St. Josephs, Kingswood Reflection Day

Friday, Oct 18 was a special day for the Years 1-5 students at St. Josephs Primary School in Kingswood. Ecology based – hands on learning was the theme for the day.

Kim working with some of the students at St Jospehs Primary School.

Years 1&2 had a great time exploring the macro-invertebrates of a local creek with the students carefully extracting the bugs and taking a closer look for identification purposes.  They were asked to determine if the range of species (different kinds of bugs) reflected a healthy waterway or not.

Years 3&4 learnt all about what makes a healthy habitat for wildlife. Students had to explore what characteristics made a suitable habitat for their local magpies, honeyeaters, small reptiles and bats and discussed ways to support these animals at school and at home. Binoculars were then used to see what birds were utilizing the vegetation in and around the school. Most students were delighted to see the rainbow lorikeets furiously feeding on the flowering eucalypt – not sure who was noisier!

The Year 5’s participated in the game: Web of Life whereby each student represents a plant or animal that relies on another using a ball of wall.  This game demonstrates how we are all connected and how changes in our local environment can influence the ecosystem. The web of wool (life) starts to fail when key species become extinct and drop out of the web.  We used the example of a large gum tree that provided food and shelter for many animals and supported a variety of shrubs and native grasses in its canopy.  Once the tree was gone, most of the birds, insects, small mammals lost their habitat and the web failed.  This activity raised lots of discussion about how important everything is in the web of life.

If you would like to find out more, please contact Kim, Environmental Connections on 0438 639 353.