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Kids in Nature - Lizard Learning
BestStart Bader Street had some special guests come and visit us! Shelly from the Hamilton City Council ‘Kids in Nature’ programme, and Dave, who was the kaitiaki (guardian) of some very unusual reptiles – geckos!
The tamariki were so excited to see Dave start pulling out containers that were full of leaves and branches, and in amongst all of that, camouflaged so well, were geckos of all colours and sizes. Dave showed us each gecko and told us a bit about them. Some had blue tongues and some had red tongues, some geckos were green, some yellow and some black. Some were old and one was very young and so tiny.
We learnt that geckos are very slow when they are cold, and we learnt (and saw) that geckos were fast when they were warmed up. The tamariki were amazed at the gecko’s superpowers – they could stick to our hands! Their tongues could also lick their own eyeballs, and although we all tried to do the same, none of us were able to! Dave told us where each particular gecko lived, and how some of them were endangered so we needed to look after them. Dave then let us each touch, and if you were extra brave, hold a gecko.
One of them ran onto the floor and we all had to quickly freeze, so that the gecko could be returned to its container safely. The tamariki were so mindful of being gentle with these little lizards, and held them very carefully, even when they were running up their arms. This wonderful visit was all part of our participation in the ‘Kids in Nature’ programme, and is a follow-up from our local excursions learning about bats and flora and fauna, planting native trees in our gully, and having a local beekeeper and then taxidermy creatures visit us at the centre.
We are so privileged to be a part of this programme, and helping the tamariki foster a love of our local environment and respect towards caring for living things. We can’t wait to see what we do next!