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I absolutely agree Kathleen, as a society we definitely are over focused on ‘bad’ food and we should try to avoid them as much as possible. I was taken aback one day in class when we were talking about milk and it’s benefits. We then began talking about the different types of milk and one of the children referred to ‘girls milk.’ When I asked further they said ‘the pink one’ which of course was skimmed milk. They then said they wouldn’t drink it for another few years but would when they were a teenager. I found this absolutely shocking. Children need to be educated as to the benefits of eating certain types of food and see that actually we can get all the nutrients we need from the food we eat.
We are also a Green School, our focus this year has been to reduce packaging waste, where the green school committee have been keeping track of the amount of packaging our school lunches. We have noticed that there is an over all trend to reduce the amount of cling-film, tinfoil etc.
Luckily we are in the position to promote walking, cycling etc to school and some of the older children have divided into cycling groups where they call for each other on the way to school and all come down together.
I live in what was once a small village on the Meath/Kildare border but it is getting bigger and bigger by the year. As part of a county-wide renewal scheme, the village received €500,000 to refurbish the old parish hall, which had fallen into a state of disrepair, into a versatile community facility, promoting social sustainability and reducing the environmental impact of new construction. The aim is to create a modern, accessible hub with improved heating, wiring, which can benefit the whole community.
The village is also involved in The Town Centre First initiative, this aims to revitalise the centre of the village by focusing on creating a vibrant and attractive place for living, working, and visiting. This involves addressing challenges like dereliction and vacant properties, and improving the overall environment to encourage more activity in the town centre. The committee also want people to become more active in their own community and take an interest in what is going on around them.
In my own school we have developed close links with the Tidy Towns committee who regularly come into school to do planting and gardening. They take the classes on historical walks in the village and encourage them to become involved in town clean-ups etc.Well, I know I’d start this classroom lesson as a complete hypocrite because I wouldn’t be the best seafood eater myself even though I am well aware of the many nutritional benefits found in the different fish.
I’d probably start by getting the class looking up the many omega-3 fatty acids, high-quality protein, vitamins like D and B12, and essential minerals such as iodine and selenium that are found in seafood. They could then do some research into why these are good for us. Learning about the benefits of different foods can sometimes change how we look at them and doing this research can help children see how seafood is a valuable part of a balanced diet, especially for brain and heart health.
It’s a great way to tie in science with real life. Students can explore where their food comes from and how nutrients affect the body. It might even get them to see that food is more than just fuel, it impacts how we feel, think, and perform. If like our school, you are lucky enough to have cooking facilities it might be nice to try making some simple fish dishes as a class, fish cakes, fish pie etc.Having looked at the online lessons and resources developed for the ARC I can see many useful concepts and skills that I could try to incorporate into my classroom. The first video with Professor O Mara would be a useful introduction to group based projects on different farming techniques at sea. Each group could be given a different fish-muscles, oysters, salmon etc to research during IT sessions and maybe make a GoogleSlide/PowerPoint presentation on what they learned. They could then present these to the whole class. Working together on these projects would surely cover all aspects of STEM. If they compared figures of fish farming in Ireland over the years or fish farming figures in Ireland to those globally this could incorporate a maths element to the project. They could also include figures of species that might be considered to be over-fished in Irish waters and what measures we are taking to prevent this to include an “environmental awareness and care,” aspect to the project. In regard to STEM education and SSE the school could review the practises that are working well in the school and set new targets for areas of STEM to focus on for the coming school year/years.
This is an interesting reflection Colette. I agree that it is great to see how the ARC lessons can bring aquaculture life to students further away from the coast. Any resource that is hands-on, interactive and visually engaging is always a hit in the classroom. I think these will help spark curiosity and awareness among the pupils. I would also have thought the opposite about the salmon fact. It just goes to show how important aquaculture has become globally.
As was covered in this module, Ireland’s unique landscape of bays, inlets, estuaries, islands and fjords provides all the features essential for aquaculture. Ireland’s west coast landscape features mean it is more suited to aquaculture than agriculture. Aquaculture operations, including salmon, mussel, oyster, and seaweed farms are active across at least 14 coastal counties in Ireland. The most common aquaculture species in Ireland seem to be salmon, mussels, and oysters while the cultivation of seaweed is an emerging industry in Ireland. I have found out that aquaculture supports nearly 2000 direct jobs in Ireland. This obviously has a knock on effect for all local industries, by keeping people living in an area it has a positive impact on other business and service industries and also for the community as a whole keeping schools, GAA teams etc going. Aquaculture can keep traditional coastal lifestyles alive, supporting things like fishing, boat-making, and working on the sea.
As was covered in this module, Ireland’s unique landscape of bays, inlets, estuaries, islands and fjords provides all the features essential for aquaculture. Ireland’s west coast landscape features mean it is more suited to aquaculture than agriculture. Aquaculture operations, including salmon, mussel, oyster, and seaweed farms are active across at least 14 coastal counties in Ireland (Cork, Donegal, Galway, Wexford, Kerry etc). The most common aquaculture species in Ireland seem to be salmon, mussels, and oysters while the cultivation of seaweed is an emerging industry in Ireland. I have found out that aquaculture supports nearly 2000 direct jobs in Ireland. This obviously has a knock on effect for all local industries, by keeping people living in an area it has a positive impact on other business and service industries and also for the community as a whole keeping schools, GAA teams etc going. Aquaculture can keep traditional coastal lifestyles alive, supporting things like fishing, boat-making, and working on the sea.
As was covered in this module, Ireland’s unique landscape of bays, inlets, estuaries, islands and fjords provides all the features essential for aquaculture. Ireland’s west coast landscape features mean it is more suited to aquaculture than agriculture. Aquaculture operations, including salmon, mussel, oyster, and seaweed farms are active across at least 14 coastal counties in Ireland (Cork, Donegal, Galway, Wexford, Kerry etc). The most common aquaculture species in Ireland seem to be salmon, mussels, and oysters while the cultivation of seaweed is an emerging industry in Ireland. I have found out that aquaculture supports nearly 2000 direct jobs in Ireland. This obviously has a knock on effect for all local industries, by keeping people living in an area it has a positive impact on other business and service industries and also for the community as a whole keeping schools, GAA teams etc going. Aquaculture can keep traditional coastal lifestyles alive, supporting things like fishing, boat-making, and working on the sea.
I think you’ve highlighted an important perspective here Eimear. Exploring aquaculture in the classroom emphasises the important connection between natural resources, local economies, and community well-being. It also increases pupils understanding of sustainability with the environment. It helps them understand why looking after natural resources matters, not just for the planet but for jobs, food, and the places we live.
Learning about Aquaculture and Social License can have a meaningful and lasting impact on primary school students in many different ways. Firstly, aquaculture helps students understand where food like fish and seafood comes from. As a previous participant of the course mentioned, for an island nation we know surprising little about sea fishing and where the food comes from. It introduces the idea of sustainable food systems and the importance of keeping oceans and waterways healthy. This ties in nicely with the SESE curriculum when covering the Environmental Awareness and Care aspect and allows students to explore how human actions affect the environment.
Social licence introduces classes to the ideas of fairness, respect and community input. It gives a chance for children to explore industries like fish farming, the lives of the people who involved in this industry and how it affects the planet. All of this helps to build a sense of accountability and social responsibility for students.I agree, I think it’s important to introduce young learners to important real-world topics in a meaningful and engaging way. Teaching aquaculture and social license through stories, art, and discussion not only makes learning fun but also helps build empathy, responsibility, and critical thinking. Children today have much more awareness and understanding of their role in caring for the planet than we did at their age.
Dr Patten is a great idea for a science project Fiona. All children seem to have a natural curiosity about space and space travel. I always find children really engage when doing any projects on space and discover all kinds of new information which they love to feed back to the rest of the class. Having an astronaut coming from the local are will no doubt draw lots of interest from the class.
A famous scientist from our local area: Kildare
Kathleem Lonsdale made important discoveries about the shape of molecules using X-rays. She was the first female professor at University College London and an advocate for women in the scientific field.
Kathleen Lonsdale was born in Newbridge in 1903. She was the youngest of ten children. Her father was the postmaster in Newbridge. Kathleen’s mother, worried at the political problems in Ireland at the time, took the children to live in England in 1908.
Kathleen showed great ability at school and won a scholarship to an all girls school. She took classes in physics, chemistry and higher mathematics but had to attend these classes at the local boys’ school as these subjects were not taught in her school.
She continued to excel at school and won many scholarships. She graduated from university with a degree in physics. Her talent was spotted by a scientist who offered her a place on his research team at University College, London.
Lonsdale specialized in crystallography. She made many important discoveries in that field. She was also one of the first female scientists to be recognized for her work by receiving various awards and honours.
Lonsdale became ill in 1970 and died the following year. She is remembered in her native Kildare at NUI Maynooth. The Lonsdale Prize is awarded each year to the student of chemistry who receives the best results in their degree.
Kathleen could be used as inspiration to keep going during scientific experiments even when things don’t seem to be working out. She had to fight hard for recognition as a female in a male dominated field.
This is a very comprehensive lesson plan on bridge building. It requires a lots of group effort and critical thinking before any bridge building takes place at all. There are great opportunities for encouraging cooperative learning and listening to all opinions in the group. Children could Think, Pair, Share to come up with ideas for building a bridge and then decide together which idea they think would be the most successful. It is a good opportunity for them to learn that as with all designs the first attempt is usually not successful and adjustment will need to be made along the way.
