Science in the Wetlands

On Friday the 18th of August, a group of Year 4 & 5 students from LEAH schools headed to Cornerstone College to participate in the LEAH Science in the Wetlands event. Students from St Michael’s, St Mark’s and Lobethal Lutheran Primary Schools braved the cold weather to take part in range of activities that explored Biodiversity and Conservation in the ‘Purtinga’ wetlands.

Cornerstone Principal, Craig Fielke, welcomed students to the wetlands and encouraged them to build relationships with students from the other schools during their learning activities. Local MP, Rebekha Sharkie spoke to the students about the importance of preserving wetlands and keeping them free from litter & plastic bags.

Students then participated in a series of hands on activities that explored water quality, macro invertebrates, tree planting, native seed identification, habitat management, native frogs, environmental health and the use of drones in conservation. The activities were led by LEAH staff, Cornerstone College Biology students, Natural Resources (SA Murray- Darling Basin) Education Officers and Masters students from the University of Adelaide. Resources were also sourced from Habitats SA Revegetation Specialists & the SA Seed Conservation Centre. A full list of organisations, links and resources have been uploaded to our Resources Page – here.

During the day, students entered a competition where they estimated the number of Sheoak pods in a jar. Sienna from St Mark’s entered the closest entry (215) and won a copy of Adam Spencer’s book “Time Machine” for her school library. Well done Sienna! The correct number of pods was 223. Students also participated in a photo challenge, where they were given single “words” and had to take creative photos on iPads that represented these words. The winning group of this challenge will be announced soon.

At the end of the day, students were given a bag of resources to take home, which was donated by NRM, the Murray Darling Basin Authority and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA). Mrs Muster thanked everyone for their involvement in the event and gave special thanks to the Cornerstone students, who were also given a resource bag and a book for their library.

Each school was also given a “Start from Seed” kit that was purchased from Trees for Life, which they can use to grow up to 50 plants to create a “butterfly garden.

The LEAH STEM Action Group were fortunate to receive a $300 grant to use for the running of this event. The grant was received from the Australian Science Teachers Association, with funding from the Australian Government Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. More details about National Science Week can be found on the National Science Week website . You can read more about the educational outcomes from this event here.