Close your eyes and imagine tens of thousands of brightly coloured Monarch butterflies all flying in the air at the same time, weaving and circling..
A staggering array of nature at its most beautiful.

Now, take yourself inside an old people's home in California; view the residents excitedly gathered around a freshly hatched butterfly drying its elegant wings in the warmth of the Californian sun.
Then, ask yourself 'what is it that the group of children are doing outside the window?
Are they about to break in and steal from the senior citizens or trash their garden?'
No, they too have come to share in this wonder of nature as the butterflies are 'created' from the chrysalises.

Just look at all the communication going on here

Why is there this happy link between young and old people alike? The fact is, it was actually this same group of young children that introduced the butterflies into the residential home. The very same children that have given up their time, to cultivate the garden of the residential home so that the right plants can flourish and provide vital nourishment for the butterflies as they head south each winter. The same group of children that watched in awe in their classroom as every ugly chrysalis turned 'miraculously' into a stunning Monarch butterfly.

Who benefits from this inter-action?
The seniors did not feel so isolated from the 'unruly' next generation.
The schoolchildren learnt about nature and death and not to 'judge a book by its cover'.
The classrooms were quieter as the butterflies emerged, thus the teachers went home more relaxed.
Research found during this project, and others involving animals, that fewer 'sick' days were taken by the children. Moreover, the butterflies survived as they fed off the 'plants' ready for the long 2,000 mile journey ahead of them.

Perhaps this is not exactly the subject that you expected from an animal trainer and behaviourist like myself?
But why not?
Perhaps we all need to start to think outside the box and look at other ways that nature and animals can educate us humans.
Most people are only too aware of the calming effect of having a dog or a cat in a hospital room that is, for example, the 'home' for terminally ill children.
The hint of a smile that breaks out on a child's face as he or she gently smoothes a dog's face who, up to that moment, was unable to communicate any surprise or happiness with any of his or her human carers.

As I found in 2004 (at the IAHIO conference in Glasgow), the inter-action between animals and humans is having a significant effect on all areas of our society, in very many different parts of our overcrowded world.
The areas that have been practically aided, where otherwise only scientific knowledge has been used in the past, for example are:
- physically abused children
- sexually abused children and teenagers
- those living in areas close to drug dealers or gangs
- disruptive schoolchildren
- children from deprived families.

Most of the children / young people in the above groups have severe learning difficulties and can be cognitively low functioning, which makes treating them difficult - never mind sometimes their very real fear of adults.
Their physical contact with the right animal will:
· relax them
· allow them to be more trusting
· decrease their fear
· show them that there is another world in which to live happily.
· encourage them to treat their chosen pet as a friend.
· teach them acceptable behaviour amongst themselves.

"A dogs nose is something for us to wonder at. It reminds us that there is a world out there that we can never know" - Roger Caras

The frightening link between teenagers who mutilate and kill animals who then easily 'progress' to killing and maiming fellow humans is something that must concern all of society. The Columbine School massacre was a tragic proof of this overlap and link. We must continually try to educate children and young people and certainly those in a position of authority must be ever watchful for any developing behavioural pattern in young offenders that they deal with.