TY's captive audience

At Dublin Zoo, Transition Year students have been learning about the role of zoos and the impact humans have on the environment

THE SIXTH major extinction is under way. The planet’s biodiversity is being plucked apart, with plants and animals under threat across the globe.

Habitat loss, pollution, and hunting pose a danger for the ocean’s coral reefs, the tigers of Asia, the gorillas of the Congo, and many more. At Dublin Zoo, Transition Year students have been learning about these issues on the Environmental Awarness: Know Your World conservation module, which focuses on man’s effect on the natural world.

Sarah Healy (aged 15) a student at the Ursuline Secondary School in Thurles, Co Tipperary, went to the zoo on a school trip last week. Before visiting the zoo, Sarah had mixed feelings on keeping animals in captivity.

“But there was a lot of space for the animals to roam around in, and we saw that zoos are important in helping endangered species, who are being wiped out by hunting, pollution, and habitat loss,” she says.

Their visit began with a half-hour talk on conservation issues, before the large school group was split in two and brought on a guided tour.

The students saw orangutans, gorillas, rhinos, and elephants: all of which will face extinction in the next few decades without concerted effort by humans to save them. In addition, the group visited the zoo’s latest attraction: new Sumatran tiger cubs.

The module, which lasts for an hour and a half, encourages students to form their own opinions on conservation issues. Dublin Zoo education officer Claire Meade explains: “We want students to think about the role of zoos and consider how humans impact on the global environment.

“It’s important to show them how they can make a difference: make sure that furniture comes from sustainable forestry, and don’t buy tropical hardwoods, plant more trees, encourage less energy consumption, or support a conservation initiative.

“Young people are open to this message and are willing to change.”

THE MODULE emphasises the interconnectedness of the planet’s ecosystems, showing how plants and animals – including humans – are impacted by the loss of species and environmental degradation.

“We’ve lost our connection to nature,” says Meade. “That’s what we’re aiming to bring back here. People who visit the zoo only tend to spend a few minutes on each exhibit, but on this module, students spend an hour on one small section of the zoo, learning where the animal comes from, how it is adapted to its environment, and what it eats.”

The module also aims to change people’s perception of the zoo as a place where miserable animals are kept locked away to a space where animals are respected, protected and conserved.

“Zoos don’t take animals from the wild,” Meade states.

“The animals are all captive bred. But zoos can have negative press because animals are in captivity. Why are these tigers in Dublin zoo and not in Sumatra? There are only 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, and the zoo is helping to sustain their population.”

Working with their geography teacher Annette Flanagan, the TY students will now tackle the issue of biodiversity in class, exploring the animals and habitats of the Amazon rainforest, and how these are being threatened.

Dublin Zoo also runs ecology modules, a genetics module presented by wildlife broadcaster Eanna Ní Lamhna, and an art module. For more information visit dublinzoo.ie and click on the learning link

Zoo logical

Ecology Module: Leaving Cert students gain an understanding of an ecosystem in Dublin's Phoenix Park, studying woodland and grassland habitats. (4hrs)

Genetics Module: Presented by wildlife broadcaster Eanna Ni Lamhna, this module aimed at Honors Leaving Cert students focuses on how genetics is being applied in cutting edge science; topics include evolution, genetic fingerprinting and mutation. (2hrs)

Art module: The zoo provides artistic inspiration to many creative minds.This module, aimed at students from first to sixth year, provides an opportunity to observe and sketch exotic animals. (1hr)