Students to draw crane art for Cubans
Anna Krejci/Events
International Crane Foundation Education Specialist Korie Klink speaks to students about cranes Nov. 7.
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By Anna Krejci, Dells Events
In Wisconsin it is common to observe some of the 15,000 greater sandhill cranes that reside in the state. But a subspecies of the sandhill crane is not so abundant in Cuba.
The island located 90 miles south of Florida is home to just 650 Cuban sandhill cranes.
That's what third-graders at Spring Hill Elementary School learned Nov. 7 when an International Crane Foundation employee gave a lesson about cranes and explained the students' future role in an art exchange program with school-aged children in the small village of Bolivia, Cuba.
Korie Klink, ICF education specialist, said the 60 third-graders at Spring Hill Elementary School are part of a larger group of 250 students from three different Wisconsin school districts that will participate in the art exchange.
Students in Wisconsin Dells will draw pictures of cranes that show the birds' accurate physical traits and wild surroundings. Klink will take the artwork with her when she travels to Cuba to teach about the cranes there. The Cuban children will keep the artwork from Dells students and send their work of the Cuban sandhill cranes back with Klink when she returns in February.
The swap is an instrumental part of the ICF's educational outreach program.
"I think it's so much because art transcends those language barriers," Klink said. "If you don't speak a certain language, if you don't speak Russian or if you don't speak Vietnamese or Swahili or whatever, you're still getting information and those messages through the artwork."
There are 15 species of cranes worldwide. Klink said the cranes exist on all but two continents: South America and Antarctica.
"The species of sandhill is broken down to six different subspecies, or six different kinds, so as an entire species there's well over half a million in North America," she said.
Cranes are recognizable for their long legs, which support them as they wade through wetlands. Their nests are built in wetlands as a precautionary measure. The sound of predators like coyotes wading through the water is a warning sound. They also sleep standing on one leg in the water for the same reason.
Cranes weigh anywhere from five to 18 pounds.
Klink described the Cuban cranes as being more "petite" than the ones here. Regardless of their different traits, Klink said in many places imagery of cranes is used as a sign of peace, friendship and international teamwork.
She said the way humans have altered the environment is a major factor in why the Cuban sandhill crane population is dwindling.
The foundation has partnered with Cubans since 1995 to raise awareness of the endangered bird. Klink said for the past 13 years the ICF has participated in research of the birds' habitat and life cycle.
The ICF also launched a community education program with the art exchange. More than just Wisconsin children have participated. Klink said students in California, Florida, Texas, Minnesota and Idaho have also taken part. They number in the thousands.
The ICF does art exchanges with 14 countries, including Russia, China and India.
Spring Hill School art teacher Kate Clausius will instruct the children as they create the crane art.
"I think it's a very good opportunity. It lets the kids have some citizenship," Clausius said.
Clausius also said the art exchange will allow students to review the material they learned about cranes from a September field trip to the ICF headquarters on Shady Lane.
Klink said she hopes the program will teach students lifelong respect for cranes and nature.