When Alf Hubbard agreed to donate his extensive collection of Alberta’s wildlife to Lethbridge College, 
he stipulated it had to be made accessible to the public. He believed the collection he spent years compiling would one day help bring students throughout southern Alberta closer to the wonders of the natural world.
Perhaps even Hubbard could not have envisioned his taxidermy specimens part of an Internet-based learning project that will place wolf, wolverine and waterfowl on the monitors of children around the world.
Lethbridge College, with a grant from Inukshuk Wireless, will digitize its Hubbard Collection, the most comprehensive of the province’s wildlife, for online access.
“When it’s completed, it will provide a media-rich, highly interactive resource for students of all ages, allowing them to manipulate a virtual model of each specimen,” says Karen Harker, chair of Lethbridge College’s Educational Enhancement Team. “It’s a way for us to share a valuable resource with the community.”
So many students have limited resources to take them out of the classroom and into the natural environment; the Hubbard project will expose them to animals they may never have an opportunity to see in the wild.
They’ll be able to turn each specimen 360 degrees, and, through a short video clip, view the animal in its habitat and learn about its sounds, tracks and zoology.
Students will interact virtually with each specimen in engaging ways, resulting in their ability to recognize, identify, explain and describe the animal’s characteristics, habitat, and behaviour.
Shane Roersma, an Environmental Science instructor leading the project, also sees it as a marketing tool.
“By putting the Hubbard collection within a mouse click of the world, we can reveal what we have to offer here at Lethbridge College,” says Roersma. “We know the public is less likely to come on campus to see the collection. This way, we can introduce Environmental Sciences to junior and senior high school students, provide them motivation to consider it as a career and stimulate on-site visits.”
Lethbridge College has invested $77,600, while Inukshuk Wireless chipped in slightly more than $90,000. Owned by Bell Canada and Rogers Communications, Inukshuk is committed to long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships with learning communities; Lethbridge College secured roughly 40 per cent of the Inukshuk annual budget.
“Inukshuk Wireless is proud to be able to help Lethbridge College create a media rich web resource that will allow access to a digitized and interactive version of the Hubbard Collection,” says Yanick Boily, learning plan administrator at Inukshuk Wireless.
“This project is a good example of how Inukshuk is partnering with Canadian educators to increase learner access to high quality e-learning content and to preserve valuable collections of Canada’s natural treasures.”
The funding provided for the Hubbard Collection Virtualization project is part of Inukshuk’s ongoing commitment to invest in the promotion of online learning. It allows Inukshuk to continue the success of its Learning Plan initiative by building on past successes in Alberta as well as other parts of the country.
Environmental Science students will assist in creating each display, another opportunity for hands-on learning.
“It’s a perfect chance to involve our students and create a buy-in,” says Roersma.
There is much work to be done before the finished collection can be showcased. Each specimen must be photographed 360 times to allow the three-dimensional effect and there are hundreds to do. While that might sound daunting, Roersma says the result will be invaluable to the teaching of environmental science, not just at Lethbridge College, but anywhere there is an interest in Alberta’s wildlife.
Indeed, besides students and educators, researchers, community and industry will also mine a wealth of information. Local school districts estimate some 8,000 students will be logging on to the digital Hubbard collection, and have expressed interest in the project.
“We’re not in competition with other institutions,” says Roersma. “We’re more interested in creating a province-wide learning opportunity by sharing our information with others.”
To book a tour of the Alfred Hubbard and Family Alberta Wildlife Collection, contact Shane Roersma at 403-382-3484.
