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Hi Shauna,
We are very similar in Dunmore East. There is a lot of work put into sustainability. I am making it a goal of mine this year to bring this work to the attention of the kids and teachers alike.
Clara
Living in Dunmore East, Co. Waterford, sustainability is something that is quite easy to see in the local area. Being a coastal community, we are very aware of the importance of looking after the sea and beaches. There are regular beach clean-ups and efforts to reduce litter, and the local fishing community also has an important role to play in protecting the marine environment. Waterford City also has lots of green spaces, recycling facilities and initiatives encouraging people to walk, cycle and use more sustainable ways of travelling.
I think this would be a great topic to explore with pupils because it is happening all around them. We could take a walk around Dunmore East and look at examples of sustainability, such as recycling, litter, wildlife and how the local fishing industry uses the sea. We could organise a beach clean-up or investigate how much plastic and other rubbish we find. The children could then discuss ways we could make our school and local community more sustainable. This would make sustainability much more real and meaningful for them.
Hi Shauna,
Again I love your ideas for implementing the knowledge of nutrition of seafood into the classroom and how easily it can be done. Lots of hands on sorting and labelling activities.
Clara
Learning about the nutrition of seafood has made me realise how easy it could be to bring this topic into the classroom. Seafood is a good source of protein and also contains important nutrients such as omega-3, vitamins and minerals. It would be a nice way to help children understand the importance of eating a balanced and varied diet.
I think looking at food labels in the supermarket would be a really useful activity for children. We could look at different types of seafood and compare the labels to see how much protein, fat and other nutrients they contain. We could also compare fresh, frozen and tinned seafood and look at the differences in price, ingredients and portion sizes. This would give children a chance to practise reading food labels and making informed choices about what they eat.
I think making the lesson practical and using foods they would actually see in the supermarket would make it much more interesting and relatable for the children.
Hi Shauna,
I love your ideas you have used here. In particular I think doing project work is a great way to encourage STEM and of course the kids always love the use of technology.
Clara
After looking at the ARC online lessons and resources, I can see how STEM can be brought into the classroom in a much more practical and enjoyable way. I think children learn best when they are given the chance to explore, experiment, ask questions and figure things out for themselves. STEM activities can give them lots of opportunities to develop skills like problem-solving, creativity, teamwork and critical thinking without it feeling like traditional classroom work.
In my own teaching, I could use more hands-on STEM activities and link them to topics we are already covering. This could include designing and building, investigating our local environment, using technology or working together to find solutions to real-life problems.
I also think STEM could be included as part of our school’s SSE process. As a whole school, we could look at what STEM opportunities we are already providing and identify areas where we could do more. Teachers could share ideas and resources so that STEM becomes a regular part of learning across the school rather than something we only focus on occasionally.
I agree with you Diarmuid. In our school last year as part of the Green Schools we linked in with the local Tidy Towns and councillors and the children got to go down to the beach and see them test the water quality before being awarded the Blue Flag.
Before completing this module, I didn’t realise just how important the location of aquaculture farms is or the impact they have on coastal communities around Ireland. It was interesting to learn why farms are set up in certain areas, such as sheltered bays with clean water, and how different parts of the country are suited to farming different types of fish and shellfish.
Teaching in Dunmore East, Co. Waterford, made this topic feel very relevant. We are lucky to live by the sea, and many of the children in our school come from fishing families or have parents and relatives working in local marine businesses. Learning more about aquaculture has given me a better understanding of how it supports jobs, local businesses and the community as a whole. It’s not just the farms themselves that benefit. There are also people involved in processing, transport, engineering and tourism.
I also liked learning about the idea of social licence and how important it is for local communities to support aquaculture projects. It showed me that it’s not enough for farms to be successful financially; they also need to care for the environment and work closely with the people who live nearby.
I think this is a great topic to bring into the classroom. It links really well with Geography and Science, and using local examples will make it much more meaningful for the children. It will also help them appreciate the role the sea plays in their own community and understand why protecting it is so important.
Hi Tríona,
I never thought about this module from the perspective of a school that is not based close to the coast. The use of ARC is so beneficial to bring it to you. I would love to see how the children engage with it.
We have many festivals in our area where adults get to experience from Sea to Plate or Farm to Fork and I would love to incorporate this into school life next year.
Completing this module has really made me think about how relevant aquaculture and social licence are to our own school community. I teach in Dunmore East, Co.Waterford where we are surrounded by the sea. Many of our pupils come from fishing families, while others have parents or relatives working in local marine businesses and industries. Because of this, the topic is something that is very real and familiar to many of our students.I think the resources and ideas from this course could be easily brought into the classroom through subjects like Science, Geography and SESE. Using local examples would make the learning much more meaningful and help pupils see the connection between what they are learning in school and what happens in their own community every day.I also think learning about social licence is really valuable. It encourages children to think about different viewpoints and understand that industries like aquaculture need to balance supporting local jobs and communities while also protecting the environment. These are important conversations for young people to have, especially in a coastal town like ours.
Overall, this course has given me plenty of ideas for creating engaging lessons that are relevant to our pupils and their lives. It has reinforced the importance of helping children develop an understanding of the marine environment and the role it plays in our local community, while encouraging them to think critically about how we can look after it for the future. I love the idea of ARC.