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Hi Susan, I love this idea !! I think it would lead to great discussions and has potential across the whole curriculum.
Hi, my name is Shona Murphy…..I am teaching in Co Waterford. I am currently in SET but am involved in promoting STEM in our school and I am also involved in Aistear and station teaching in the junior end so I thought this course would be interesting and helpful.
Space Fact :It would take over 1000 years for a spacecraft to cross our galaxy and we are like a grain of sand on an infinite beach …makes you feel small!!
Hi Michelle,
I agree that The Salmon of Knowledge is a great way to explore healthy eating in a cross curricular way.
Shona
Hi Darerca,
Yes it is great to see that this sustainable activity can bring jobs and thus population growth to areas of Ireland that need a boost in this regard.
Shona
Hi Grainne, I agree the ARC sounds like something that would go down so well at school. I think the waiting list will be extra long after this course!!
Shona
This was another informative and interesting module!
I think sustainability is a vital area to study and promote in our schools. In our school we don’t allow single use plastic and this has had a significant impact , you can see a dramatic reduction in our bin collections. A 4th class proudly announced one day that her reusable sandwich box had served her well since junior infants! Little things like this could have an impact on our throw away culture.
We also have a school fruit and vegetable garden with apple trees, strawberry plants and many vegetables as well as a herb garden. This has proven to be an invaluable project for the senior classes. at lunch time the children are free to go out and get some lettuce etc to add to their sandwiches which they love.
We also have a wild flower area and certain areas around our grounds that are allowed to grow wild. Another poster had the idea of a no mow May which I thought was nice, We are quite near the coast and our nearest town has a tidy towns committee. I would love to get the school involved in this next year. They do periodic beach cleans so this would be something we could get involved with next year.
Hi Darerca,
It sounds like your school has some lovely ideas up and running. I love the idea of no mow May ! I might suggest this at my own school.
Shona
Hi Andrea,
I agree that including the topic of seafood in our teaching has many benefits such as promoting healthy lifestyles, environmental awareness and sustainability.
I found this module very interesting indeed. In our school we try to put an emphasis on healthy eating as an integral part of overall health and wellbeing. I like the idea as using the food pyramid to promote a healthy balanced diet. Fish is such a nutritious food. I didn’t realise that it is a complete protein containing all the amino acids needed by the human body as well as being a source of vitamin d, iron and omega 3. I will also print the seafood nutrition as a classroom resource. I like the idea of using the Salmon of Knowledge story as a discussion point around fish as a brain food…how wise were our forefathers to realise this before modern science could tell us ! I think as a nation we generally need to include more fish in our diet ..it is fresh, sustainable, local , delicious and so healthy for us. It would be a nice challenge with older classes to ask them to encourage their families to have a fish night once a week (as a starting point), sharing ideas etc. I also like the idea of studying food labels and educating children about what to look for when food shopping.
I watched the 4 lessons on the ARC site yesterday as part of module 2. However I rewatched lesson 4 :Sustainability today for the purpose of this assignment. The very topic of ‘sustainability’ would tie in very nicely to our SSE plan going forward as it is something we all need to focus on. The video explained the concept of sustainability in a nice child friendly way. The links to STEM around this topic are endless eg maths …population growth Engineering ..jobs around the aquaculture industry. There would be great scope for project work here in the senior classes eg exploring food labels in local shops, a beach clean, a visit to an aquafarm . This would link with the fundamentals of STEM education in many ways …obviously touching on the STEM subjects, a cross disciplinary approach, skills building and problem solving, collaboration and linking in other subjects eg geography and visual arts. The younger could also get involved eg create a poster for sustainability, art project using recycled materials, learn about marine species living on our coastlines etc.
I found this module very interesting indeed. Aquaculture seems to have such a low environmental impact. We in Ireland are in a lucky position to be very suited to this industry. We are blessed with a cool temperate oceanic climate which is an essential for aquaculture. we also have a long coastline (obviously being an island nation) with particularly suitable conditions along our long western atlantic coast. We have plenty of secluded areas of coast with deep water and shelter. I live in Co Waterford and there is a fish farm (I am pretty sure it is a mussel farm) on a beach not too far from my school. This could make a great field trip if it could be arranged with the fish farmers involved. As aquaculture is so common in the west I am sure it has great socio economic advantages for this area. Much of the land in this part of the country is not suited to agriculture so this is a viable alternative bringing both direct and indirect employment to many communities along this coastline. I’m sure there is a certain potential for tourism around this industry also.
I enjoyed this broad introduction to aquaculture in Ireland. I live in Waterford and there is aquaculture going on right on my doorstep yet I don’t know a whole lot about it. In Ireland in recent years fish has become a much bigger part of our diet than it traditionally. I feel it is very important for children to be aware of where there food comes from and of the importance of sustainability. I found the 4 Social Licensing projects very interesting. It would be amazing to have the ARC classroom to visit my school. I understand that the waiting list is long so the 4 lessons available on the website would be a good alternative. I found them very child friendly and informative. I also found the ‘Taste the Atlantic’ very interesting. I have to say that I thought Salmon farming was the mainstay of the aquaculture industry in Ireland, I didn’t realise that mussel and oyster farming were such a big part of the industry also. I will certainly use some of the information and resources provided in module in my classroom .
