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Listed under:  Science  >  Life  >  Ecosystems  >  Biodiversity
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Create dichotomous keys lesson

In this lesson students engage in a hands-on exploration of local diversity. Students research and record local wildlife, learn about biodiversity in Australia, and conduct a ‘bush blitz’. They learn how to create dichotomous keys and translate their keys into a wildlife discovery app prototype. The resource includes links ...

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Beautiful biomes

In this lesson students learn the features of the five main biomes, and use ClassVR headsets and CoSpaces to design and create a virtual biome to explore. They research and identify the features of a biome and then create their own virtual environment. The resource explores the human impacts on biodiversity and explore ...

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Creating a beneficial garden: planting

Planting flowers with food crops increases biodiversity, and is known as beneficial planting. Beneficial planting not only makes our garden beds look more attractive to us, it also makes gardens look more attractive to pollinators and predators, which in turn, help to fertilise and protect crops from pest invertebrates. ...

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Sow a seed, grow a feed

Engage young learners’ senses as they grow food from a seed. They can learn about caring for a living thing, experience the joy of watching something grow and harvesting healthy edible food. The activity provides opportunities for development of science, sustainability and maths concepts. OUTCOMES of this learning activity ...

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Creating a food garden: site assessment and mapping

This learning activity is part of a sequence of 5 individual learning activities focused on creating a food garden. The order of these learning activities are: vision, site assessment, installing a no dig garden bed, planting and harvesting. OUTCOMES of the learning activity are for children to understand more about the ...

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Creating a bee hotel: research

Explore the different types of bees common to Australia, their features including how they are different to flies and wasps. We will focus on native bees, specifically to learn about their nesting habitat. This learning activity is the first part of a sequence of 2 individual learning activities focused on creating a bee ...

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Creating an Indigenous plant-use garden: harvesting

The satisfaction of eating straight from the garden is one of life’s best learning experiences, however we need to be respectful and mindful to only harvest what we need to allow the plant to continue to thrive for generations to come. This activity involves the assessment and mapping of local environments to create a successful ...

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Creating an Indigenous plant-use garden: planting

The outcomes of this learning activity are for children to: follow instructions and a planting plan; understand the steps involved in planting out and maintaining a successful Indigenous plant-use garden enjoy being active and productive outdoors and build their social and teamwork skills; physically be involved in the ...

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Creating a bee hotel: construction

As we clear land for urban development, and for broadacre farming, we remove the spaces where bees nest and find their food. With no food, and nowhere to produce their young, native bee populations are under threat of local extinction. In this activity, we will look at providing nesting spaces for native bees which mimic ...

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Creating a beneficial garden: assessment

Invertebrates perform many different roles in a garden’s ecosystem and occupy many different habitats. In this activity, you will be completing an assessment of these animals. The aim of this activity is for children to identify invertebrates, appreciate different invertebrate habitats and understand the roles that these ...

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Investigating the soil food web

Soil is much more than just dirt. In this activity, learners will be conducting an investigation to see which animals and other organisms are recycling nutrients in the garden. These organisms make up the soil food web, which includes microscopic bacteria, fungi, minute creatures such as springtails, worms, pill-bugs and ...

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Creating a beneficial garden: investigation

Biodiversity has been perfected by nature over millions of years where invertebrates have played an important role in maintaining a balanced, biodiverse ecosystem. Invertebrates provide services to food crops including pollination and protection from pests. This learning activity is the second part of a sequence of 3 individual ...

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Stateline: Proposed coal mine raises environmental issues

Explore the possible benefits and impacts to the environment and community of a proposed new coal mine, called the Wallarah 2 Coal Project. In this clip from late June 2013, find out some viewpoints that landowners, community members, mine representatives and politicians present about the proposed underground mine.

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Understanding the causes of climate change

Did you know that climate change is not a recent phenomenon? In the past, natural events led to changes in the climate. Although natural events still affect climate, they're not enough to explain the big changes we've been seeing in the last 150 years. What changes on earth can account for such dramatic changes to our climate? ...

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Foreign Correspondent: Damming the free and mighty Mekong

The Mekong has been a rare thing: a largely untouched and free-flowing river. Stretching for nearly 5,000 km from the mountains of Tibet to Vietnam's Mekong Delta, it has provided a way of life for millions of people and been an important trading route between south-western China and south-eastern Asia. In this clip from ...

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Aquatic biodiversity and nutrition

This is 10:33-minute video about the crucial importance of aquatic plants and animals from rice-based ecosystems in the diet of Lao people. It shows how a variety of organisms are caught or harvested in the rice fields and nearby water bodies and identifies that 92 species are used for food in rice-growing areas with fish ...

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Catalyst: How high will sea levels rise?

Much of the world’s population will eventually have to deal with the consequences of sea-level rise, but the question is: how high will the water get? Dr Graham Phillips investigates how scientists are turning to the distant past to predict the impact of rising sea levels. Watch scientists explore 120,000-year-old coastlines, ...

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Caving for fossils

Imagine the enthusiasm of Australian paleontologists when they heard about the discovery of three caves in the middle of the Nullarbor Plain. Watch this clip to find out just what was discovered in the caves and why it is so significant.

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A Year on a Farm: producer video

This is a video about operation of an organic orchard near Kalangadoo in South Australia and the commitment to biodiversity of its owners Michelle and Chris McColl. Michelle McColl describes and illustrates the annual cycle of work with the trees and fruit while discussing the economic and agronomical advantages of the ...

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Management of the northern savanna

Around the world, tropical savannas are in serious trouble. This clip from 2007 explores the use of Aboriginal technology for sustainable management of the environment in Australia's huge northern tropical savanna. Hear from two environmental scientists why traditional fire-management practices may reduce the incidence ...