FAQ The Squirrels Part 5 of 5 Final Teaching Aids

Celebrate Today - Squirrel Appreciation Day January 21

Parents and Teachers I hope you have been using these posts to inform your children of the importance of preserving (A) the Eurasian Red Squirrel, (B) helping squirrels in the cold weather and all year around (C) Instilling respect for these little gems of the ecosystem.

Kids!  By now you should have an appreciation for these historic squirrels and have discovered how they live and help our world ecology.

Have you done something nice for them today?

 If you are in an area of the world that has very cold weather it would be nice of you and your friends or family to try to help preserve these squirrels. 

It will make you feel better about helping the world that will be yours when you grow-up. We’ve highlighted the programs in the UK as they are the most organized and longest running in preserving the Eurasian Red Squirrel.

Need more ideas for teaching, the Marcijona books

• Colors,
• History,
• Basic etiquette phrases in a new language for fun,
• Easy science nature, flora and fauna,
• The seasons.
• Creative writing skills can be enhanced in the older grades
• With research projects about the squirrels and ecology.  (There are Journals in three languages, English, French and Spanish to encourage this.) 

Some Topics to consider

1. The science of climate and changes affecting the world. 
2. History of the UK, Europe and Eastern Europe, architectural styles,
3. What is a UNESCO Heritage Site,
4. What and why is volunteering important to communities everywhere.
5. Why kindness to animals of every type is of importance.

Enjoy.

FAQ The Squirrels Part 4 of 5 Teaching Aids

Newest Research shows an area of grave concern for the red squirrels health.

Startling findings about the virus that has been decimating this squirrel in the UK.

“Sciurus vulgaris Incorrect supplementary feeding of red squirrels can promote the local outbreaks of squirrel poxvirus (SQPV)

Feeding:  the areas where European red squirrels live in the UK should change the “Shared Feeders System” (One feeder for a bunch of squirrels to eat from.) To "scatter feeding" Throw it out there, kind of like feeding the chickens. Take a handful and toss near where they can eat what is there or take it to bury. Rationing of sorts.

To significantly reduce the possibility of passing SQPV to other Red Squirrels within the neighborhood and insects in a small area by the many red squirrels visiting and eating within one day.  The feeders put up by volunteers should not be used for the Eurasian red squirrels. Sharing is not good for their health, although it is easier on volunteers. It will entail rethinking the feeding program and volunteers necessary to keep it going in the cold weather.

 (In short, it's about placing several nuts near trees – as many as the squirrel has a chance to quickly eat and/or bury to protect the Red Squirrel from the disease.) The virus can be spread via droplet transmission (saliva) by European red squirrels* and for them "scatter feeding" should be applied – with no shared feeders.” *(Warnock et al. 2012, Collins et al. 2014, ICSRS 2015) Abstract: https://i-csrs.com/new-threats-red-squirrels

FAQ The Squirrels Part 3 of 5 Teaching Aids

The Role of Squirrels

Squirrels play an important role in the ecosystem by dispersing tree seeds, flower, fruit and vegetable seeds. They bury only the best of the seeds, which then produces new plants/trees, etc. for everyone else to use.

Get involved by Volunteering, Donating

Adopt a Red Squirrel, through the Wildlife Trusts.  This page covers The Wildlife Trusts of South and West Wales, The Northern Wildlife Trust, Dorset Wildlife Trust, and the Scottish Wildlife Trust.  

There are 46 Wildlife Trusts covering the whole of the UK, the Isle of Man and Alderney. Each Wildlife Trust is an independent charity set up to help look after wildlife, wild places and help people get closer to nature. Map from the United Kingdom. There is a drop down list with links to each trust.

Map go here.

FAQ The Squirrels Part 1 of 5 Teaching Aids

Squirrel Appreciation Day January 21st Factoids
January 21st of every year is Squirrel Appreciation Day it is observed worldwide. It was started by a wildlife rehabilitator in North Carolina. The reason for the January date is the scarceness of food in the cold weather where most squirrels live. This is a way to help, with food and shelter boxes for them.

According to Wikipedia: American red squirrels should not be confused with Eurasian red squirrels since the ranges of these species do not overlap, they are both commonly referred to as "red squirrels" in the areas where they are native.

 The North American species was first catalogued by Erxleben in 1771 and found in Hudson Bay, Canada.

Squirrels as a family can be divided into five major lineages: Red squirrels (Tamiasciurus) fall within the clade that includes flying squirrels and other tree squirrels (e.g., Sciurus). While we have Red Squirrels on the North American continent, they are not the same as the Eurasian Red Squirrels.

There are 25 recognized subspecies of red squirrels. The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) a species of tree squirrel is common throughout Eurasia. This is the endangered squirrel that we have in our photo story books her name is Marcijona.

Ugly Sweaters + Lefties check it out

Ugly Sweaters - reason to just use our 2020 Ugly Sweaters Calendar/Coloring Book.
Help slow pollution!
Hi Again!
Just saw something from a news feed (actually weather) that was interesting about creating pollution with Ugly Sweaters. Who would have thought? I mean they are ugly and supposed to be funny but this seems to be a serious thought provoking side effect of Ugly Sweaters.
 It seems there's a lot of plastic involved with the sweaters and they are basically a throw-away type of garment. The news video attributes increased pollution on garments like these.
 They suggest re-using the sweater in an exchange - give to someone else (who lives far away perhaps where no one has seen it yet) it'll be new to them. It's certainly something to keep in mind. Helping the environment.
I know what you're going to say, but paper comes from trees.  Yes, true, but trees do grow and replenish and paper is recyclable.  Not so with plastic.

Go check out our Idea Quick Gift page for an easy solution that will keep your friends and help the world.

NOTE: If you have left-handed friends the calendar is placed landscape, giving access to both left handers and right handers.  The notes page on the back is also accessible to lefties.

Or go directly to buy the 2020 calendar coloring book for them.