Reptiles at Risk

And so, the summer begins . . .

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on July 5, 2010 at 3:04 PM

What a busy time it has been here at the home of Reptiles at Risk on the Road! Our partner groups Sciensational Snakes and Scales Nature Park have been going non-stop over the last few weeks, first getting ready for Canada Day and now having the centre open every day! You have probably heard a bit in the past about the work being done on Scales Nature Park, and we are proud to announce that we are celebrating our Grand Opening this weekend, July 9th to 11th. If any of our readers are in the area, maybe we'll see you here!

Aside from that, with our funding arrival we have hit the ground running with plans for the summer. Our Southern programming is still in the organization stages, so anyone with an event or venue in Southern Ontario who might be interested in one of our programs, please let us know! Our Northern Tour is mostly worked out, and in addition to our regular presentations our day long programming will include crafts, games and other activities. Our first day of programming took place last week at Moose Deer Point, and there was an enthusiastic day camp group that joined in the fun. Some of our activities still need a little work (our play dough needs a little more flour to actually be play-worthy), but overall it was a fun time had by all!

One of my favourite new games we are trying is called Skink Race! In Ontario there is only one type of lizard, called the Five-Lined Skink. They like to hide under rocks and logs, but if they are discovered by predators they need to run very quickly to another hiding place. If the predator gets a hold of their tail, it can actually drop off, and the skink can get away!

In this game, there are people in the middle who are the Predators, and everyone else holds hands in pairs as the Skinks. When the Predators yell "Skink Race!" all the Skinks must run from one side of the room to the other. If one person from the pair is tagged by a Predator, then the Skink loses their tail! One partner continues across the room as the surviving skink, while the other becomes food (sits on the floor). In the next run by, the Skinks can try to regrow their tail by finding food. If they are tagged again, then the whole Skink is eaten and becomes food for surviving Skinks to collect. The last Skink standing wins!

This is just one of the many activities we will be doing this summer, and I look forward to telling you more as we progress!

- Robin