Sustainability Champions
Sustainability is high on the agenda for Ms Peck’s Year 2 students. For their Sharing the Planet unit of inquiry, they’re exploring the central idea: We are responsible for sharing and sustaining Earth’s resources.
How do we spread awareness of environmental issues and make a lasting difference when it comes to treading lightly on this Earth? Educate and empower the next generation about the values and importance of sustainability, that’s how! This term, Ms Peck’s Year 2 students have been embracing the ethos of sustainability by researching different ways to reduce our environmental impact and minimise our use of Earth’s precious and finite resources. They’ve been pursuing the following lines of inquiry: How we use plants and animals for food and fibre products. Sustaining farms in Australia. Our responsibility in sharing and sustaining Earth’s resources. And they’ve been embracing key concepts such as change, causation and responsibility.
As Year 2 have discovered, biodiversity underpins everything. Not only is it essential for human health and wellbeing, food safety and security, and our economic prosperity, but the plants, animals, ecosystems and ecological processes that supply us with oxygen and clean water, also enable plants to grow, keep diseases at bay and help to protect us from catastrophic events like fire, flooding, plague and drought.
They kicked off this unit of inquiry by growing their own greenhouses at home. Then, as part of their research, Year 2 have thought about how they could use their design skills to help solve problems. To help further their understanding, they’ve researched some of the technology used by farmers to manage pests, tag and monitor animals, and reduce the impact of floods and drought. This included looking at blue screen technology, an animal recognition technology which enables farmers to keep their paddocks exclusively for domestic livestock, preventing pests like feral pigs, goats and kangaroos from getting in and eating feed. In the coming weeks, Year 2 will be conducting further research into a type of farming that interests them in Australia, exploring different aspects of animal welfare and sustainability.
Given Australia is such a hot and dry land, Year 2 have also looked at aquifers and examined their role in irrigating crops on very dry land. Studying climate and weather maps of Australia and using their reasoning and inferencing skills, they’ve discussed why certain states choose to grow particular crops. Drawing on their food and fibre research, Year 2 have looked at different types of farmy, including popcorn, sheep and wool, sugarcane, wheat, cotton and green tea. Looking back on their learning from their Who We Are unit of inquiry in Term 1, the students have used their empathy skills to write reflections about the impact of drought from a farmer’s perspective.
Year 2 are now looking at the supply chain and thinking about how food travels from a farm to the supermarket shelf. It’s prompted them to think about different methods of farming and different ways of purchasing products, such as farmer’s markets. They’ve looked at the health, cost and ethical considerations surrounding free range and organic food. They’ve also thought about the industrialisation of animal production, which has led to cheaper meat, milk and eggs, but has raised questions about animal welfare and over consumption.
To help with their research, Year 2 held Zoom sessions with boarders, Milla (Year 11) and Grace (Year 10), who spoke to them about their farms and some of the challenges their families face. Year 2 have also been learning about seahorse farming and had a fascinating Zoom session with Rachelle from Seahorse World in Tasmania. It was a great way to find about more about farming, natural resources and sustainability.
Year 2 are now using some of their knowledge to write poetry about farming inspired by the soil, the sea, nature and animals. Great work Year 2!