NATURE JOURNALING
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION INCURSIONS

Years K-12

$13 / student 

 

What would you love to learn about natural environments? What questions do you have for our experts? Would you like to combine art and science to learn more about your local area?

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Visits can be tailored to a wide range of educational needs and levels, and could include:

• Creature Feature - Meet animals from the local area and learn all about their biology, threats and status. Then brainstorm how we can assist them in our local environment.

• Mini-Beast Discovery - Leaf-litter sifting, sweep netting, analysis and classification of invertebrates. Compare found mini-beasts with pinned specimens to aid identification and scientific illustration. Meet some of our own live invertebrate friends!

• Nature Journaling - Learn how to create a nature journal using observational drawings inspired by our native wildlife. Using real and/ or pinned specimens, learn the methods used to realistically draw what we actually see versus how we think things should look. Then incorporate the use of scientific nomenclature in the labelling of illustrations.

• Camouflage & Mimicry – Learn a range of strategies & defences used by animals to hide from, and deter predators. Explore these strategies looking at pinned specimens, then develop your own animal using natural materials. Explain the camouflage/ mimicry strategies used to aid survival of your special creature. See if you can count how many of our stick insect friends are visiting in their enclosure!

• Form for Function - Learn from environmental scientists about animals, their physiological forms, and how their features can inform us of where they live and what they eat. Develop food webs and habitat structures based upon their physiological features, then learn about the real animal’s biological needs – were our inferences correct?

• Environmental Surveys - Conduct environmental surveys with our Scientists, learning a range of commonly used field survey methods and techniques. Learn to accurately record and compare observations, and how this data collection aids environmental investigations.

• Threats to wildlife. Learn about the most common threats to our native fauna through interactive games and demonstrations, before looking at simple methods to assist them in their native environment. (Includes frog obstacle courses, effects of oil on feathers, water quality sampling, and temperature readings from different materials).

 

Join us for one of our incursions to learn more about the world around us. This is a chance to engage with environmental scientists from the Herdsman Lake Discovery Centre. Incursions can be adapted to suit your area of interest!