Animal educator to offer free ecology program for kids at WMS

By Kira Pilot

Reptiles and amphibians and insects, oh my! Andrew Desjardins, the man behind the educational outreach program “Mr. Drew and His Animals Too,” will be bringing some of these creatures to a July 25 presentation at the Windham Middle School.

Windham Parks and Recreation and the Windham Public
Library will host a free show for children by animal
educator Mr. Drew at 2 p.m. Friday, July 25 at Windham
Middle School. Kids ages 3 and over are invited to attend.
PHOTO BY CATLIN CREATION 

This free event is coordinated by the Windham Library, Windham Parks and Recreation, and the Middle School itself. Children ages 3 and over are invited to attend and see up close some critter guests as well as learn about responsible pet ownership, rehabilitation, and stewardship of our natural world.

Desjardins, who has assumed the ‘Mr. Drew’ moniker for the past 15 years, takes in and cares for neglected or unwanted pets. Often the animals in his care aren’t the fluffy mammals stereotypically domesticated. Instead, he nurtures exotic insects, arachnids, amphibians, turtles, tortoises, lizards and snakes from around the world. At any given time, Desjardins houses and looks after 300 to 400 creatures at his new facility in Poland. Some animals are responsibly rehomed and others are used in his outreach work after they have been socialized.

Desjardins originally got his start as an educator at a campground one rainy weekend. Noticing the youthful campers were bored, he brought over some pets he was rehabilitating for a show and tell. Parents in the audience inquired if he appeared at birthday parties which sparked the idea for Mr. Drew and His Animals Too. Today, Desjardins as Mr. Drew travels throughout New England, scheduling close to 200 shows in a summer. He is so busy that lately his son Sylas has been stepping in to help him at his summer camp shows.

The content Desjardins presents includes anecdotal stories, ecological facts about the animals he brings with him, humor, and environmental awareness. More than anything, he says he wishes to impart a sense of conscientious care to would-be pet owners.

“Learn about an animal before you buy it, not after,” he said, and he encourages audience members to reach out directly via email with any questions they have about the responsibilities of pet ownership.

Younger generations are increasingly interested in owning exotic pets, perhaps due to social media portrayals. A 2021 study done by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research found that reptile ownership in the U.S. has more than doubled during the previous two decades with an estimated 4.5 million homes currently containing at least one reptile pet. About 79 percent of reptile species trades are unrecorded and thus unregulated, which makes the welfare of these traded species difficult to monitor.

Besides his rehabilitation work, Desjardins is an environmentalist and challenges his audience to participate in his “One Piece Challenge” by picking up one piece of trash and discarding it properly every day for a full calendar year. He points out that if the entire world took on his challenge, we would pick up close to three trillion pieces of garbage.

“Every day is Earth Day – not just one day a year – and it is the one thing we all have in common: this planet we live on,” says Desjardins.

Samantha Cote, a Children’s Librarian at the Windham Public Library, oversees all programming for children up to age 12. Every year the library partners with Windham Parks and Recreation so that youth attending Parks and Rec events can take part in the Library’s Summer Reading Program. Windham Middle School generously provides space for program events such as this one that draw in audiences too large for the library’s event room which has a maximum capacity of 50 people.

This is the second year these three local institutions are hosting Mr. Drew. Last summer this same event drew an audience of 230 people, and Cote is hopeful that the crowd this year may be even larger.

“I think kids are fascinated by the natural world,” Cote said. “This presentation provides them an opportunity to see animals up close that they might not see otherwise, giving them a sense of who we share the planet with. What I love about Mr. Drew is he’s really good with the kids, he’s fun and educational at the same time.”

Mr. Drew’s show will last about 75 minutes and starts at 2 p.m. on Friday, July 25. If you have questions about the event, you can call the library at 207-892-1908 ext. 4. <