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Investigate: cane toads

This unit of work is designed to help students understand cane toads and their threat to the Australian environment and agricultural production. Why some animals are to be protected and others need to be eradicated. The resource includes a teacher guide, student learning journal and a PowerPoint presentation.

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Making a difference: development for a better future

This series of project-based resources use real world contemporary contexts to highlight opportunities and challenges in international food and nutrition security, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. Resources focus on international agricultural practices and Australia's role as a member of the global community. The ...

Online

Education - Return to 1616 Ecological Restoration Project

This is a comprehensive education package based on of the world's most exciting ecological restoration projects that is happening right now in Western Australia! It features interactive virtual tours, 3D skulls, videos, real-action inquiry projects, research projects, native animal educational card games and activities, ...

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DTiF in conversation with Save the Bilby Fund – Background information on the Save the Bilby Fund

Kevin Bradley, CEO of Save the Bilby Fund, and Cassandra Arkinstall, a researcher and volunteer at Save the Bilby Fund, explain why the bilby is an important indicator of the health of an ecosystem, and how their decline impacts other wildlife. This video gives an overview of what the Save the Bilby Fund does as they work ...

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DTiF in conversation with Kevin Bradley and Cassandra Arkinstall from Save the Bilby Fund – Using Digital Technologies to help save bilbies

Kevin Bradley, CEO of Save the Bilby Fund, and Cassandra Arkinstall, a researcher and volunteer at Save the Bilby Fund explain how important digital technologies are in the campaign to save the bilby from extinction. The video explains how digital systems are used to collect and visualise data and help eradicate threats ...

Downloadable

Visualising water quality

This lesson sequence provides a rich opportunity to discuss sustainable water management issues, particularly those related to a local catchment. Students gather and map data which allows them to answer questions and add simple environmental data such as water quality parameters to maps using Google Maps.

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The life cycle of your polyester t-shirt

This illustrated article describes the environmental impact resulting from the making of the textile, the off-shore manufacture and the retail distribution of a t-shirt to an Australian consumer.

Online

Humpback whales: what the data reveals

The lesson follows an inquiry process where students use the dataset to answer relevant questions about the whale population. They consider what other data they would need in order to effectively examine the impact on humpback whales of sonar activity and noise from development.

Downloadable

Are we living sustainably?

This unit of eight lessons poses the question ‘Are we living sustainably?’ Students use prompts to draw on their prior knowledge to explain what they already know about sustainability. They then investigate why water is precious, explore how water is used around their school and at home. Students then research ways that ...

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Explaining our catchment

In this lesson sequence students use conceptual diagrams to identify features and relationships between features in the local waterway. Students create a conceptual diagram, using a hypothetical waterway from 'The story of a river'. They then create a digital conceptual diagram online using data collected from their local ...

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The Australian Coast - Teacher notes and student activities

This 100 page booklet explores the major physical environmental characteristics of the Australian coast. It also provides an outline of the major physical processes which shape the coast and introduces the human-induced processes which impact upon Australia’s coast. The booklet contains a glossary, links to online resources, ...

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Story of a river

In this activity, students use a story of a fictional river to explore the impacts of various land uses on the ecological health of a river. This demonstration can be used to introduce science or geography concepts related to your local catchment e.g. land uses, water cycle, human impacts and contaminants or waste in river ...

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Catalyst: Quoll rescue

Discover what threatens a native Australian predator and how scientists are hoping to save it from extinction. This clip about quolls in the Northern Territory describes the causes of its decline and a rescue strategy to save it from extinction. The strategy has a surprising twist - it features the very thing that is threatening ...

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Four Corners: Ecological effects of bushfires

Did you know that Australia is the most flammable continent on Earth? Watch this clip to discover how bushfires impact natural ecosystems, and how the increasing global threat of bushfires may affect Australia. Australian scientists explain the ecological consequences of fire and a US expert describes his concerns for the future.

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Foreign Correspondent: Bali - tourism and development

Bali, a world-renowned slice of paradise in Indonesia, is undergoing rapid development to accommodate the increase in foreign tourism. Tourism brings money but it also drives up prices and affects the environment. View this clip to explore the issues experienced by those living in paradise.

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Engineering clean rivers

Figuring out how to clean up contaminated rivers is a big challenge. It's also tricky to work out where the most contaminated parts of a river system are and whether its fish are safe to eat. Watch this video and learn how engineering has helped to solve these problems. Why do you think engineers looked to the bottom of ...

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Catalyst: E-waste, recycling, and sustainability

What happens to electronic waste (e-waste)? Watch this clip about the physics of recycling to find out the way that useful materials are captured from waste at a local materials recovery facility. Presenter Tanya Ha investigates e-waste, the products it comes from, and the sustainability challenges it poses.

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Catalyst: Managing bushfires

To burn or not to burn? Investigate the science behind arguments for and against controlled burn-offs that aim to reduce the risk of bushfires to humans. Listen to the reasons Professor Mark Adams of Sydney University gives for a careful approach to prescribed burning.

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Catalyst: Plants and increased levels of carbon dioxide

We know that most plants use carbon dioxide to make their own food. So what might plants look like in 100 years if carbon dioxide levels continue to increase - will they become enormous and overtake our backyards? View the possible effects of changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide on plants and, in turn, humans and other animals.

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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?