At the Groynes or Styx Mill Conservation Reserve, students identify a range of stream invertebrates and explore the wider food chains and life cycles. They then consider the importance of our biodiversity as well as investigating the impact of human choices on the sustainability of the ecosystem.
| Age: | Years 3–8 |
| Availability: | Available year round |
| Length: | 2.5 hours (mornings) 2.25 hours (afternoons) |
| Site: | The Groynes or Styx Mill Conservation Reserve |
| Cost: | Free |
| Number of Classes: | One at a time (one class = 35 students) |
Programme outline
Key concepts
Biodiversity, interdependence of the plants and animals, life cycles, sustainability, personal responsibility for action.
Lesson description
Students will investigate what lives in and around the streams in these areas, particularly looking at what factors impact on water quality. They'll get up close and personal to examine the fresh water invertebrates, and will find out what’s in the water that affects them. Students will have a personal empathy for these creatures as they participate in a role play game. This is serious hands-on action for students!
Possible learning outcomes
Students may be able to:
- say why streams are significant places, what their value is and whether they should be protected areas
- name a variety of animals that live in a stream and some of the factors they depend on to live successfully in this area
- describe the relationships between the plants and the animals and their reliance on a healthy habitat
- identify actions that they can take to help protect waterways.
Key Competencies
Thinking - students are encouraged to display intellectual curiosity by suggesting ways of reducing pollutants in our waterways in order to improve the water quality to provide greater diversity of the water life they have been investigating
Relating to others - students are expected to interact effectively with others throughout group activities; they are afforded the opportunity to be involved in appropriately competitive as well as cooperative tasks
Learning areas
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| Science | Nature of science | Levels 1–4 | - Investigating in science
- Communicating in science
- Participating and contributing
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| Living world | Levels 1–4 | |
| Planet Earth and beyond | Levels 1–4 | |
| Social sciences | | Level 1 | - Understand how places in New Zealand are significant for individuals and groups.
|
| Level 2 | - Understand how places influence people and people influence places
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| Level 3 | - Understand how people view and use places differently.
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| Level 5 | - Understand how people’s management of resources impacts on environmental and social sustainability.
- Understand how the ideas and actions of people in the past have had a significant impact on people’s lives.
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| Health and physical education | Personal health and physical development | Levels 2–4 | |
Feedback
"Thanks for a very worthwhile trip. I was impressed with the 'hands on' interactive learning opportunities."
Teacher, Year 7
"Children were invited to move around and discover things for themselves. There was a great variety of activities."
Teacher, Year 7
"I learnt that lots of different creatures live under water."
Student, Year 5
