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Sustainability is key to using resources responsibly in the world we live today. The three pillars such as environmental, social and economic are all what we need to consider when going about our daily lives. Every small change counts. In my school our student council have been looking at the area of food packaging and trying to eliminate as much plastics and non recyclable products. Over the course of a coupe of weeks the mindset had changed and lunch boxes, brown paper bags and reusable drink bottle were used instead of tin-foil, cling film and and plastic bottles. Teaching this message had a huge impact on the school and certainly cut back on filling up the waste bins. Data was collected and shown to the various classes to see the improvements that had been made.
In my local area it is great to see the growing of plants that encourage bees in land which wouldn’t be used for agriculture etc. Considering how the world temperature could rise by 1.5 degrees by 2100 it is imperative we look at ways to combat this. The habitats directives should be explained to children in a child friendly manner how some species could be potentially in danger and have the same fate as the dodo bird. We can be sustainable by making better choices in relation to our power, water and food usage.
Using aquaculture sites for shellfish, seaweed production and salmon farming could lead to great advances such as biofuel and contribute to less waste in these areas. As an Ireland it is bizarre to think 98%of all seaweed production comes from Asia. Surly more industries could be supported to develop new products etc.
I think we can try and promote looking at food labels etc and being more sustainable in our choices. Could be something the student council and parents association could also take on board. Climate change is happening and we need to act. Being more conscious in a school setting in areas such as recycling, turning off lights etc and reducing our food waste can help the children be advocates in their own homes and communities.
Isobel I think the idea of community gardens are fantastic. It can bring a sense of community and togetherness to an area. Getting children involved also will hopefully in turn help them to be more sustainable in their choices going forward. Using recycled materials to create artwork is also a super initiative which should be rolled out across the country.
The nutrition of seafood was a really interesting module. Its important to highlight how important it is in our diets. Seafood contains complete proteins. In athletes it aids muscle repair. The HSE leaflets on healthy food for life and healthy eating are are very informative as they provide meal plans and information on portion size. The food pyramid is also very useful and interactive. We need to teach children of how beneficial seafood is in our diets. It is rich in Vitamin A,B and D. It also contains minerals such as zinc, calcium, magnesium and potassium. It was also interesting to note that oysters contain high levels of iron comparable to red meat. Shellfish heme iron is more easily absorbed than non heme found in plants. Omega 3 found in salmon stores oil in the muscles. They are important for cardiovascular health in adults and vision/ brain development in children.
Playing games such as I spy in the supermarket with children will get them to be more aware of the nutrition value of food and also to be aware of the importance of sourcing locally grown seafood. Great to see supermarkets such as Supervalu own brand products are very good in labelling whether the fish is affiliated with MSC or ASC.
The consumption of seafood in the 70s was 11kg pp and now it is 23kg which is still far behind that of Portugal which is at 55kg pp per year.
The seafood nutrition handbook from BIM is also useful to look at the various seafoods and determine their nutritional value.
I also like this idea Danielle. Unfortunately with so many children with various allergies etc it will be important to have the parents on board. The message of from sea to the table with very little processing in between is something we should all be trying to factor into our diets. Getting the children involved in what they eat and be mindful of these choices can only be a positive thing.
The ARC online lessons and resources are a great way to get children thinking about aquaculture especially in areas far away from the coastline. It makes it more accessible to all children bringing the sea to them. The lessons are very child friendly and interactive and I could see the children really engaging in them. They are hands on and age appropriate. The children will have a chance to see local coastal industries , promote awareness and in the future could be a career path for them. The lessons are fully immersive and curriculum aligned which is hugely beneficial. Lovely use of visuals so the children can embed what they are learning. The quiz will also give them the opportunity to test their knowledge. Some very interesting points of information and one in particular was that there is more farmed salmon eaten globally than beef. I really would have thought this is the opposite. We need to see the importance of investing in aquaculture and we do in our agriculture. Prioritising this as part of our STEM policy means that schools have access to a wealth of resources and information. The scope is endless in the area and the potential for integration across subjects is huge.
Patrice, I also agree that the amount of opportunities to engage in cross curricular are endless. Data collection lessons would be so meaningful as the children would be use current data to compile various graphs. It may also inspire some children to dig deeper and investigate more about our coastlines, rivers and lakes. Students will become critical thinkers and the use of IT will help them research and explore further.
By having ARC part of a STEM policy it will provide teachers with the confidence and skills to cover this content with the students.
Aquaculture is well suited to the west coast of Ireland due to the variety of species. As someone who has grown up near the Shannon Estuary, I feel it has been an area that hasn’t been explored to its fullest potential and is rich in mussels and oysters. There are also a number of islands which would also provide some shelter.
It would really benefit these local areas and generate another form of employment other than agriculture. Tourism would also improve if education was provided near these sites. It would also give the local people a sense of pride in their local area and promote it to the fullest.
The estuary in particular around the islands would be certainly a place where expansion into sustainable shellfish production would reap great benefits in the promotion of aquaculture in the west coast.
Marie , I agree with the points you made in particular to how communities can be revitalised by creating more opportunities to explore aquaculture. Having employment opportunities like this will encourage more people to move into these areas and upskill potentially in a different sector.
Yes Lyndsy totally agree the opportunities for a multi-sensory experience to educate children. It just shows that we don’t need to be in specific locations in order to acquire this information. Children need an awareness of the importance of our seas and rivers and how we must ensure they are protected.
This module was very informative. As a teacher in the senior classes for the past few years the ARC classroom looks so exciting. Being able to explore aquaculture in a setting outside of the classroom especially in an urban setting is very exciting. It looks so interactive and would certainly stimulate the minds of the children. We need to capture the minds of children not just in coastal/rural areas. I also learned of the role of BIM in educating children about all things in relation to aquaculture. I will certainly look into getting a speaker to come to the school at some stage if possible.
We are trying to encourage children to be critical thinkers. Many curricular areas are linked such as SPHE and Science. The young chef ambassador programme is a superb way for children to get to explore various food which can be found in our seas. Th life cycle of the salmon is also very interesting. The children would be aware of the life cycle of the frog and butterfly for example maybe its time to look at our rivers, lakes and oceans too for life cycles.
I would hope by giving the children the opportunity to study something different such as aquaculture it would cause them to be inquisitive about the world around them especially our marine life.
Research a famous scientist or engineer associated with your local area and describe how you would use that person as inspiration for classroom science investigations
Kathleen Lonsdale (1903 – 1971) was born in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, and moved later to England. She made important discoveries about the shapes of molecules using X-Rays. She was sent to a boys’ school to learn Science because it was not taught to girls then! She was the only girl there!
I had never heard of this lady and probably wouldn’t if I didn’t do this course. She sounded like a an amazing lady and showed us that our gender should not be something to stop us achieving our dreams. It would empower younger girls to dream big like she did. The opportunities are there now for girls to make huge advancements in the area of science.
Discuss with the children have they ever had a x-ray. What is the purpose of them?
With younger classes tell a story about a hospital visit and needing an x-ray.
Simple activities such as making a cardboard frame, photocopying some body parts like leg and arms and putting it into the frame and holding it up to the window. For older classes possible photocopy onto acetate sheets.
Use magnifying lenses to look at various items in more detail as Kathleen would have done when she would have looked closer at molecules possibly using microscopes.
I’ve only recently come to know that John Philip Holland was from Co.Clare. The suggestions both yourself and Úna have given would be really enjoyed by the children. The topics of floating and sinking are enjoyed at all ages.
Using the suspension bridge in Birr Castle Demesne or a bridge in your local area as inspiration, describe how you would plan a class or whole school challenge to design and make a bridge. How would you integrate mathematical thinking and incorporate the maths skills appropriate to your class level.
- Firstly we would brainstorm all their knowledge on bridges
- Fill in our K in our KWL chart
- Watch the video as shown in this module: what’s an engineer?
- Discuss new vocab arch, beam, truss etc
- Discuss materials used steel, concrete and iron. Which one is better?
- Look at picture of famous bridges around the world as stimulus
- Give criteria to groups. Construct bridge of a certain span using paper. It must hold 2 toy cars.
- Further expand this by allowing a boat to move underneath. the weight of the cars could also be made heavier.
- Only uses adhesive take, paper clips, pipe cleaners
- Use knex if possible or during ipad time minecraft could be used.
- Share experience with other groups and allow them to help problem solve if the criteria has not been reached.
- Use of the curious minds framework will also be helpful.
- Pictures of bridges and research on a bridge they found interesting could be done on google classroom.
- Maths aspect: at what span does the bridge need support? 2cm, 4cm , 6cm etc
- Make a tally of the most famous bridges and what materials are used to construct them
Very detailed plan there which I’m sure would lead to a successful lesson. I like the extensions activity of using other materials such as clay as it will lead to further problem solving and greater group discussion
Outline how you would use some of the course resources to conduct a seasonal biodiversity project to run throughout the school year. What resources and recording sheets would you need? How often would you bring learning outdoors? How would you integrate other subject areas?
Our school garden has been a blank canvas as we only moved into our new school building in 2022. In the past few months a huge effort has been made and the fruits of this work is starting to show. I think it would be a great place to conduct a flora trail. I would use the Wildflower walk as a tool. The children can be divided into mixed ability groups and can observe and monitor the various flora and fauna over the course of the the school year. We can look at conditions that favour certain plants. Do some need more shelter than others? Do we need to protect them over the winter months? The children are fortunate to have our school situated near the grand canal. This in turn might lead us to expand our research further into the community especially in the senior classes. A nature walk once per term will help to compare and contrast plant life that grows in the wild v a more streamlined setting. Art work could be done based on the various flowers. Graphs to show the numbers of flowers over the various seasons. Take pictures throughout the year and do a google slideshow for other classes. We may also observe different species and could record them on the national bio data centre to link in with our wildflower observations.
