Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I thought I would just type up a simple one page outline. Let me warn you, I got rather carried away. Blame it on this Senate Bill 1032 mess in North Carolina. The beast that I have created is a 7 page document in MS Word format. I will not subject you to it here. If you want it you can visit the link below and choose "Tips for Conducting Educational Outreach Programs".
gray

Path to the beastly document....

Hi Gray-

I just got done reading your outline and think that it is awesome. You touched on a bunch of questions that I had and makes it seem like it's not such a tough thing to do. I would imagine the toughest thing is actually doing it.

I think that it would be a very rewarding accomplishment. I told you this before but I remember when I was 9 or so and had a presentation for my class and that really lit the fire in me. It only took me a year or so of begging to get my first snake.

I think this approach, teaching kids while they are young will definitely make an impact for generations to come. Interaction with live animals leaves an impression on kids that they usually never forget.

I am going to talk to some teachers in my area and some other herpers that I know that do presentations and see if I can get involved.

Thanks.....By the way "Antonio" and that harlequin girl that you produced are doing well. I was surprised at how beautiful they are in person.

....I think you hit on a very important point. Kids who meet and hold boas will remember it forever and even if they don't become boa owners they will at least be open minded to having others keep them. These are our future hobbyists.....and politicians. What's really funny is whenever I go to my children's school, I hear by name called out from many directions. "Hey Mr. Rushin, did you bring the boas?". They definitely remember.

Glad to hear you like the boas. Antonio sure looks fine in that photo.

gray

It has been said several times over that people who hold and touch animals in person are more likely to make a contribution to helping the animal servive and thrive in wild.. this is one of the main reasons Zoos will have demonstrations of endangered animals, they are trying to make a personal conection between the animals and the people.. I think reptile outreach programs are a wonderful benifit not only to the animal world but to every humanbeing who is touched by these amazing animals... Keep up the wonderful work and i hope you know how important your programs are to the people in your area... Awesome outline..!

Sincerley,
Rose Hipskind
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www.srsnakes.com

nm

Gray-
I read somewhere that snakes do have some of the bones of the inner ear and can actually hear (however poorly), even though there is no external opening. I can't put my hands on the article now, but wonder if you have ever "heard" of this?

Finally, I appreciate your taking the lead on opposing the details of Senate Bill 1032. I have now written the committee twice with one lone response from Senator Garwood's secretary. A recommendation for all who decide to contact the NC reps about this bill: Keep it Short. A lot of facts are not going to impress them...they just need direct clear information, and they receive plenty of e-mails about a lot of issues.

Photo: A dangerous snake having a litter of dangerous babies.

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There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Rom 8:1

....that was the one section that gave me pause. I looked it over several times wrestling with how much detail (and what detail) to provide. In my own collection of literature I found some conflicting information so I decided to leave it be. However, my description may well be inaccurate.

In regards to SB1032, this has been a good week. The late breaking news is that the sponsor has agreed to a rewrite and has enlisted a biologist to help with the reptile section. I have been in touch with this person and it looks very promising for boa lovers.

gray

THANK YOU!

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences, and present it in such a well organized, easy to understand fashion. You are a tribute to herpers everywhere and an exceptionally good teacher.

I read your treatise and plan to check with my son's 4th grade teacher to arrange a presentation using your guidelines. You are 100% correct when you say these childred are tomorrow's boa keepers and politicians...so what better place to start than with them to show how truly "dangerous" our boas are. Tolerance and understanding will work in our favor, where fear and misunderstanding have worked against us for so long.

I do not have any pictures of my boas that I've gotten from you to share, as I'm writing this from my workplace....but they, and all the others, are well and coming along great. By the way, I think we have 2 gravid females this year.

Denny Rimes

that is terrific news -
1. First, that you are going to present at the school. I think you will be excellent at this and really enjoy yourself.
2. Secondly, TWO gravid females. I had a feeling those girls would come through for you.

I love this quote from your message:

"Tolerance and understanding will work in our favor, where fear and misunderstanding have worked against us for so long."

gray

I've been doing educational outreach about snakes for years (mostly in public library programs). I really appreciate the effort and comprehensive coverage that you put into your outline. Excellent work!

If you haven't already posted a link to your article in the Herps and Kids forum, may I suggest you do so? I think it would be a real aid to anyone thinking of helping kids learn more about reptiles.

nm