Activities of junior birdwatchers in Saskatchewan, 1915-1974

In an earlier article, I described the contributions of junior naturalists to the Blue Jay through its columns Nature Schoolhouse and Junior Naturalists, 1954 -1972.9In the decades prior to the 1950s, a few young people were actively engaged in nature-oriented groups, building bird houses and observing birds across Saskatchewan.The article focuses on some of their activities and accomplishments.As early as 1917, the Saskatoon Boy Scouts, under the aegis of the Saskatoon Naturalists' Club (1915)(1916)(1917)(1918)(1919)(1920)(1921), constructed 300 bird houses for use by the Saskatoon Parks Board.In 1922, the Collegiate Nature Club in Prince Albert elected 17-year-old Owen Cecil Furniss as its president.1In the late 1930s a group of boys, living on farms isolated from one another and calling themselves the Bird Circle, began circulating a "round-robin" letter.Each contributed bird migration dates and other notes twice a year.Members were Hartley Fredeen at Macrorie, Ralph Hedlin at Renown, Tom Harper at Simpson, and Horace Beach at Ernfold.The only surviving round-robin letter, their fourth, was mailed from Hartley on December 5, 1938.The Regina Natural History Society, which began in 1933, organized museum tours for children as early as 1934, and high school students Billy Whitehead and John Hunt gave talks to the society in 1945.10The Yorkton Natural History Society began in the fall of 1942 with strong junior involvement.Among its executive of seven, the secretary-treasurer, Stuart Houston, and two executive members, Harvey Beck and Vernon Barnes, were students in grades 9 (Barnes) or 10.The next year, Jim Smith, in grade 12, was elected to the executive to replace Harvey Beck.