The Lakes Animal Friendship Society, an animal welfare organization based on the Southside, has launched a new slate of educational resources that it鈥檚 distributing freely to local schools.
Meanwhile, the group has expanded its horizons globally, with materials already available in half a dozen languages, ranging from Carrier to Portuguese.
The volunteer-run charity is aiming to make information about caring for household animals easy to understand through plain language. 鈥淲e wanted something a little more primary oriented,鈥� said Alistair Schroff, a co-founder of the group.
It鈥檚 part of a larger effort towards accessibility. The new educational resources include an activity book and two colouring books, which come in simple black and white formats designed to be easily reproduced in settings with limited access to new educational materials.
鈥淓ven remote communities usually have access to a black and white photocopier,鈥� explained Valerie Ingram, another one of group鈥檚 co-founders, in a statement about the new resources.
The newly released activity book, 鈥淟iving with Cats and Dogs,鈥� features children鈥檚 drawings on the cover and uses games to prompt young readers to think about the needs of animals, asking them to name the necessities of life for dogs and cats.
One section features word scramble that teaches children about foods that can make a pet sick, such as chocolate.
The group is planning to make the new educational package available as a free download on its website, and is distributing hard copies throughout School District 91 at no cost.
鈥淲e start out with the goal of getting them in the hands of all our local kids here in the Lakes District,鈥� said Schroff.
And their outreach is becoming more extensive with an ambitious translation effort. On the local level, Susie Tress, an educator and member of Lake Babine Nation, is translating the new colouring books into the local dialect of Carrier.
And two of the group鈥檚 picture books 鈥� 鈥淣obody鈥檚 Cats鈥� and 鈥淥ut of the Cold鈥� 鈥攈ave been translated Spanish, French, Portuguese and German.
It鈥檚 the result of international connections a tight-knit animal welfare scene 鈥� 鈥渋t鈥檚 an amazingly small world,鈥� said Schroff 鈥� combined with a desire to make educational materials available across Canada and around the world.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a bilingual country, so we wanted to have something for local French immersion schools and other schools across Canada,鈥� he said.
The book 鈥淣obody鈥檚 Cats鈥� was picked up by a program called RedRover Readers, which provides curriculum resources on animal welfare to schools in the United States, including areas with large Spanish-speaking communities.
As word has spread about the Southbank-based group鈥檚 resources, contacts in places including Portugal have translated the texts, which Lakes Animal Friendship then puts into book form.
鈥淵ou translate, we鈥檒l put it together,鈥� said Schroff. Local volunteers who speak foreign languages have contributed to the work, he added.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working with another woman locally who has volunteered to translate into Polish,鈥� said Schroff. Also in progress are translations in Romanian and Hungarian.
Altogether, upwards of 40,000 copies of the three pictures have been printed, Schroff said.
Evocative imagery
One of the new resources, a colouring book on how to care for cats and dogs, was adapted into a full-colour picture book featuring fine watercolour illustrations by Ukrainian artist Alex Chepelev.
It鈥檚 a flip book: one half is focussed on dogs, the other on cats. The two sections meet in the middle with a peaceful lakeside picnic scene of humans and their pets silhouetted against the sky.
The images evoke an atmosphere of kindness and care. Building that 鈥渃ommunity of care鈥� is at core of the group鈥檚 mission, which links the welfare of animals to wider issues.
鈥淣eglect or abuse of animals is linked to interpersonal violence, so increasing the level of kindness and respect for the needs of our four-legged companions is a big part of developing a community of care,鈥� said Ingram in a statement.
