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Sustainability has been a big focus in our school over the last number of years as part of the Green schools initiative. Our school organises a beach clean up at our local beach monthly and it is great for the school and community to collaborate with this. We also completed a turn off the tap campaign this year both in school and at home to reduce water usage and this led to great discussion and interest among the school. We also have done quite a bit of work on ways we can reduce our carbon footprint through more environmentally friendly methods of transport to and from the school. Next year we hope to focus on the area of recycling and waste management in our school.
This module highlighted the importance of seafood in our diet . It contains proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals such as Iron, Omega 3 fatty acids and Vitamin D. It is often overlooked when discussing the food pyramid and it is important for the children to understand the importance of incorporating more seafood into our diet. It is something i will look at in more detail from here on in with my class when discussing the food pyramid and discussing healthy eating. This topic could be explored in a variety of ways such as exploring the labels and packaging on seafood aswell as its nutrients, Data in maths when discussing how much seafood the class eat at home, the Salmon of Knowledge in history and creating a seafood dish in class or at home.
I found the online resources and lessons with the ARC very useful and beneficial. The lessons are child friendly end would be interesting for the pupils. Textbooks seem to focus more so on Agriculture with very little to be found with Aquaculture. I think these lessons would allow us to introduce the topic of Aquaculture. A nice way to do this would be to incorporate STEM activities by exploring the different professions that Aquaculture provides both directly and indirectly. The quiz at the end would be a great way to assess the children’s knowledge of the topic at the end of the lesson.
I also found this module quite interesting especially how the landscape has an impact on the type of farming that takes place in the region. The west coast of Ireland being most suitable for Aquaculture due to it being predominately covered by mountains. It is clear that there is a wide range of socio-economic benefits that come with this also. One main benefit is job creation with the fishing of salmon, mussels and oysters. Furthermore there are also opportunities with regards to sustainable food practice, tourism, marketing and food production.
I think it would be an interesting topic to learn about with my class next year and I think it would be a nice idea to do a comparison between Aquaculture in the west of Ireland and within our own coastal community here at home.I really enjoyed the first module (Introduction to Aquaculture) . I was unaware that there was such a wealth of resources available when learning about aquaculture in Ireland. I hope to include these in my SESE lessons in the future especially working in a school in a coastal town right next to the sea on the south east coast. I found the ARC (Aquculture remote classroom) particularly interesting and I think the kids would really benefit from this engaging and informative experience which they would certainly not forget. I have already signed up my school for the waiting list for a visit of the ARC. I also enjoyed the ‘Taste the Atlantic’ initiative and I liked how it can be linked to a wide range of curricular subjects. The BIM resources and content are child friendly and engaging and I hope to include these as a stimulus for my lessons next year.
