[Una Halpin]

Hi Deirdre

That is a great climate detectives question as it is very specific and relates to a local climate issue.  I love that you have mentioned the need for preparatory lessons. While Catherine has asked you for the purposes of this assignment to suggest a research question yourself, in the classroom you would, as you said, want to first introduce the children to the concept of climate change, assess their understanding of the impacts on their own local area and then guide them towards coming up with a suitable question as a class.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Cathy

It’s great that you liked the resources in this module and can see their value for use in your classroom.  As you said there is a great tie in between the Paxi video and the hands on collection on weather data that clearly demonstrates some of the processes that meteorologists use when gathering short term weather data and combining this data to assess long term changes in climate.  The Teal tool is easy enough for pupils to use and as you said, the worksheet can be completed as a class rather than individually to make it more accessible for younger learners.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Helen

That is a great question. It is clear and concise and relates to a specific local climate issue. You have outlined some great ways for the children to get involved in gathering data and I like the focus on a variety of ways to represent their findings and a discussion on solutions.  One thing that I would suggest is a longer timeframe. Although this may make it more difficult to gather data, it may help to make the topic more real. Climate is generally measured over a period of 30 years or more, because changes only become apparent over a longer time period.  As adults, we can see that the number of extreme weather events is increasing because we have lived longer, but some primary school children may have already experienced several extreme storms or flood events in their lifetime so for them it is almost normal. It is part of a phenomenon known as Shifting Baselines Syndrome.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Maura

Plastic waste is a great topic for a local research project as it is something that all of the children will be familiar with and they will all see litter in their local area. Your ideas for plastic audits and the plastic waste timeline are really great as are the plans for interviewing local businesses. It is also a great idea to link plastic waste with the harm to wildlife, such as the huge harm done by balloon releases.  To tie in your ideas with climate change, you might also encourage the pupils to do some research on the greenhouse gases released in the manufacture of plastic and the impact of reduce, reuse and recycle.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Denis

Nathaniel Colgan is a great person to provide inspiration for local biodiversity studies.  As you said, it is great to be able to immerse children in their own local natural environment and to show them the beauty and variety of plant and animal life in Ireland and especially on their own doorstep.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Noreen

Yours is a great example of how every school can do something to enhance biodiversity even with a very small and not very green space. Small actions like your in an urban environment can have a big impact and can also show the children some small steps that can be taken in their own homes.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Jacqui

I like your open ended approach to investigating your local area. There is so much to learn and discover even in an area close to the school and by giving children the space to decide what interests them individually and allowing them free reign in how they choose to represent what they have discovered, you are not only allowing for individual creative expression, but you are facilitating a great peer learning experience. Children can learn from the projects created by their classmates who may have noticed completely different things or had a different reaction to them.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Geraldine

It is fantastic that you are already recording your finds with the National Biodiversity Data centre and you have outlined a great plan for using your own experience to introduce your learners to biodiversity recording.  I love your emphasis on identification skills and the use of drawings, photos and notes and also the emphasis on posing questions that they can then answer with the use of data gathered in the woods.  While aps such as Seek can be a great tool for teachers for helping to confirm identifications and guide children towards correct identification, I would caution against installing them on class iPads. If the children can find an id quickly for a plant or animal, they are less likely to use the observation and identification skills that you are trying to teach them. Also without some basic knowledge gained from the use of keys, it is very difficult to assess whether an app is giving a correct identification. On the other hand if they use a book or key to pick out features and identify a plant or animal, they have not only learned a useful skill but are more likely to retain that information. I think that the “Biodiversity Watch” wall is a lovely idea for ongoing engagement with biodiversity as are the biodiversity challenges. Perhaps you could encourage families to get involved in some of the simpler recording schemes such as the NBDC Backyard Biodiversity scheme or the Birdwatch Ireland Garden Bird Survey

[Una Halpin]

Hi Mary

That sounds like a lovely way to explore your local area. There is so much to explore in a coastal environment and you have outlined a great programme involving the geology, biodiversity, history and mythology with the integration of literacy and art back in the classroom. There is also a potential link with the 3D map making activity from Module 2 where the students could use the sand itself along with stones, shells and seaweed to create a map of the beach, dunes and rock formations. As well as beach inspired art, they could create art on the beach itself with sand sculptures inspired by local history and mythology.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Michael

I agree that using litter in the locality as a basis for your Climate Detectives research is a good idea. You have highlighted some of the main links between waste and climate change by focusing on the greenhouse gases emitted in the manufacture of these products that eventually become waste. Collecting data on the different types of waste found will allow for further research on these materials. Waste is also an area where the children can easily implement changes such as reduce, reuse and recycle and can calculate the impact of these measures

[Una Halpin]

Hi Alyson

That’s a great research question as it is specific and it relates to a local climate issue that affects the children and the local community.  Your plan to combine real life weather data collection with recorded data is a great idea. You might be interested in the website https://waterlevel.ie/ which allows you to check water levels on rivers around the country. You might also use https://www.geohive.ie/ to look at land use changes in your local area in recent years as an increase in hard surfaces such as concrete and a reduction in trees and green spaces contributes to flash flooding events.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Dolores

I like that your question focusses on a local issue that the children are able to explore first hand. You question has 2 parts and both can be investigated in separate ways but the litter survey is a great start for both. After the litter survey, the children can brainstorm ideas on how litter can affect local wildlife with issues such as plastic being eaten by local wildlife or making its way into rives and eventually the sea and affecting marine wildlife.  To understand the impact on climate, they would need to think about where the waste comes from, the energy that is used to produce that plastic and the energy that can be saved by reducing, reusing and recycling plastic waste.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Niamh

That is an interesting research question and one that the children could research through the use of online maps and satellite data. It also highlights one of the many consequences of climate change in the wider world. To tie it in with the main objective of Climate Detectives which is to investigate the local affects of Climate Change, you could also pick an aspect of your local area and use similar techniques to investigate land use changes in your county or local area that could have an impact on climate, such as increased urbanisation leading to the heat island effect, or building leading to biodiversity loss and loss of habitat for carbon sequestering. It is important for children to realise that Climate Change is not something that simply affects other countries but that it is a local issue and can have local solutions.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Dara

That sounds like a lovely lesson plan. The food web activity is a great place to start by encouraging children to think about what they already know about wildlife around their school and the needs of various species. The outdoor exploration will build on this, and encourage them to revisit their original activity to add in new species that they may not have considered originally and the use of maps and research will add to their knowledge.  The species maps and resources on biodiversityireland.ie will be very useful here. I love that your plan ends with a positive action such as planning to protect dark skies or contacting the local council.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Emer

That is a lovely idea to expand on what the children have learned about Biodiversity through their green flag and introduce the idea of light pollution and its effect on Biodiversity in your school. As the children have already been involved in projects to improve Biodiversity, this will be a nice extension to thinking about another threat to plants and animals and brainstorming ways to look after nocturnal animals in school.

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