Students explore the ponds and waterways of Centennial Parklands to understand how people, animals and environments are connected through water.
Stage 1 HSIE Geography
Students explore the ponds and waterways of Centennial Parklands to discover how water connects people, animals and the environment.
Through hands-on investigation, observation and data collection, students examine how waterways support living things, how water moves through the landscape, and how people use and care for these spaces. Activities such as pond observations, dip netting and water pathway challenges provide opportunities to investigate living systems, identify patterns and represent findings using geographical information.
This excursion supports students to observe, record and describe natural and human features of water environments, while developing an understanding of how water sustains life and the shared responsibility to care for it.
Learning intention
Students will:
- observe a pond at Centennial Parklands to gather information about the plants, animals and human activity within and around this environment
- participate in a dip netting activity to investigate what lives in the pond and how these organisms depend on water
- create eel pathways to explore how water moves through the environment and supports life
Activities
-
What’s in our pond – data collection: Students observe the pond environment and record what they see—plants, animals, insects, water features and human-made structures. They gather data to identify the natural features and animal life in and around the pond.
-
Dip net investigation: Using dip nets, students collect and identify small aquatic creatures. They discuss how water environments support living things and why caring for water quality is important.
-
Water flow and eel pathways: Students explore how water moves through the ponds at Centennial Park and learn how eels travel through the park’s water system. They examine how waterways connect places and support animal movement and survival.
Curriculum links and syllabus outcomes
HS1-GEO-01 describes ways people connect to and care for places, water environments and each other, using geographical information
Vocabulary
Waterway, pond, flow, habitat, care, connect, environment, eel, data, living things, water quality.
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.