Students explore the diverse habitats of Centennial Parklands, investigating how living things depend on their environment to meet their needs.
Stage 1 Science
Set within the living landscapes of Centennial Parklands, this excursion invites students to learn through direct experience, curiosity and connection to place. Students will explore a range of habitats, observing how plants and animals interact with their surroundings and respond to the conditions of each environment.
Moving through environments, students will use simple tools and guided inquiry to notice, question and investigate. Through experiences such as dip netting and a swamp walk, they will encounter a diversity of living things, consider their observable features, and reflect on how these support survival and growth. Attention is also given to how animals change over time, recognising patterns across life cycles.
This experience supports a deeper understanding of the interdependence between living things and the places they inhabit, fostering both scientific thinking and a sense of environmental connection.
Learning intention
Students will:
- investigate different habitats within Centennial Parklands
- identify the needs of living things and how habitats support them
- observe lifecycles and simple interconnections between plants and animals
- ask questions and collect data to look for patterns in nature.
Habitat heroes activities
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Dip netting: Exploring pond ecosystems, identifying small aquatic animals, observing movement and features.
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Swamp walk: Investigating wetland habitats, noticing plant adaptations, comparing dry and wet environments.
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Lifecycles of insects, animals and plants: Investigate and represent the life cycles of living things found within pond and swamp environments.
Curriculum links and syllabus outcomes
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ST1-SCI-01 measures and describes changes in living things, materials, movement, Earth and the sky
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ST1-PQU-01 poses questions based on observations and information to investigate cause and effect
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ST1-DAT-01 collects, represents and uses data to identify patterns and relationships
Vocabulary
Habitat, needs, water, shelter, food, predator, prey, lifecycle, pollination, flying-fox, wetland, adapt, ecosystem.
Make the most of your excursion with our engaging classroom resources designed to support your teaching.
The Education Access Pass Program covers all program and transport costs for schools with an FOEI higher than 125 and community organisations that work with groups in need.
Please contact us directly with the name of the program and your group size and we can help you organise a free program.
This program is funded through the Legacy Fund of the Centennial Parklands Foundation.