Take Action

Susan Brown is a B.C. horticulturist, permaculture designer, and early
childhood education instructor.

Take Action grew out of Operation Lifeline, the World Wildlife Fund’s
action-oriented educational program, which challenges kids to learn and
then do something about endangered species in Canada.

The book is divided into four sections: “Wildlife Matters,”
“Endangered Species,” “Endangered Spaces,” and “How to Take
Action.” “Endangered Species” focuses on particular species to
show basic concepts such as balancing numbers in populations and chain
reactions in food poisoning. It discusses the failures and successes of
human intervention. “Endangered Spaces” considers habitats (e.g.,
short-grass prairie and wetlands), and discusses the effects on wildlife
habitat of forest clear-cutting, oil spills, acid rain, and climate
changes. “How to Take Action,” aimed at adult leaders in school and
youth programs, discusses taking a project “one step further” and
describes groups that have done this successfully. As this section
shows, wildlife lends itself to interdisciplinary theme study. There is
much in Take Action that can be integrated into general skills-teaching
areas. Both adults and children can write to the WWF for information and
material that can assist them with their planning. Highly recommended.