CLASSIFICATION AND FOOD WEBS
Years 7-8
$13 / student
What are the adaptations, features and living needs of the organisms living in Herdsman Lake? How do they interact together and with us? How are they classified? What about the complex food webs? What is a Food Pyramid?
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EXCURSION INFO
Get your students involved in a hands-on, outdoor learning experience where students discover the aquatic, bird, animal and plant life, which live in and around Herdsman Lake. We start with a quick lesson on classification, food webs and food pyramids that relate directly to Herdsman Lake, to create a common understanding. Next students are outside using scoop-nets to sample macro invertebrates. They’ll be asked to identify, sort and classify their catches, before we put the critters back in the lake. A discussion about what insect orders they belong to and what characteristics make that so. Then we’re off for a walk to explore and observe the surrounds of the lake, spotting birds, frogs and trees to learn about how an ecosystem operates and especially to learn how the tiny critters they just scooped, are all part of one big food chain. A focus will be on Carl Linnaeus’s binomial classification system using some local plants and animals, what they are called and what that means. We finish with some time in the Wildlife Centre where students can explore our displays.
STUDENT LEARNING
By the end of this learning experience, students will have:
Learn about macro-invertebrate sampling methods
Identified and classified freshwater macro-invertebrates in Herdsman Lake
Identified the effect of humans on the wetland water quality and subsequent impact on living organisms
Discussed how their own actions can improve wetland water quality
Described and discussed wetland management practices
Gained an appreciation of the fragile nature of our wetlands and be passionate about native flora and fauna conservation
EXCURSION DETAILS
Duration: 2.5 hours (9.30am-12.00pm or 12.30pm-3.00pm)
Cost: $13 per student (inc GST)
Minimum Charge: $325 (equivalent to 25 students).
Maximum Students: 60
Teachers/parents FREE
Groups are welcome to use facilities for self-guided activities up to 30mins before or after scheduled sessions FREE
FREE education resources
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CURRICULUM
Curriculum Links – Science, Cross Curriculum Priority - Sustainability
Year 7 - ACSSU111, ACSSU112, ACSSU222
Cancellation Policy
If you need to cancel your environmental program booking, please provide at least 7 days’ notice so we can offer another group the opportunity to visit. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, if you do not provide 7 days’ notice, the minimum booking fee of $150 per class will apply. Schools that do not provide any notice of cancellation and fail to attend on the day, will be charged the full fee, as reflected by their booking for that day.