Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Sustainability projects in Dublin have gained significant momentum in recent years, reflecting a broader national push towards environmental responsibility and sustainable urban development. Efforts to enhance green spaces and promote urban biodiversity through developing and maintaining parks and community gardens and spaces in the city is much more evident in recent years. As a school we regularly take field trips to our local parks and celebrate these spaces and the investment in them in recent years.
The Dublin Climate Action Plan outlines a comprehensive strategy to reduce carbon emissions and enhance climate resilience. Key initiatives of this plan include: upgrading public and private buildings to improve energy efficiency and promoting the use of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. Dublin has seen a huge increase in solar panel installations on both residential and commercial properties in recent years with government grants driving this increase and motivating people to invest in this sustainable energy source. These efforts have led to a measurable decrease in carbon emissions, improved air quality, and cost savings on energy bills for residents and businesses. Studying statements from the climate action plan with the students will provide discussion points for sustainability. Last year for the Young Scientist programm,e we wlooked at renewable energy sources and their impact.
Dublin has also focused on improving its public transportation infrastructure to reduce reliance on private vehicles. Key projects include Luas expansion and the Bus Connects projects. Investment in these projects have increased public transport usage, reduced traffic congestion, and lowered transportation-related emissions. Dublin has also invested in cycling infrastructure by expanding the cycle lane network and the Dublin bikes scheme to promote cycling as a sustainable mode of transportation.These initiatives have led to a significant increase in cycling, reduced vehicular traffic, and promoted healthier lifestyles among Dubliners. We are a green school and the children in our school complete a cyfcle safety course in 5th and 6th class. We also have COW or WOW. Walk on Wednesday or cycle on wednesday which is hugely popular with the children. Data projects on haow we travel are also popular with students and the prevelence of e-vehicles in recent years another point for discussion or exploration.
Dublin has implemented several projects aimed at improving waste management and promoting recycling through awareness campaigns, tidy towns and community projects. My local park has a monthly litter pick up by residents. We also do litter picker pals in our locality. The new “return” deposit recycling scheme which has been controversial should increase recycling rates and definitely reduce plastic bottle and can dumping in our city.
I know that In September we will have a return bottle bin in our classroom where we could make a charitable docation at the end of the month.Hi Dareca,
Some lovely sustainable, hands -on work being done in your local community. Well done, I love the beach clean up idea.
Hi Sinead, a lesson on food misguidance is a great idea. I know that a lot of “healthy choices” are not always as healthy as they seem. Discussions with our students on this topic and giving them autonomy is so important.
It is important to promote healthy eating in our classrooms and this module has been very informative in demonstrating the nutritional benefit of seafood. I will definitely apply this knowledge to the classroom. The HSE healthy food for life, food pyramid is always a great starting point for classroom discussion on the foods that we need to eat for a healthy diet.
The macronutrient of protein represented by the yellow layer in the food pyramid is essential for our growth and developmnet, muscle repair, biochemical reactions, hormone regulation and healthy hair, skin and nails. Fish and shellfish are excellent protein sources as well as being naturally high in vitamins, minerals and amino acids. The word cloud image from this module could be used in the classroom to facilitate discussion on the nutritional value of fish and seafoods. The Salmon of Knowledge story links SESE in to the importance of essential amino acids forund in salmon and brain development. The Seafood Nutrition Handbook could be used for project work and graphing.
I loved the Eye spy in the supermarket activity and the information provided on seafood labeling and sustainability was very beneficial. It’s great to see that our consumption of seafood has increased so much since the 1970’s. I definitely reflected on my own seafood shopping and will look out for these labels in the future.
Nice idea for involving the younger students in a sustainability poster/art project. There are some lovely cross curricular ideas and projects to be explored here!
The Arc resoources provided by BIM provide practical, engaging resources and materials for teaching Aquaculture in the senior primary classroom. An area that is definitely overlooked after learning it contributes to around 1.3 billion GDP and is a sustainable practice. The lessons provided strongly align with the SSE guidelines for improving teaching and learning for our students and I will definitely be bringing the resources from this course back to my colleagues and exploring a pursuit of a blue award or an Arc visit.
Each of the lessons outlined on the BIM ARC resources are cross curricular and multidisciplinary and have clear STEM activities and opportunities encouraging the development of critical thinking, problem solving skills and deepening understanding through authentic and creative learning tasks.
For example, Lesson 3 looks at aqualculture in the community and highlights the vast employment that aquaculture provides in fish farms both direct and indirect. From net making to marine biologists to skippers, engineers and divers. The importance of STEM based careers is clearly illustrated. The aquanaut/ astronaut comparison is one that the children could really get on board with. There is so much room for meaningful discussions on direct/indirect employment form fish farming. The life cycle of the salmon in another lesson could be explored and the children could design their own equipment, technologies or marketing campaigns for the healthy, sustainable and organic salmon famed here on our coast. The Google quiz at the end of each module is another valuable and fun means of assessing the childrens learning.
Module 2 was really informative. I picked up some useful information and reaources on weather, climate, Wladamir Kopen’s 5 macro climates before learning about Ireland’s temperate marine climate where we experience mild, mixed weather conditions all year round.
Our “Goldilocks climate” is certainly wet and damp with no extreme temperatures so ideal for food production ie. agriculture and aquaculture. 65% of our land is suitable for agriculture with our west coast aquaculture predominant. The Atlantic ocean’s weathering of our coastlines has created our unique coastline of bays, inlets and islands essential for aquaculture production. I really enjoyed learning about Killery fjord, intertidal zones and the species that live there and thought the rocky shore zonation video was very interesting.
Here in Ireland we fish atlantic salmon, pacific rock oysters and blue Mussels on our wild atlantic coastline which contributes greatly to Ireland’s economy by providing employment, tourism, promoting sustainable practice, showcasing local Irish produce and innovation and of course the global export of produce to the global market.
Highly engaging and informative module on aquaculture in Ireland which I personally knew little about. Links throughout module to the history and evolution of fish farming and the evolution of these practices in Ireland and beyond. I found it surprising that aquaculture only really began here in the 1970’s and this would be a great starting point for an inquiry based learning project. I think that the children in our classrooms would really love engaging with all of the resources provided in this module and exploring the life cycles of Atlantic salmon, Blue Mussels and Pacific rock oysters as well as the diverse ecosystems and farming practices used in faming these. Huge links to sustainability and climate action here also.
The mobile ARC classroom looks amazing, it is no surprise that it is in high demand. I will definitely be joining the waitlist for a visit or to have our school involved in some of the webinars or events hosted!
Great to see the support provided by the social licensing projects by BIM through the videos on the Atlantic Sea trail, Mulroy Bay Mussels, Burren Smokehouse, Taste the Atlantic/ Young Chef ambassador programme and Next Generation Oyster Producers also. So much innovation and expertise to be shown and shared and an insight into a buisness or career in the local community.
The BIM website provides child friendly, fun content that the children cna really engage with. The students will really enjoy all of the video content, bringing aquaculture topics into the classroom in an engaging manner. I enjoyed the resource on the lifecycle of the salmon and rope farming of mussels.
Hi Marie,
Thanks for sharing some wonderful resources and activities, I can definitely see the practicality and adaptability of the resources and activities to be used during Aistear across different curriculum areas throughout the year.
What a practical module with some great ideas, activites and resources for the classroom!
I really liked the activity on “The Spherical Earth.” I think that I will definitely use this with my class this year as I would have struggled to simplify this concept down to a junior level. I would use puppets to facilitate discussion. I love the idea of the role play converstaion between the penguin and the polar bear at opposite poles, a great way to use a globe with the class too with some links to shape and spave in numeracy, drawing on the childrens prior knowledge of shape and space and building on it. I think a slideshow of pictures from Earth and drawing on some othere ESERO resources to view pictures of Earth from space would be great here to facilitate discussions of our planet and it’s shape and to connect understanding that this is the Earth that we live in.
The simplicity and practicality of the earth mosaic activity really appeals to me. I think that it is a fantastic way to break the fixation of up/down when looking at Earth. It gives the children a differetn view when all of the mosaics are placed together and through discussion will help them to decipher why the two animals do not fall off the Earth!
Student Inquiry on properties of materials/Build a raft for the gingerbread man
Strand: Materials, Energy and Forces
Strand Unit: Properties and Characteristics of Materials, Floating and Sinking
Skills Development: observing, analysing, designing and making
Engage: Read the story of the Gingerbread man.
Trigger: The gingerbread man gets eaten by the fox in the story.
Wondering: I wonder how we could help the gingerbread man to get across the water safely for a better outcome. Let’s brainstorm on the board to explore options for the gingerbread man. I wonder if we could help the gingerbread to cross the river safely by building a raft. Let’s brainstorm what we might need to build the raft.
Exploring:Consider the options for the raft. Decide on 4 materials: Plastic, card, wood, sponge.
Investigate:
Starter Question: Which material will make the best boat for the gingerbread man?
Predicting:Record the childrens predictions.
Conducting Investigation: The children investigate with water trays and the gingerbread man, which material makes the best raft for the gingerbread to float on. The children record their observations on a pupil sheet.
Sharing/ Interpreting data or results: The children work in pairs/groups and share their experiences and observations with the class, drawing conclusions and deciding on the best raft material.
Applying learning
Making connections: the children discuss why some materials were not suitable for the raft and why others were. They discuss what other items float on water like boats and what they are made of.
Thoughtful Actions: Together we write a new end to the story where the gingerbread man makes it safely across the river on his new raft.Reflections: Teacher reflects on learning, makes adjustments for future lessons.