Edwena Arbuckle’s Grade 5-6 class from Montague Consolidated School made a presentation to the Standing Committee on Education and Economic Development, asking the committee request the legislature amend the Provincial Emblems and Honours Act by naming the red fox P.E.I.’s provincial animal.
After the class’s short presentation, most of the politicians on the committee admitted they didn’t realize P.E.I. doesn’t have a provincial animal. For the record, P.E.I. has a provincial bird, the blue jay.
“It’s in our history and it’s in our culture,’’ Isaiah Williams, a student in the class, told The Guardian in an interview after the presentation. “We got placed on the map from our fox pelts and our fox farms back years ago and they’re so common now. You can find tonnes in Charlottetown and you can be driving down the country and foxes cross the street.’’
The Grade 5-6 class from Montague Consolidated School made a presentation to the Standing Committee on Education and Economic Development on Wednesday, asking that the red fox become the provincial animal. From left, are Meadow Papp, Connor Cheverie, Alex Beck and Isaiah Williams. Dave Stewart/The Guardian
Arbuckle said the class project that led to the standing committee hearing began in 2015 with a Grade 5 class inspired by a writing and a poem by Island author Alan Rankin.
The class wrote an opinion article that was published in the Eastern Graphic and applied for funding under the province’s Arts Smarts program. That enabled them to get local artist David Trimble to help with fox paintings and photographer Brittany Crossman with professional photos.
Then they collaborated with students in Grades 5-7 on a power point presentation and made arrangements to meet with the standing committee.
“I think it would be wonderful,’’ Arbuckle said of the standing committee voting in favour of recommending to the legislature that the red fox become the provincial animal. “The City of Charlottetown is currently underway trying to pass a bylaw to support the red fox living in our urban areas by not feeding the red fox. They’re part of our culture now . . . and it should be recognized for the historical and ongoing Island way of life.’’
MLAs like Peter Bevan-Baker and Robert Mitchell did note, however, that the fox can be considered a nuisance animal.
The students responded that making the fox the provincial animal would serve to educate the public about the animal.
The students also noted the fox is also found on the provincial coat of arms, albeit a silver fox.
The study of the red fox has been integrated into much of the Grade 5 curriculum at the school. The class is also currently developing a trivia game and writing and gathering stories on the red fox.
