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Our Special Tree

Our Special Tree

Select a special tree in your school playground or local area to conduct some field work. You will need to look for evidence that this tree is a habitat for other living things.

Materials

  • Camera or iPad
  • Paper
  • Crayons
  • Lead pencils
  • Magnifying glass

Get to know your tree!

  • Take pictures  
  • Draw sketches
  • Place paper over the tree’s leaves or bark and rub over it with a crayon or soft pencil

 

  • Walk around the base​
  • Stand close to it
  • Look up into its canopy
  • View it from a distance
  • Guessing how tall it is in metres
  • Smell its leaves and bark
  • Put your hands in the soil at its base and feel it

 Think of it as a home!


How is this tree different from your own home?                                                                                                                                           
How is it similar to your home? (hint: where would you like to go on a super-hot day?)                                        
 

 What lives in your tree?

  Circle which of these your tree has!

   Birds sheltering in it during the day time 

Evidence that birds also roost in the tree overnight e.g. a bird’s hollow or nest 

Vertebrates in the tree branches e.g. possum, koala, quoll or sugar glider 

A wombat burrow at the base of the trunk   

Circle which of these invertebrates make this tree a home? Remember these are small and can hide between layers of bark, under leaves or in the soil at the base of the tree. Be sure to take a very close look - try using a magnifying glass.

Spiders or spider webs 

Ants 

Beetles, butterflies or moths
 
Cocoons or chrysalises of insects 
 
Crawling insects such as centipedes 

Eggs laid by insects 
 

Share your picture with the class, your school and your parents. Then, keep your picture in a safe place for use in a later activity.