Student Scientific Association of Teachers “Owl” (Studenckie Koło Naukowe Nauczycieli „Sowa”)
We are the Student Scientific Association of Teachers “Owl”, which has been active in the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the University of Wrocław for more than 10 years. Our activities mainly include nature education of elementary, secondary school students or even kindergarten! We try to present the science of biology in a non-schematic, interesting and above all practical way. We also undertake activities of a social nature.
The members of the Student Association are students from various fields of study in biology at the Faculty of Biological Sciences. We include students at all stages of their studies, even doctoral students – one of the Owls (that’s what we call each other) works with us as an Honorary Member. Our mentors over the years have been dr hab. Joanna Łubocka, professor UWr, and dr hab. Józef Krawczyk, prof. UWr.
Our current, biggest achievements and projects include:
– The “Passio Biologica” project – practical classes on a variety of natural science topics for school students, organized at our owl headquarters at ul. Przybyszewskiego 63 at the Faculty of Biological at UWr, at the UWr Natural History Museum, the UWr Botanical Garden or, more recently, at the Wrocław Zoo, with which we have established permanent cooperation. (More information: here, here, here and here!)
– Interdisciplinary National Student-Doctoral Teaching Conference – six editions of the teaching conference that we are organizing are behind us. The conference brings together teachers, students, doctoral students and educators willing to share, over the two days of the event, their innovative approaches to teaching. The conference has been held remotely for the past 3 years, but we plan to return to the traditional format. The event is held every year in December and attracts speakers from different parts of Poland and is very popular.
– The Secret Garden Connecting Generations – this is a project we won from the Academic Citizen’s Budget in which we designed and made together with the community of the Faculty of Biological Sciences a garden in the former viridor of the UWr building at ul. Przybyszewskiego 63. Work in the garden is still in progress, the first effects are already visible. In the garden, we have managed to organize events such as “Tulip Day” and “Picnic Planters”, aimed at integrating the academic community of the Faculty of Biological Sciences at UWr and encouraging them to help with garden work. We plan to organize more such events. (More information: here, here and here!)
– Project “Eco-citizen” – in the academic year 2022/2023 we implemented our original program: “Development of biological and social competencies of Wrocław students and their involvement in activities for the local natural environment” co-financed by the City of Wrocław within the framework of the Student Activities Fund (FAST) implemented by the Wrocław Academic Center. The project included theoretical classes and field research carried out under our supervision by students from one of Wrocław’s elementary schools and a high school. (More information: here, here and here!)
– Workshops and meetings with educators – members of the Student Scientific Association of Teachers “Owl” every year have the opportunity to participate in meetings related to nature education in the broadest sense. We have hosted at our home, among others, representatives of the Wrocław Zoo and dr Iwona Gottfried conducting workshops on bats. We have also undertaken permanent cooperation with Academic Radio Luz, which has already hosted us twice in its popular science program “Na Synapsach”. (More information: here and here!)
– Animal care – one of the most important pillars of our association are the animals we have adopted. Representatives of all animal clusters live in our headquarters; axolotl “Aksi”, bearded agama “Zosia”, chinchillas “Ivan”, “Szymek”, “Tom”, cockroaches, phasmatodeas, stick insects, budgerigars and zebra finches. Taking care of our little charges is very important to us, their presence is used in classes with children on the subject of zoology – students can observe with their own eyes the distinctive features of the bunch, but also learn where our pets come from, how to take care of them properly.
Our plans include the continuation of existing cyclical projects and the expansion of our educational activities to include another age group – we plan to educate the elderly, such as those in nursing homes. On our social media, where we try to report on our activities and educate on an ongoing basis, educational content (diagrams, graphics, descriptions) addressing problematic issues in biology will soon appear – we plan to direct the content mainly to this year’s high school graduates, who may have difficulty understanding some of the issues.
Feel free to contact us through our Facebook fanpage and Instagram. We are also available by email: sknn.uwr@gmail.com.
Translated by Karolina Konopska (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.
Attention! If you are a student at the University of Wrocław, you have the opportunity to enroll in a scientific circle that is not associated with your institute.
