbs allow the American Mink to easily frequent both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. They eat meat, fish, crabs and birds.
Make a few small insects or bugs, lady bugs, worms, slugs, bees, dragon flies, butterflies, earwigs, eggs etc on a leaf. A great project for Earth Day or after looking close up to life by a pond, in the woods or in the garden.
Add a few insects and bugs, lady bugs, bees, butterflies, worms, slugs, dragon flies, eggs, earwigs etc to a leaf. A great project for Earth Day after observing life close up in the garden, by a pond or in the woods.
Summer is the time for seeing large numbers of many of these in the garden, some friends like the lady bug and some pests like the earwig and slug.
How do we face the challenge of these tiny but big crop destroyers without harming our planet?
Make your small pet or a small furry animal such as a gerbil, mouse, rat, squirrel or hamster. If you wish you have the option of adding a pen or toothbrush holder.
For a Squamish theme choose a small animal such as a squirrel or mouse that you may find in the forest or a pikka or porcupine that you may see at higher elevations.
This project was made in memory of a much loved hamster called Ruffles.
Make a pair of bald headed eagles. This project can be adapted to be a different bird of choice such as a toucan, blue bird, jay or raven.
Make a bear or any four legged animal.
This fish project could be a specific fish such as a salmon, trout, steel head etc or fantasy fish just for fun.
Every year from fall to spring, salmon can be seen (and smelt) in the channels and rivers of Squamish.
They come to breed and spawn, providing food for wildlife such as bears and bald eagles, and the peoples of Squamish. Salmon have been a staple food for many generations of peoples who have come to make Squamish their home. Squamish First Nations tell stories of how the first salmon came to be. They celebrate the abundance of this rich food supply with the First Salmon Ceremony.
Mature salmon make an epic journey swimming against tides and currents back to the estuary, the river and eventually to the exact same spawning ground from where they hatched. If they lucky enough to reach this final destination, and haven’t been eaten by a bear or bald eagle on the way, they will spawn, giving life to the next generation of salmon in the full circle of life.
Frogs can be seen around Squamish at anytime of year but they are particularly noticeable during the spring when their voices can be heard, loud and clear throughout the Squamish wetlands especially during the night.
For a fantasy frog add a crown and make a Frog Prince. Watch the movie, read or listen to the story.
