narrow window of time for the fish to spawn before the water becomes too warm.
When the spring floods ebb swiftly away again, there is even a risk that the pikes are
trapped on the grassland. Continuing, Victor explains that there are about 300 female
and 150 male pike in these shallow waters also referred to as the “pike-factory”. If it
was not for the restoration efforts made by Victor and his colleagues, together with
Värmdö municipal authorities and the World Wildlife Fund (whose main object is to
attract bird-life around the wetland), there would have been no pikes here—only a
straight-cut ditch surrounded by dry grass from last year. In the next part of this
outdoor lesson, the children get to help Victor and his colleagues’ work supporting
the pike and other fish populations in the restored wetland. They carry stones that are
put along the muddy banks. The ditch is thus turned into a stream again and becomes
accessible for the migrating fish. In this way, the pupils take on the role of “ecosystem-assistants”, or “environmental heroes”, as Victor phrases it. “Is it alive?”,
another child asks. Although released from Victors grip, the pike does not move.
All is quiet. A car is put into gear on the road behind. Sea gulls are swirling above.
With two gentle swishes of her tail the pike, named “Martha-Humlan” by the
children, is gone.
This observation comes from an outdoor-class organised by the Swedish Anglers
Association in a restored wetland in Värmdö municipal, located east of Stockholm.
Through their educational project “Skolbäcken” (literally meaning “the school
stream”), the association has brought several thousand schoolchildren and their
teachers to sites where the association is involved in fish habitat restoration. These
include lakes, streams, wetlands and coastal areas, mainly around the three largest
metropolitan areas in Sweden. A characteristic feature of Skolbäcken is that the
schoolchildren, beyond the role of observers and learners of fish and water ecosystems, also are encouraged to get their hands dirty as an important part of the
pedagogy—learning about pike through actively participating in improving their
habitats. In turn, these efforts might be able to help the children to not only
understand nature in a generalised sense, but also as a living place (or landscape)
that can be experienced with all the senses and, for better or for worse, can be altered
by human activity (cf. Beery and Wolf-Watz 2014; Stenseke 2018).
2 Why Should Children Care About the Loss
of Biodiversity?
Why should children care about the loss of biodiversity, and how can children get
involved with practical work that concerns (re)creating and caring for different
species and habitats? Several decades of environmental policies, information and
education in countries such as Sweden have raised public awareness of sustainability
challenges, including possible negative impacts of human activities on ecosystems
and biodiversity. However, scientific knowledge about the state of world seems
alone insufficient to spur people’s interest and engagement.
220
M. Sandberg and A. S. Hansen
When the spring floods ebb swiftly away again, there is even a risk that the pikes are
trapped on the grassland. Continuing, Victor explains that there are about 300 female
and 150 male pike in these shallow waters also referred to as the “pike-factory”. If it
was not for the restoration efforts made by Victor and his colleagues, together with
Värmdö municipal authorities and the World Wildlife Fund (whose main object is to
attract bird-life around the wetland), there would have been no pikes here—only a
straight-cut ditch surrounded by dry grass from last year. In the next part of this
outdoor lesson, the children get to help Victor and his colleagues’ work supporting
the pike and other fish populations in the restored wetland. They carry stones that are
put along the muddy banks. The ditch is thus turned into a stream again and becomes
accessible for the migrating fish. In this way, the pupils take on the role of “ecosystem-assistants”, or “environmental heroes”, as Victor phrases it. “Is it alive?”,
another child asks. Although released from Victors grip, the pike does not move.
All is quiet. A car is put into gear on the road behind. Sea gulls are swirling above.
With two gentle swishes of her tail the pike, named “Martha-Humlan” by the
children, is gone.
This observation comes from an outdoor-class organised by the Swedish Anglers
Association in a restored wetland in Värmdö municipal, located east of Stockholm.
Through their educational project “Skolbäcken” (literally meaning “the school
stream”), the association has brought several thousand schoolchildren and their
teachers to sites where the association is involved in fish habitat restoration. These
include lakes, streams, wetlands and coastal areas, mainly around the three largest
metropolitan areas in Sweden. A characteristic feature of Skolbäcken is that the
schoolchildren, beyond the role of observers and learners of fish and water ecosystems, also are encouraged to get their hands dirty as an important part of the
pedagogy—learning about pike through actively participating in improving their
habitats. In turn, these efforts might be able to help the children to not only
understand nature in a generalised sense, but also as a living place (or landscape)
that can be experienced with all the senses and, for better or for worse, can be altered
by human activity (cf. Beery and Wolf-Watz 2014; Stenseke 2018).
2 Why Should Children Care About the Loss
of Biodiversity?
Why should children care about the loss of biodiversity, and how can children get
involved with practical work that concerns (re)creating and caring for different
species and habitats? Several decades of environmental policies, information and
education in countries such as Sweden have raised public awareness of sustainability
challenges, including possible negative impacts of human activities on ecosystems
and biodiversity. However, scientific knowledge about the state of world seems
alone insufficient to spur people’s interest and engagement.
220
M. Sandberg and A. S. Hansen