Athens Middle School FFA members taking a forestry and wildlife class are branching outside their comfort zones and learning about a process important to their local environment in Pennsylvania: tanning animal hides.
Emily Bidlack, Athens Middle School FFA advisor, created the unique learning experience last school year when a member of the local conservation district jumped at an opportunity to help implement the tanning process in her classroom. The first class tanned over 30 wild rabbits; since then, the class gained popularity and students began working with larger species, including raccoons, beavers, foxes and whitetail deer.
This is Bidlack’s second year teaching students how to conserve and tan animal hides in the classroom. In addition to covering the hands-on approach to hide tanning, students learned about its history in Pennsylvania.
“My goal isn’t to create a trapper or a taxidermist,” Bidlack says. “I want to create an informed consumer, and for [my students] to know the process of what their materials — such as a belt, a pair of boots or other types of leather goods — go through for them to get a finished product.”
An Up-Close Look at the Process
Last year, students focused on using plant matter and smoke to tan hides. This year, they’re utilizing the commercial method, which uses different solutions and acids.
In this process, students begin by removing hides from locally trapped Pennsylvania wildlife that have been donated to the class. They remove any muscle, fat or membrane, then put the prepared hides into a series of different solutions to soften and tan them. From there, students apply oil and massage it into the stiff hide material until it is supple enough to take home, where their hard work can be displayed.
After applying treatments, Athens Middle School FFA members work their hides until the finished product is ready to be taken home.
“It’s an amazing and memorable experience,” says Alissa Vough, an Athens Middle School FFA member. “Learning the [long] process gave me an appreciation for where our leather goods come from, and it opened up opportunities to get everyone involved.”
Although some of Bidlack’s students are nervous at first, she says they quickly become dedicated to creating and bringing a quality product home. The program has tanned more than 100 hides in the past two years and is made possible thanks to student interest as well as involvement from the local conservation district and taxidermists in the area.
“I’m hoping to ignite a love for the outdoors, or careers related to wildlife, and a respect for trapping and the origin of products,” Bidlack adds. Visit AgExplorer to learn about potential career paths in conservation.
