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Teaching children about sustainability allows them to think beyond the short term and encourages them to consider the long term impact their actions have on the natural environment. This is so important in today’s world as there is an ever increasing pressure on the world’s different ecosystems due to human activities and a huge population growth in recent times. Our school has many Green Flag Awards, where we strive to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as we can. In our school we place a big emphasis on reducing waste, reducing photocopying and using copy books where possible instead of photocopied sheets. Simple things like not colour printing the parent newsletter anymore or photocopying the school report and sending this through email/aladdin have helped us to reduce waste in our school. We have bin monitors daily to inspect the bins and as much rubbish as possible is recycled. Monitors to check lights are off and doors are closed help us to reduce unnecessary costs to the school and saves the environment. A green school committee are elected every year to devise ways in which we can make our school more sustainable. Children are encouraged to walk/get the bus or cycle where possible and we have an Art poster competition which is displayed throughout our school.
Our senior classes are provided with training on how to cycle safely and they get to practice this over a number of weeks which is a really great idea. More recently our breakfast club which provided free bottles of water to the children every day have switched to reusable plastic cups which has cut down on a lot of disposable plastic use. I believe children are becoming more aware of environmental issues eg how plastics end up in the sea affect the marine life and how the production of palm oil can endanger many species. Interesting lessons on fast fashion can be a good way to show how the choices we make can impact the environment. Also simple things like sectioning an area for wildlife within our school and making a bug hotel have sparked a natural curiousity and an interest in the natural world amongst the students. Next year a visit to look at the different ecosystems at a nearby beach would spark a good discussion on how our actions affect the environment around us.
Collecting plastic bottles /cans from home and depositing them in the re-turn machine at the local supermarket would be a good way to raise funds for the school and the class would enjoy the trip too!
Hi Dervilla,
From engaging with this online course I too hope to make more informed, sustainable choices when I go food shopping. I also think that The Seafood Nutrition Handbook has plenty of ideas that would work well for group work and graphing.
While I was aware that eating fish had countless health advantages, I was surprised by watching the videos just how healthy it really is. I was amazed to hear that salmon and mussels contains twice as much protein as beef. It contains healthy fats, omega 3 fatty acids, protein, vitamin A, vitamin D, potassium, zinc and iodine other essential minerals are these all found in abundance in fish.It is really important to teach children from an early age that eating fish is filled with nutritional benefits that can boost their health and week being. Last year for our Healthy Eating week we had a chef come to our school and cook with each class.Perphaps setting out an initiative in our school to try to get the children to make and enjoy a simple fish recipe using fish from a local supplier would encourage and perhaps inspire children to eat more fish. Teaching the food pyramid and placing a particular emphasis on the benefits of fish would be useful. In our school we have a healthy eating policy and many children are making healthy choices surrounding fruit and vegetables thanks to Dept initiatives but I definitely feel that the children could be educated more on the benefits of adding more fish to their diet. I would dicuss the food pyramid and where fish/seafood appears on the pyramid and the recommended amount that we should eat. I would dicuss their own consumption of fish.. fish fingers, fish cakes, fish pie etc, tuna etc. Watching the videos from the Arc online resources would help children learn about the nutritional benefits of fish. Examining food labels eg MSC (wild sourced) ASC cert(responsibly sourced from a farm that is traceable) and encouraging children to bring in packaging from home and learning about the labelling and examining the different nutritional information would be a good starting point. I think they would really enjoy the Eye Spy Supermarket game and would encourage them to become more aware of making healthy sustainable choices especially when the get older. Providing children with taste tests of different fish and cooking using recipes from sustainably sourced fish recipes could help then try new fish and grow their love of this nutritious food.
Hi Diarmuid,
I really like your drama ideas especially the patron who wouldn’t try anything new! This could be a fun and humourous way to get children thinking about why it is important to try new foods! Thanks for sharing some great ideas!
The online Arc videos are a fun and engaging way to introduce various topics for the children to explore. They are very child friendly and I can see my class next year really enjoying them. I think they would really enjoy Professor O Mara and the way he presents the material in a very accessible way. The quizzes are also a great way to assess the child’s learning. I thought the survey where the children quiz their family and friends on their knowledge and attitudes towards fish and aquaculture a great way to link in with the home. I found the video on the nutritional benefits that fish provides very insightful. Many different lessons could be incorporated here, eg place value, ordering numbers, healthy eating, looking into reading food labels on fish packaging and how to read and understand the traffic light system on food packaging. Maths lessons where they compare and contrast different types of fish and eg whitefish or shellfish and their different habitats(zones) using Venn diagrams for example. Lessons and group projects on sustainable aquaculture practices would help increase Stem skills and develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills while working collaboratively. Lessons on materials eg designing wellies for younger classes,eg wetsuit for the older classes where they design and test their ideas. We regularly have the coast guard come and visit our school which the children really love but I think it would be really interesting and a great idea to have a diver come to visit our school to discuss their job!A blue school award for our school would also be a great way for our whole school to become more actively involved in the care of our oceans,seas and rivers. This could be a new target for our SSE in our school and discussed amongst the staff. I am looking forward to sharing these great resources with my colleagues next year.
The Aquaculture industry has grown from a small scale industry in the 1980s to producing over 40000 tonnes of fish and shellfish in 2021. The aquaculture sector is a major contributor to seafood production and food security in Ireland. As pressure grows on the availability of land for agriculture, aquaculture has great potential for further expansion given our great coastal location with natural harbours, bays and inlets making it very attractive for aquaculture.Fish and shellfish are farmed in 14 coastal counties predominantly along the Western Atlantic Seafront.The presence of the Gulf Stream which warms our waters and allows us to sustain a thriving aquaculture sector is very important to Irelands aquaculture industry. Killary harbour, Irelands only fjord is ideal for mussel and oyster farming. Aquaculture employs around 2000 people directly mainly in rural communities where agriculture isn’t as viable.It supports rural communities creating many more jobs indirectly eg marketing, conservation and management, seafood processing,infrastructure, fishing vessel engineering,commercial divers,marine biologists and food scientists. This course has opened up my eyes to the importance of aquaculture to Irelands food security and to it’s economy. I enjoyed learning about the different tidal zones and fish/plants/shellfish that live there and I found this very interesting.
I found module one very interesting and informative as I have always really enjoyed learning about the natural world and caring for the environment.It introduced me to new engaging tools that are available to help children learn about the sea and the inter connectedness of marine ecosystems. Aquaculture teaches children about marine plants and animals,the importance of responsible farming practices and the impact of human activities has on these ecosystems. This is very important in today’s world where conservation is crucial in continuing to protect the precious resources we have. One such fantastic way to deepen the child’s understanding of aquaculture is through the ARC project. This mobile interactive unit is an excellent way to help children learn about the sea and foster a greater understanding and respect for marine life. I am really looking forward to signing my class up for the ARC truck next year!Another great initiative is the Taste the Atlantic trail and the Irish Salmon Visitor experience in Co. Clare.This initiative is another great tool to further deepen children’s learning about Ireland’s fish and the seafood industry here.This can be linked in with many subjects – History, Geography, Science and SPHE. Also The Young Chef Ambassador programme funded by the BIM could inspire children to take up a career in this area.