By Rosemary Low
When we see people, especially young ones, walking down the street, their eyes glued to their phones, totally oblivious to the nature around them (if there is any), and when teachers complain about the short attention-span of their pupils, we ask: how can we interest children in the natural world?
What hope is there for wildlife and for the environment if we cannot arouse in children the desire to protect and appreciate it? The previous methods of using books, films and lectures are no longer valid in many cases. The reading subject of children is mainly confined to two minute blogs and as for films, if it is not on YouTube, forget it!
In Europe we do not have many iconic, appealing creatures on the verge of extinction, but many lesser known ones, mainly due to habitat loss or over-fishing and climate change. Plenty of forms, such as seabirds and butterflies, are heading towards extinction, yes, but most people never see or never notice them. In the tropics and subtropics, it is different. Many endangered creatures live close to humans. We all know that habitat loss and illegal trapping has seriously threatened many parrot species. And even direct persecution. In this category is the Patagonian Conure, also known as the Burrowing Parrot (Cyanoliseus patagonus patagonus), and familiar to so many parrot keepers outside its natural habitat.