Native Haven

Following a native insect and bird survey in the PLC grounds, Year 4 found a scarcity of these important creatures and decided to do something about it.

The Year 4 Butterfly and Bee Garden Project evolved from their Unit of Inquiry ‘Sharing the Planet’ which builds on Global Goals agreed by world leaders to build a greener, fairer, and better world by 2030. After conducting their surveys, the students decided to take action and create a dedicated garden area in which native animals could thrive.

Students conducted research to find out about the insects and birds they wanted to attract to the garden and created information posters. The class reached out to President of the Gould League, Mrs Mandy Bamford (Silbertstein 1979), to answer their questions. She provided valuable information about native insects and the plants that attract them. In spring, Mandy will bring Yellow Admiral Butterfly caterpillars for the class to study their life cycle before releasing them, to populate the garden.

In true PYP transdisciplinary fashion, during Art with Mrs Garland, students designed insect and bird houses to further encourage animal life. Mr Allen also shared his knowledge and helped students design and create their insect hotels. The class indebted to PLC Groundskeeper, Mr Hermans, for helping us make this project a success.

Year 4 hopes their action will result in a place to learn, observe, and wonder, for many years to come.