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Catalyst: How will fire change the climate?

Considering the impact of a changing climate on the severity and frequency of fires is one thing, but how about the impact of fires on climate? Why does Professor David Bowman describe this scenario as a 'fire spiral'? What are the consequences of a world with fewer forests? As Professor Craig Allen explains, drought and ...

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Catalyst: What are modular farms?

Modular farms are flexible and self-contained systems that allow you to grow herbs and vegetables without the need for soil or sunlight. What are some advantages of modular farms? What may be some of the disadvantages?

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Catalyst: Would you eat insects?

A lot of resources go into the production of beef. For example, 20 litres of water is needed to produce just 1 gram of beef. In order to produce food more sustainably to feed an ever-growing population, some alternatives to protein have been suggested. What are some of these alternatives? Do you think they will ever replace meat?

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Climate change and the rising sea level

What is the correlation between global warming and the rising sea level? This animation explains the link between the two and the consequences of a continual sea level rise. How are some communities combating this problem? Can you think of some other ways we could address this problem?

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Carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases

Have you heard of greenhouse gases? What do you think they are? (The word 'greenhouse' is a big clue!) The delicate balance of greenhouse gases has been affected by the addition of an unprecedented amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) to our atmosphere in the last 150 years. Watch this video to find out how CO2 is being added ...

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Measuring gravity

Did you know you can measure gravity? The more mass an object has, the more gravity it has, so by measuring the mass of something, you can figure out its gravity. Why do you think climate scientists may want these measurements? Watch this NASA animation to find out.

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Farmers, their animals and the environment

This is a video about the valuable genetic diversity of Asia's indigenous domesticated animals; the contribution the animals' genes make to local people's food security; and the results of the use of genetic technologies. The video identifies ever-present links between farmers, their animals and the environment by describing ...

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TEDMED: Are we ready for a Declaration of Food Interdependence?

This is a video clip of TEDMED speaker Ashley Atkinson describing a community program that promotes growing food together to transform the environment and to address issues of declining access to affordable, fresh produce. The video focuses on how the program, Keep Growing Detroit, provides resources to assist in the establishment ...

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Sustainable table: meet your meat

This is a website about the environmental and animal welfare issues related to the consumption of meat. It contains sections on the amount of meat we eat; the environmental impacts of consuming meat; cattle, chicken, egg-laying-hen and pig-farming factories; and what can be done to improve the current state of the meat ...

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Catalyst: Sustainable fish farming

There are already more people around the world who eat farmed fish than people who eat beef. With the world's population and demand for food increasing, why is it so important for us to farm sustainably? One fishery near Kakadu in the Northern Territory practises sustainable farming. Find out what makes this farm so sustainable.

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Sustainable forests, 'lockups' and happy bees

What's a forest lockup? Why is the Tarkine forest special, and how does Tasmanian Forestry attempt to manage activities in the Tarkine forest sustainably? View this clip called 'Tarkine Forest', created by young reporters from Circular Head Christian School, Tasmania. The clip was developed as part of the ABC Splash Live ...

Online

Green packaging lesson

This lesson plan engages students in finding ways to reduce plastic waste in food packaging. Students investigate problems created by plastic waste then observe ways these issues are being addressed. They design new packaging for food items that currently produce excessive waste then test their designs objectively. The ...

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Gooniyandi seasons calendar

This is the Mingayooroo - Manyi Waranggiri Yarrangi, Gooniyandi seasons calendar developed by people of the Gooniyandi language group of the Kimberley in collaboration with CSIRO. The resource consists of an introduction, a richly illustrated calendar and related links. The introduction contains information about the people’s ...

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Indigenous Science: shell middens and fish traps

This is an article about Aboriginal shell middens along the Queensland coast and the information they provide about Aboriginal food collection practices. Written by Kudjala/Kalkadoon Elder from Queensland Letitia Murgha and intended mainly for teachers, it describes how shell middens were created over thousands of years ...

Online

The Murray-Darling Basin: an introduction

This lesson sequence is designed to introduce students to key aspects of the Murray-Darling Basin including the environment, geography, economy, people, history, water cycle and water management challenges. The lesson sequence includes a teacher PowerPoint presentation, separate teacher notes and a student worksheet. This ...

Online

Running the rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin

This lesson sequence examines the role that river operators play in water resource management in the Murray-Darling Basin and explains how they direct water releases and track progress downstream for environmental watering and flood management. It includes a teacher PowerPoint presentation, separate teacher notes and a ...

Interactive

Waste and materials – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This resource guides students through an extended school-based or local investigation focussed on waste and materials using the five-step sustainability action process. The resource supports the investigation of a real-world issue or problem. Students develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate ...

Online

Locks, Weirs and Dams

This lesson sequence examines structures that are used by water resource managers in the Murray-Darling Basin including dams, locks, weirs, barrages, fishways, channels and levee banks and explores the positive and negative effects of river regulation. It includes a teacher PowerPoint presentation, separate teacher notes ...

Online

Smart water - Precision irrigation

This is a unit of work about water management in Australian agriculture. It focuses on the design and role of automated irrigation systems, what they consist of, and the savings in water use and increases in productivity they can deliver. The unit has five main topics: the Murray-Darling Basin; types of watering and irrigation ...

Online

Biosecurity

This is a unit of work about the biosecurity of Australia’s agriculture. The unit focuses on how introduced species can affect the balance of ecosystems. The major activities in this unit focus on the concept of interdependence in ecosystems; the importance of biosecurity and control of outbreaks. A simple experiment models ...