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The focus on endangered species is something that I found particularly interesting too Rachel. I really think that focusing on this shows the true danger of pollution and what we could lose if we don’t emphasise the importance of sustainable and renewable practices.
I live and teach in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. This particular area from my own experiences embraces sustainability through community gardens, effective waste management, renewable energy projects, and the preservation of green spaces like Belvedere House and Gardens. The town promotes cycling and walking, enhancing its sustainable transport infrastructure. Educational programs and workshops further foster a culture of environmental stewardship.
To engage my students in sustainability, practical and interactive activities are key:
School Trips or Observation Reports: Visit community gardens and renewable energy sites such as the local recycling centre to see sustainability in action. We have also been visited by this company on numerous occasions to educate our pupils on their projects.
Recycling Projects: We have implemented a school-wide recycling initiative, encouraging proper waste sorting, and a reuse project, where our students made art pieces for our school garden.
School Garden: I manage and run the school garden, where we grow various fruits, vegetables and flowers, this year we ran the project with the junior infants, which was great fun for all.
Creative Arts: Use recycled materials for art projects, emphasizing the value of reuse, which we then display outside the school and in our school forest.
Very interesting response Sinéad. I totally agree with your statement on food policy and how to encourage kids to eat more healthy and try out new foods. I also think that with the new hot food lunches in school, we should definitely be getting parents to try and order more variety and more seafood for their children in their lunches.
This module on seafood nutrition has been fascinating and integrates seamlessly into my current teaching of nutrition in the classroom. We currently explore the food pyramid, identifying various nutritional sources from fruits and vegetables, carbohydrates, dairy, proteins, and fats, and discuss appropriate portion sizes. Activities like sorting foods into groups and playing ‘guess the food’ make learning interactive and fun.
Incorporating seafood into our lessons would be straightforward and highly beneficial. We could identify the nutrients in different types of fish, emphasizing their health benefits. For example, we could discuss the rich omega-3 content in salmon and its benefits for brain health and development.
A particularly engaging approach would be using the story ‘The Salmon of Knowledge’. This tale could serve as a springboard for discussing why salmon is seen as a symbol of wisdom, linking it to the nutrients it provides and their role in maintaining a healthy body.
The ‘I spy’ lesson from the module is a great way to teach children about labels and their importance, which also nicely integrates with SPHE too. This could help children learn to make informed and sustainable food choices, which they can share with their families. By integrating these elements, we can enhance our nutrition education program, empowering students with the knowledge to make healthier dietary choices and understand the importance of seafood in a balanced diet.
Using the online lessons and resources developed for the ARC at The ARC – Online Lessons & Resources, I can integrate the concepts and skills covered to enhance my teaching practices in alignment with the STEM Education Policy Statement. These resources emphasize the significance of aquaculture, providing an excellent opportunity to expand our curriculum beyond traditional agriculture. By incorporating these materials, we can address STEM education as part of the SSE process on a school-wide basis.
The ARC videos highlight the importance of aquaculture in Ireland, which can be a springboard for discussions and projects that connect science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Integrating aquaculture into our lessons would offer students a hands-on, real-world application of STEM concepts, from marine biology to environmental engineering.
Furthermore, by focusing on aquaculture, we can introduce students to various career opportunities in this growing industry, such as marine biologists, engineers, and commercial divers. This approach aligns with the goals of the STEM Education Policy Statement by fostering skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation.
In summary, the ARC online lessons and resources provide a comprehensive framework to incorporate aquaculture into our teaching practices, enriching the STEM education experience and supporting the SSE process across our school.
Totally agree with you Sinéad, the older children are often more eager to engage when there’s a quiz to look forward to. The ARC resources are very insightful and will be useful in displaying and bringing to life the topic of aquaculture.
This module provided me with great insight into the location of aquacultural farms and the importance of plotting the location of such farms depending on the species that are being farmed. Ultimately the examples provided, highlighted that coastal areas are best suited for aquacultural farming and that the terrain would not be suitable for agricultural farming, as they are often mountainous, rocky and difficult to navigate compared to the midlands and eastern Ireland.
Looking at the location of aquacultural farms along the west coast of Ireland, the impact that these farms have socio-economically speaking, are huge. They clearly provide employment, fresh local produce, and very notably keep the tradition of oyster and mussel farming alive in these regions, an aspect of Irish culture that we are renowned for worldwide. The opportunities that are provided are also greatly important, for example enabling young marine biologists to obtain commercial diving training and qualifications through BIM, is a phenomenal aspect of this initiative, as students can get their training within Ireland, while also living, learning and experiencing the local traditions that these aquacultural farms offer.
I thoroughly enjoyed Module 1 and can’t wait to learn more about the functionality of the ARC and also how the workshops run too. From the content that I’ve seen so far in the first module, I believe that learning about Aquaculture is of vital importance for my students, as it will help put aside any misconceptions surrounding overfishing and the processes used by aquacultural farmers in Ireland. Commonly, students tend to not fully understand the ways in which fish and shellfish are nurtured and farmed, as we often are not exposed to it as much, whereas with agricultural farming we often see on a daily basis especially in the countryside. Also, from my own perspective and that of my students, we are in Westmeath so often we rarely if ever witness aquacultural farming near us.
The tools of course, will help us as teachers provide the information needed for students and to present it all in an interesting and enlightening manner, and often showcasing and presenting the actual livestock and species being farmed is where students become really interested in the topic of aquaculture and social policy.
