By Dongyun Kwon
Yarra Glen Primary School (YGPS) Grade 4/5 students went to Spadonis Reserve, Yering and had the opportunity to learn science and the environment in real nature on Wednesday 6 November.
Earlier this year, YGPS was selected as one of the five local schools for the Eco Warriors Australia’s Planting the Seed project.
The project is to revegetate local reserves while teaching students how to collect local native plant cuttings, propagate and take care of them.
YGPS assistant principal Jessica Amey said the students were really engaged and it was great to see them out in nature, doing something that’s going to make an impact.
“All the students had to identify a particular type of plant and take cuttings of the plant, and then we came back to school and did a propagation session where they potted all their little cuttings,” she said.
“They were really interested to find out some facts about all the different trees and share some of the knowledge they had already learnt earlier in the year from our STEM classes.
“They were really keen to look after their plants. Unfortunately, some of the cuttings have not survived, so one of the students tried to put them in a different location and spray them with water to make sure they’re going to survive a bit longer.”
17 students from Grade 4/5 class participated in the program.
Ms Amey said the class was chosen because she taught them gardening in the STEM classes.
“Earlier this year in our STEM classes, I had a gardening project with the Grade 4/5 and 5/6 classes where the students created their own veggie patches, and the Grade 4/5 class were really engaged and they loved doing the gardening and growing their vegetables,” she said.
“Next year, we’ll go to a different site, which needs some help with revegetating the area but also increasing habitat for wildlife.
“That may be the same group of kids but it also may be an opportunity for kids from different classes.”
A botanist came along with the students to the reserve to help them identify the plants as well as teach the features of those plants and what kind of habitats they can create for local wildlife.
Ms Amey said education around long-term sustainable practices in the local environment is important for kids.
“It’s really important that they see science and environment in a different light,” she said.
“It’s educating them around sustainability but also opening up their eyes to the field of science more broadly by having a chance to work with a botanist which is a type of scientist the students might not have even known existed.”
