Centennial Parklands is a special environment, and a small action can have a big impact. Students will identify what makes an environment special, and that the land has been important to Aboriginal people for many years. Students will learn to take responsibility for their actions and how they impact their environment, to make decisions about litter and water use at home and at school.

Students will explore different places that make up Centennial Park, such as swamp, ponds, grassland, playgrounds, forests, playing fields and rocky outcrops. Investigation and observation activities will identify different ecosystems, natural and man-made features and management issues.

Aboriginal Education

Col Hardy is an Aboriginal Education service provider for Parklands. He plays guitar, sings songs, shows artifacts and tells stories about iconic animal species important to Aboriginal people and Centennial Parklands.

Students will also participate in a variety of ranger led activities where they will catch water bugs, walk the Lachlan Swamp Wetland nature trail and make artistic impressions of birds.

He has recorded more than 6 albums and won numerous awards including a Golden Guitar. In July 2007 Col was awarded an OAM from the queen for service to the country music industry and environmental education.

Aboriginal Education

Col Hardy is an Aboriginal Education service provider for Parklands. He plays guitar, sings songs, shows artifacts and tells stories about iconic animal species important to Aboriginal people and Centennial Parklands.

Students will also participate in a variety of ranger led activities where they will catch water bugs, walk the Lachlan Swamp Wetland nature trail and make artistic impressions of birds.

He has recorded more than 6 albums and won numerous awards including a Golden Guitar. In July 2007 Col was awarded an OAM from the queen for service to the country music industry and environmental education.

Science and Technology

Throughout life living things will change.

Students will participate in hands on activities using a variety of equipment and discover that all living things grow and change. Students will explore different plants and animals, their life cycles, habitat and what they need to survive. Additionally, they will propagate a plant to study back at school.

HSIE

Wet and Dry includes a range of practical activities which examine the relationship between people and environments.

Students will experience wet, dry, natural and built environments within Centennial Parklands. Students collect sort and identify invertebrates and view other animals in different habitats. Students learn that “the park is an ark” – a place for all living things. Through hands on exploration based activities, they develop positive attitudes towards different ecosystems and ecological sustainability.

HSIE

What was Centennial Park before it was a park? What did the area look like, who lived here and what did they do?

Through role-playing in different Centennial Park locations students will discover the colorful history of Centennial Parklands.

In costume, students re-enact stories of the past including those from pre-colonisation and the Cadigal, 1788 Contact and 1901 Federation.

Aboriginal Education

Col Hardy is an Aboriginal Education service provider for Parklands. He plays guitar, sings songs, shows artifacts and tells stories about iconic animal species important to Aboriginal people and Centennial Parklands.

Students will also participate in a variety of ranger led activities where they will catch water bugs, walk the Lachlan Swamp Wetland nature trail and make artistic impressions of birds.

He has recorded more than 6 albums and won numerous awards including a Golden Guitar. In July 2007 Col was awarded an OAM from the queen for service to the country music industry and environmental education.

Science and Technology

Plants and animals depend upon one another, and play an integral role in sustaining the health and survival of a greater living system.

By engaging in fun activities which include dipnetting and using a diverse range of equipment and skills, students will enjoy and learn the wonder of mini-worlds! Under Ranger supervision students will use specialist equipment and observation to examine delicate ecosystems and determine the interrelationships of living things and their environment.

HSIE

Students gain insight into the issues faced when sustainably managing an urban Parkland.

Through observation and information gathering this excursion gives students the opportunity to identify the issues, values of parklands. Students will investigate man made structures and the natural environment, the need for parks, rules, past and present land use and the importance of ecological sustainability.

Science

Living things depend on each other to survive. This excursion focuses on the various food chains and food webs that organisms found at Centennial Parklands belong to.

Students will learn about a pond ecosystem by dip-netting and carrying out a survey of aquatic invertebrates found there. They will explore the Lachlan Swamp Wetlands to find out about the relationships between the organisms that call it their home. The various insects found in a woodland ecosystem will be studied by carrying out a bug hunt and students will make their own bug to take home.

This excursion meets the Stage 2 learning outcomes from the NSW K-6 Science Syllabus:

• plants and animals live in environments that supply their needs.
• change occurs throughout the lifetime of living things.
• living things depend on other living things to survive.

Science or Geography

This excursion can be adapted to NSW Stage 3, 4, 5 or 6 Science or Geography Syllabus Outcomes, and can take the form of a half day or full-day program. Students will collect physical (abiotic) data including temperature, pH, electrical conductivity and turbidity from several ponds located in the Parklands and analyse the differences found based on pond location. Water quality will also be tested by collecting aquatic macro-invertebrates through the use of dip-nets in one or more of the ponds. Students will also undertake a pond-walk to learn about how pond structure can aid in water quality control.

Aboriginal Education

Col Hardy is an Aboriginal Education service provider for Parklands. He plays guitar, sings songs, shows artifacts and tells stories about iconic animal species important to Aboriginal people and Centennial Parklands.

Students will also participate in a variety of ranger led activities where they will catch water bugs, walk the Lachlan Swamp Wetland nature trail and make artistic impressions of birds.

He has recorded more than 6 albums and won numerous awards including a Golden Guitar. In July 2007 Col was awarded an OAM from the queen for service to the country music industry and environmental education.