Month: June 2023

Lately I’ve noticed, as I’m sure many of you have, that the children are very interested in caterpillars. I’ve also been told we had a few tents in Arbutus that needed to be dealt with. Or did they? I didn’t know much about tent caterpillars, so I decided to do a little research. I was curious to see how much damage they could do, and what their tents look like. I learned that they can either do a lot of damage, or no damage, and that they are an important part of our ecosystem.

There is currently a tent caterpillar “outbreak” on the island, so I wanted to find out what that means, and what we can do about it. According to zoologist Judy Myers we usually don’t have to do anything (Dickson, 2023). Fruit trees might not grow much fruit after tent caterpillar activity, so if you’re on a fruit farm you probably want to remove them, but otherwise, they typically don’t do much long-term damage at all (Dickson, 2023). Although in large enough groups they can take the leaves off an entire tree, healthy trees that lose half their leaves will typically survive and grow new leaves by the end of the summer (Sadof, 2018). Tent caterpillars only have one generation per year, so a few weeks after making themselves known, they go into their cocoons, and the tents fall off the trees (Lofgren, 2021).

When we find a tent, we should assess the health of the tree and the developmental stages of the nearby children before we decide if we need to remove the tent. We need to be aware of the environment around us, and how everything is connected. Leaving the caterpillars where they are encourages greater biodiversity in our yard, as the caterpillars will attract small birds, lizards, and other small natural predators. Their excrement is also a good fertilizer for our plants, some of which grow food. That being said, if children eat the caterpillars the hairs could injure their intestinal tract (Lofgren, 2021).

BC’s Early Learning Framework (ELF) (2019) outlines nine principles of learning, one of which includes building a (re)connection to the land (p. 21). The First Peoples Principles of Learning outlined in the ELF also states that learning should support “the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors” (p. 14). We, as humans, are interdependent on our more-that-human relations with whom we share this land (Styres, 2011), so it is important to consider what will happen if we remove something unnecessarily.

The ELF also discusses the early learning philosophy of the environment as the third teacher, referring to the classroom and yard (p. 22). In Indigenous philosophy, we often refer to land as the first teacher (Styres, 2011). Sandra Styres uses Bowlby’s attachment theory as an analogy to explain how the land is thought of as the first teacher. The land can be thought of as the primary caregiver, which the learner enters “to explore and gain knowledge and understanding of how to be in relation to land” (p. 722). As the learner strengthens their connection to land through lived experiences, the land becomes the primary teacher/relationship (Styres, 2011).

While the tents made by tent caterpillars can become unsightly, and caterpillar activity can be concerning, they aren’t as destructive as I though they would be. Next year, the tent caterpillar activity should be much lower, so perhaps if we find a tent in a healthy tree, we should consider leaving it up.

 

 

References

British Columbia Ministry of Education, Ministry of Children and Family Development, and Ministry of Health. (2019). British Columbia Early Learning Framework. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/early-learning/teach/earlylearning/early_learning_framework.pdf

Dickson, C, (2023, May 24). There’s a tent caterpillar outbreak on Vancouver Island – but no need to panic, zoologist says. CBC news. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tent-caterpillar-outbreak-vancouver-island-1.6852018

Lofgren, K. (2021, June 30). How to eradicate tent caterpillars (and whether you should). Garderner’s path. https://gardenerspath.com/how-to/disease-and-pests/tent-caterpillars/

Sadof, C. (2018, July 17). Will my trees recover after losing their leaves? Purdue University landscape report. https://www.purduelandscapereport.org/article/will-my-trees-recover-after-losing-their-leaves/

Styres, S. D. (2011). Land as first teacher: A philosophical journeying. Reflective Practice, 12(6), 717-731. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2011.601083

In Arbutus, Narda, the educators, and the children have been exploring the sights and sounds of our more-than-human relations within, and surrounding, Yard. A group of the children had previously gone on a nature walk where they listened to the sounds around them, and created art based on those sounds. After the art had been displayed in the atrium, Narda, Sadaf, and I took a group of children to go look at it and discuss it. Some of the children had been on the walk and created art, others had not.

As we discussed the art with the children, we were thinking about what the best way would be to communicate what the children were painting for this project to people viewing the art. We thought, and the children agreed, that it would be helpful to have the audio recording of the sounds the children heard available to people who were looking at the art. Narda asked the children how they thought we could tell people about our art, and one child said, “you have to show them.”

After the children returned to Yard, Narda, Sadaf, and I discussed how we could follow this child’s recommendation of showing the art process to others. Yes, we can find a way to provide the audio recording to the viewer, but the recording would not accurately represent what each person heard, and it cannot fully convey the atmosphere of the space the children were in, and the energy they felt.

Talking about how to show work including sound reminded me that you can see and feel sound. Sounds are created by tiny vibrations in the air. Our eardrum vibrates in response to these vibrations in the air, or soundwaves, and that’s what allows us to hear (Butcher, 2022). When you look at a large speaker, you can see the cone of the speaker vibrate as sound passes across it. You can also see these waves by looking at a magnification of a record, or by uploading a recording into a computer program that converts it into an image, or waveform. As a musician, when I sing, I often know if I’m close to the right pitch based on where in my body I feel the vibrations of the note. I feel lower pitches in my chest and as I sing increasingly higher notes, I can feel that vibration starting from a higher physical location in my body.

These physical and visual experiences of sound can help us learn about sound and the world around us with our whole bodies as opposed to just our ears. One of the First Peoples Principles of Learning in the BC Early Learning Framework (ELF) is that learning is holistic (p. 14). The ELF elaborates by explaining that “a holistic approach recognizes that all areas of learning: physical, social, linguistic, visual, auditory, and intellectual are closely interrelated and occur simultaneously” (p. 26). The children who created the art were developing their fine motor skills, visual acuity, coordination, and were learning to be attentive to the sounds in their environment. They were learning to interpret those sounds and consider other ways of representing them. By discussing the art, sights, and sounds around them, they were developing their linguistic skills. If we bring in an image or video of a waveform, the children can connect the sounds they hear with the visual representation of them. Bringing in speakers or instruments and playing low notes on them can help the children connect the sound to the physical sensation of the sound. Low notes will work best because they have low frequency waves which tend to be easier to see and feel (West Music Company, 2017).

Using activities involving the physical sensation and visual representation of sound can also help to foster an environment of inclusion. If we have a child in our program who is hard of hearing or deaf, how can we include them when we’re engaging in a sound-based inquiry? Deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie explains in her TED Talk on listening (2003) that sound/music is an experience. She experiences sound with her whole body through touch, sight, and hearing. We all do, but she is just much more aware of it. We don’t simply hear a thunderstorm, we experience it. We don’t just hear music, we experience it (Glennie, 2003). In Arbutus, we don’t just hear the sounds of Yard and the surrounding area, we live within Yard. For hours every day, we experience life together with our more-than-human relations in, and around, Yard. There are so many ways we can experience and interpret the sounds around us if we just take a minute to listen. By expanding our grasp on the holistic nature of sound, we, along with the children in our care, can learn to experience another aspect of Yard, and the world around us.

 

References

British Columbia Ministry of Education, Ministry of Children and Family Development, and Ministry of Health. (2019). British Columbia Early Learning Framework. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/early-learning/teach/earlylearning/early_learning_framework.pdf

Butcher, M. (2022, February 8). How does vinyl work? London sound academy. https://www.londonsoundacademy.com/blog/how-does-vinyl-work

Glennie, E. (2003). How to truly listen [Video]. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/evelyn_glennie_how_to_truly_listen

West Music Company. (2017, October 2). It’s science! Basic acoustics: Frequency, wavelength & pitch. West Music. https://content.westmusic.com/its-science-basic-acoustics-frequency-wavelength-pitch/

 

Hi everyone!

For those that don’t know me, I’m Hannah Wilkinson. I’ve been subbing since October, 2022 with UVic Child Care Services, so I’ve met many of you over the last few months. This summer I will be doing my third year practicum for my Child and Youth Care degree.

I obtained my Early Childhood Care and Education diploma at Mount Royal College (now university) in Calgary in 2008. Since then, I have been working as an ECE in Saskatoon. I decided to make a career change and pursue a master’s degree in either Early Learning or Child and Youth Care, but first need to finish my undergrad. Those master’s programs aren’t offered in Saskatchewan, so here I am! I really enjoy learning about different ways of doing things, so I’m excited to get to do a practicum with you all here at UVic CCS.

In my life outside school, I have an active 8-year-old daughter who keeps me busy. In Saskatoon before the pandemic, I was involved in roller derby and sang in a community choir. Those both didn’t start back up until right before I moved, so I’m hoping that eventually I’ll find time to get back into them here in Victoria.

As part of my practicum, I’m planning to write some blog posts, primarily relating to various aspects of the Early Learning Framework. I will also often be shadowing Narda to learn more about the pedagogist aspect of early learning in BC as they don’t have a position like that in Saskatchewan. I look forward to continuing to learn more about UVic CCS, and childcare methodologies in BC.

 

See you soon!