Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
It’s nice to see what kind of impact you could have doing projects like this in a school with limited green spaces!
How can increasing biodiversity in our school garden help reduce the effects of climate change and improve habitats for pollinators?
This question is relevant to my role teaching fourth class in a DEIS primary school in Dublin, where pupils can investigate a real issue within their own school environment. We have a large outdoor space, using the Climate Detectives research planner, pupils could observe the school grounds, identify areas with low biodiversity and suggest practical improvements such as planting pollinator-friendly flowers, creating bug hotels or adding raised beds. They could collect data by recording the number of insects and plants before and after changes are made, take photographs and present their findings using graphs and digital presentations.
To encourage participation, I would allow pupils to work in small groups and give them ownership of different aspects of the investigation. By connecting the project to our Green Schools programme and school garden, pupils can see the impact of their work and understand that small local actions can make a positive contribution to tackling climate change.
Hi Mollie I agree that its great children will have the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills by collecting and interpreting information rather than just being given the answers
Satellite tracking website:
- International Space Station (14 July 2026) This station is a crewed research lab where astronauts carry out science experiments.
- Sentinel-2A (14 July 2026) This is part of a European Space Agency programme and captures detailed images to monitor forests, agriculture, water quality and climate change.
- NOAA-19 (14 July 2026). This collects data for weather forecasts and climate monitoring.
- Terra (14 July 2026). This is a NASA satellite which studies land, oceans and atmosphere to improve our understanding of environmental change.
- Starlink satellite (14 July 2026) These satellites provide broadband internet coverage especially in remote areas.
It’s interesting how many different satellites pass us regularily and all the diverse uses they have.
I like your idea of using children’s stories like “The snail and the whale” Eleanor, stories like this could help start conversations with younger children about the environment in a way in which they can relate easily!
Home is a powerful documentary that shows the beauty of our planet while highlighting the impact that human activity has on the environment. Through stunning aerial footage, it explains how deforestation, pollution, intensive farming and fossil fuel use contribute to climate change and biodiversity loss. While it raises important environmental concerns, the film also leaves viewers with a sense of hope by showing that positive action can make a real difference.
The other video clips in this module work well alongside HOME, explaining ideas such as the greenhouse effect and climate change. Together, they help pupils understand how people’s actions affect the environment and encourage them to think about solutions.
As a Fourth Class teacher in a DEIS primary school in Dublin, I would introduce climate change through practical, hands-on learning. I would start by discussing pupils’ own experiences of weather and the changing seasons before exploring how climate change is affecting Ireland through flooding, biodiversity loss and more extreme weather. Activities such as maintaining our school garden, setting up a weather station and taking part in Green Schools projects would help pupils make real-life connections between climate science and their local environment. By focusing on simple actions like reducing waste, saving energy and encouraging biodiversity, pupils can see that even small changes can have a positive effect.
I found Activity 3 – Climate Reporters to be engaging and interactive for primary school pupils. The Paxi video provided a clear and child-friendly explanation of greenhouse gases, making it easy to understand through colourful visuals and simple language. The future temperature prediction tool encouraged pupils to explore how different levels of greenhouse gas emissions can affect global temperatures, helping them to make connections between human actions and climate change. This inquiry-based approach promotes critical thinking and discussion while supporting the Geography and Science curriculum.
I would use this activity with my class as part of a lesson on weather, climate or sustainability. Pupils could work in pairs or groups to discuss what effect global warming may have on our planet in the future. They explore different scenarios before discussing their predictions as a class and writing a climate summary for the year 2050. To improve the activity, I would include a short quiz or reflection sheet to check understanding, along with extension tasks that encourage pupils to identify practical actions they can take at home or in school to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.I like the idea of getting a class to compare their weather observations with those from different counties or countries, I know many teachers I know who already have penpal classes in other counties so this would be easy to do!
Liston (2018) argues that STEM education should move beyond teaching Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics as isolated subjects and instead integrate them. In my role teaching Fourth Class in a primary school in Dublin, STEM is most effective when it is hands-on, collaborative and relevant to pupils’ everyday lives. Inquiry-based learning encourages children to ask questions, investigate problems, analyse evidence and communicate their findings, while also developing creativity, resilience and teamwork.
Activities 1 and 2 are engaging introductions to the concepts of weather and climate. Activity 1 effectively helps pupils distinguish between short-term weather conditions and long-term climate patterns using accessible examples and discussion. Activity 2 encourages pupils to observe, record and interpret weather data, promoting scientific enquiry and prediction skills. The activities are well scaffolded and suitable for upper primary pupils, supporting both Science and Geography.
I would use these activities as the starting point for a class weather investigation. Pupils could establish a simple weather station in the school grounds to measure temperature, rainfall, wind direction and cloud cover over several weeks. The data collected could support our Green Schools programme and school garden by helping pupils investigate how weather influences planting, watering schedules and biodiversity. This would provide an authentic context for learning while helping pupils make connections between weather, climate, sustainability and environmental responsibility within their local community.
The activities also offer valuable opportunities to integrate STEM across the curriculum. Pupils could use digital technology to record observations, create graphs and present findings, apply mathematical skills when analysing data, and design simple weather instruments using recycled materials. Working collaboratively would further develop communication and problem-solving skills while promoting active learning.
One improvement would be to include differentiated extension activities for pupils requiring additional challenge, such as comparing Dublin’s climate with other regions or investigating how climate change may influence local weather patterns. Providing opportunities for long-term data collection and links to citizen science projects would also deepen learning and help pupils appreciate how scientists gather evidence over time. Overall, these activities provide an engaging, practical foundation for developing scientific understanding while encouraging curiosity, critical thinking and environmental awareness.
STEM education is not about teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics as separate subjects, but about integrating them through meaningful, real-world problem-solving. In my classroom, STEM is developed through inquiry-based learning, collaboration and hands-on investigations where pupils ask questions, collect evidence and communicate their findings.
The ESA resources “Nose Up High in the Sky” and “Weather vs Climate” provide engaging, practical activities that encourage observation, data collection and critical thinking. I would use these activities to establish a weather station within our school grounds, where pupils could measure temperature, rainfall, wind speed and cloud cover over time. The information collected could be used to support our Green Schools programme and school garden by helping pupils identify the most suitable times for planting, watering and maintaining vegetables, herbs and pollinator-friendly flowers. Pupils could investigate how seasonal weather patterns influence plant growth and biodiversity, making meaningful connections between climate, sustainability and food production in an urban Dublin setting.
This project develops STEM skills by applying science through investigation, using technology to record and present weather data, engineering by designing and constructing simple weather instruments, and mathematics through measuring, graphing and analysing results. I would encourage collaboration across the school by sharing weather data between classes, displaying weekly weather reports, monitoring the progress of the school garden, and presenting findings during Green Schools initiatives and assemblies. This cross-curricular approach promotes scientific enquiry, environmental stewardship and pupil leadership while helping children appreciate how climate and weather influence their local environment and the sustainable practices they can adopt within their school community.