Falconry fun comes to St Stephen's Community School, Launceston

Falconry for Schools instructor Sharon Bindon brought a selection of her birds into school, to teach the year six pupils about our native raptors

Pupils from St Stephen's Community School in Launceston were treated to a taste of the wild life with visits from Falconry for Schools on 6 and 12 September.

Falconer Sharon Bindon brought a number of her birds of prey into the school to teach the Year 6 children about our native raptor's lifecycles, habitats and the history of falconry.

Sharon said: "I took in Click the little owl, Kizzie the kestrel, Rocky the barn owl, Sage the tawny and Sky the Harris hawk on my first visit, then instead of Sky I took Spike my goshawk for the second visit.

"The children loved being so close to the birds and couldn't believe the softness of the feathers of Rocky and Sage. The kids participated in all the activities with great enthusiasm, but when it came to dissecting an owl pellet, the girls got stuck in and the boys weren't so keen.

"They were particularly interested and upset about the wildlife crime still happening and what we are trying to do for conservation.

"If I can get one child from each class to look after nature when they grow up, then we will still have nature and birds of prey when they have children themselves. It is my passion to educate children through falconry."

Year 6 teacher and assistant head Sharon Neale added: "The children loved it. The days fitted beautifully into their science topic this term – evolution and inheritance – so to be able to focus on one animal and get hands-on experience was really valuable.

"I think their favourite bits of the day were stroking the barn owl and dissecting the pellet to see what his diet consisted of. It was a brilliant experience for them."