I’m going to go on a limb and say Alaska is the only state where this would be even remotely allowed to happen.
Chugiak High School is located in Anchorage and just last week, students got to participate in an experience that few in the world get when biology teacher Brian Mason brought in a moose to teach students to ethically and effectively harvest the meat.
Yes, you read that right, the science teacher literally dragged a huge moose through the school’s hallways so students could learn and assist in field dressing the animal.
I mean come on, that’s just so cool…
The moose was taken with an educational harvest permit offered by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and was used as part of a program at the high school called the World Discovery Seminar program, which is taught in Mason’s freshman biology and Alaskan Studies class. The program teaches about Alaska’s indigenous cultures and traditions, as well as in depth exposure to Alaskan wildlife.
The class was got to go through all the steps of processing the moose, starting with skinning and quartering the animal, and then trimming off the fat and grinding, sealing, and preparing it for consumption. Most of the meat will be donated to needy families in the community, but each student also gets to go home with a package for themselves.
Mason prefaced the lesson by saying:
“Even though I want today to be fun, there’s something serious about taking the life of an animal, right? I mean, like, I don’t take that lightly. This is not just fun… an animal gave its life for this, we need to respect that, plus this is the food that is going to be consumed by a lot of families in our school community.”
The look on these kid’s faces throughout the process are pure gold. Some are clearly super into it while others were a bit hesitant, but overall everyone really seemed to enjoy the process and learned quite a bit about where food comes from and the respect that should be given, especially when it’s a creature was majestic as a moose.
Anchorage School District made a great video on the lesson which you can watch below and honestly this should be used as inspiration for school programs all around the country. Sure, not everyone can bring in a recently hunted moose to dress, but every one would be better off understanding the food chain a bit better and realize what goes into harvesting the meat on the dinner table at night.
Big shoutout to Chugiak High School, this has to be one of the coolest programs in the entire country and I’d have given a lot to participate when I was a freshman. Heck, I’d give a lot to go do it now as a 28 year old.
Shoutout to Alaska for being just as cool of a place as we all imagine it to be.
