Nature-Study in Camp 



Fannie A. Stebbins 



Supervisor of Nature-Study in Public Schools, 

 Springfield, Ma^s. 



The object of Nature-Study may be considered as fotirfold in 

 outlook: — economic, intellectual, esthetic and m.oral or spiritual. 

 These may not be separated entirely, but som.etimes one, some- 

 times another may be em.phasized. 



Under the economic phase would be classed any study which 

 has m.ainly in view, either the fitting of man to his environment, 

 or, the fitting of his environment to man and his needs. 



This line of thought would lead, for example, in bird study, to 

 finding whether a species were helpful or harmful to man. 



If we watch a friendly little chickadee, see him pick off innumer- 

 able little specks from a twig to which he m.ay be clinging, "up- 

 side down," collect some of said "specks," examiine them under 

 a lens, and decide that they are real insects, then leam that they 

 have beaks, sharp enough and strong enough to pierce the bark 

 of the tree and that their hearty appetites demand enough of the 

 sap to rob the plant of a considerable poition of food; then we say 

 "Chickadee, you are our friend, because of your help our apple 

 crop will be better this fall, we thank you!" 



But if a sharp-shinned hawk comes dashing along and carries 

 chickadee away in his talons, for his lunch, we say "You lascal, 

 you have killed our friend" and class this hawk as an enemy 

 and plan vengeance. 



Or, we might, after sufficient observation, say "This is a chicka- 

 dee" write his name in our "list" and later enter "sharp-shinned 

 hawk," congratulating ourselves upon adding two species to the 

 "list." 



Or, we might observe these birds, note size, shape, color, mark- 

 ings, write a description or even a sketch and color them; and 

 all this would aid in knowledge of appearance of these birds and 

 render more certain our recognition of these and of other birds. 



Or, again, we might be fortunate enough to see Chickadee 

 come flying to a dead birch of a few inches diameter, look around 



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