Save the Planet Series: Book 2 by Teacher Superstore

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Written by Amelia Ruscoe & Naomi Budden. Illustrations by Terry Allen. © Ready-Ed Publications - 2005. Published by Ready-Ed Publications (2005) P.O. Box 276 Greenwood Perth W.A. 6024 Email: info@readyed.com.au Website: www.readyed.com.au

COPYRIGHT NOTICE Permission is granted for the purchaser to photocopy sufficient copies for non-commercial educational purposes. However, this permission is not transferable and applies only to the purchasing individual or institution.

ISBN 1 86397 624 8

Foreword Save The Planet – Book 2 (Science & Environment Themed Activities)

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This book addresses contemporary issues relating to the plight of our natural environment. It aims to strengthen language skills while challenging students to consider the consequences of human activities upon the environment. The content of each language task urges students to embrace an environmentally sustainable lifestyle and provides information for adopting a balanced approach to living within a complex and fragile environment.

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Each unit builds upon the knowledge gained from the previous theme, and broadens student vocabulary to equip them to comprehend and apply their new knowledge to increasingly complex environmental issues.

Comprehensive background information, teachers’ notes, relevant websites, answers and additional activities have also been included to support the teaching of each unit. Other books in this series include: Save The Planet – Book 1(Language Themed Activities)

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Contents Foreword ...................................................................... 2 Teachers’ Notes ........................................................... 4 Curriculum Links .......................................................... 5 Assessment Proformas ................................................ 6

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Science: Teachers’ Notes ........................................ 38 Student Activity: Case Study: A New Freeway ....... 39 HSIE / SOSE / S & E: Teachers’ Notes ................. 40 Student Activity: Threatening Processes in My Backyard ................... 41 Student Background Notes ...................................... 42

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Threatened Species

Science: Teachers’ Notes .................................. 8 Student Activity: Who Can Solve the Problem? 9 HSIE / SOSE / S & E: Teachers’ Notes ......... 10 Student Activity: Is One World Enough? .......... 11 Student Background Notes .............................. 12

Natural Resources Science: Teachers’ Notes ................................ 13 Student Activity: Renewable, Non-renewable and Potentially Renewable ... .. 14 HSIE / SOSE / S & E: Teachers’ Notes ........ 15 Student Activity: A Valuable Resource .............. 16 Student Background Notes .............................. 17

Renewable Energy

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Ecological Footprints

Science: Teachers’ Notes ........................................ 43 Student Activity: Life at the Top ............................... 44 HSIE / SOSE / S & E: Teachers’ Notes ................. 45 Student Activity: Raising Community Awareness ................................. 46 Student Background Notes ...................................... 47

Conservation © ReadyEdP ubl i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y•

Recycling

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Science: Teachers’ Notes ................................ 23 Student Activity: Learning from Nature ........... 24 HSIE / SOSE / S & E: Teachers’ Notes ......... 25 Student Activity: Shopping Bag Debate ........... 26 Student Background Notes .............................. 27

Pollution

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National Parks and Reserves

Science: Teachers’ Notes ........................................ 53 Student Activity: Variety is the Spice of Life! ........... 54 HSIE / SOSE / S & E: Teachers’ Notes ................. 55 Student Activity: Places to Go, Wilderness to See...56 Student Background Notes ...................................... 57

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Science: Teachers’ Notes ................................ 28 Student Activity: Changing Environments ........ 29 HSIE / SOSE / S & E: Teachers’ Notes ......... 30 Student Activity:The ‘Nature’ Revolution ........ 31 Student Background Notes .............................. 32

Biodiversity

Science: Teachers’ Notes ........................................ 48 Student Activity: What’s Your View? ........................ 49 HSIE / SOSE / S & E: Teachers’ Notes ................. 50 Student Activity: Design Your Own Conservation Organisation ......... 51 Student Background Notes ...................................... 52

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Science: Teachers’ Notes ................................ 18 Student Activity: Chasing the Wind .................. 19 HSIE / SOSE / S & E: Teachers’ Notes ......... 20 Student Activity: Are You Energy Efficient? ...... 21 Student Background Notes .............................. 22

Science: Teachers’ Notes ................................ 33 Student Activity: Life on Earth ......................... 34 HSIE / SOSE / S & E: Teachers’ Notes ......... 35 Student Activity: It’s Genetic ............................ 36 Student Background Notes .............................. 37

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Zoos and Wildlife Sanctuaries

Science: Teachers’ Notes ........................................ 58 Student Activity: Home Away From Home ............ 59 HSIE / SOSE / S & E: Teachers’ Notes ................. 60 Student Activity: Reading the Signs .......................... 61 Student Background Notes ...................................... 62

Help for Wildlife Science: Teachers’ Notes ........................................ 63 Student Activity: Under Threat ................................ 64 HSIE / SOSE / S & E: Teachers’ Notes ................. 65 Student Activity: Pick Me! ......................................... 66 Student Background Notes ...................................... 67 REFERENCES: ........................................................ 68

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SAVE THE PLANET

Teachers’ Notes The Save The Planet series has been designed to encourage students to investigate aspects of our environment which are under threat due to human activities and consumption. By building a framework of environmental terminologies and concepts, the book aims to promote an understanding of the progress that is being made towards creating a sustainable planet. Aspects addressed include natural resource use, renewable energy sources, biodiversity, pollution, recycling and conservation.

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The material can be taught as whole units of work in conjunction with the activities in Save the Planet – Language Themed Activities, or alternatively, the activities within each unit can be used to complement existing environment based programs.

Each unit contains a ‘Science’ and a ‘HSIE / SOSE / Society and Environment’ activity page. The new concepts addressed in each unit have been included as student information texts (background notes), designed to be read by the student and discussed with the class as an introduction to each topic. The activities, in conjunction with the student background notes, aim to complement learning about the unit topic by encouraging students to investigate aspects of their environment in a practical manner, and in some cases to assess the management of the environment of both their local environment and the earth as a whole. The activities aim to have the students employ prior knowledge and apply it to new information they have learnt to make informed decisions about their environment and how its natural resources can be sustained for the benefit of their own and future generations.

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The Science and HSIE / SOSE / Society and Environment activity pages are supported by teachers’ notes which give comprehensive background information, relevant websites, lesson outlines including guided questioning, discussion points and additional teaching strategies to ensure the students achieve maximum understanding when using the student worksheets. Answers are also included along with additional activities that can be used in conjunction with the student worksheets, or as a basis for further lessons on the same conceptual understanding. ASSESSMENT PROFORMAS (see pages 6-7): Insert appropriate indicators for each activity and complete for student portfolios. See the Curriculum Links on page 5 for links to indicators and student outcomes.

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Curriculum Links For the activities in the Save The Planet series, a cross-curricular approach is taken and many learning areas are covered. A summary of the key strands from each state is provided with the focal state outcomes listed below. Please note that learning areas and strand headings will vary from state to state and therefore not all suggested strands and outcomes will address the same activities. All activities are aimed at Level 3-4.

Subject Areas / Strands

Science Working Scientifically (Investigating Scientifically) • Works methodically through a scientific experiment to formulate and investigate predictions, gather data and record outcomes. • Uses scientific understandings to develop responsible behaviours such as recycling materials or being “water-wise”, “energy-wise”. • Argues conclusions on the basis of collected information and personal experience. • Compares ways of solving problems and finding explanations. • Identifies ways science is used responsibly in the community.

Vic: BS 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, ES 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, PS 3.1, 4.1

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WA: IS3.3, IS3.4, IS4.3, IS4.4 EB3, EB4, EC3, EC4, LL3, LL4 National: 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 3.7, 3.9, 3.13, 3.16, 3.18. Level 4 equivalents. NSW: BE S3.1, IC S3.2, LT S 3.3, PP S3.4, PS S3.5, ES S3.6, INV S3.7, DM S3.8

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Earth Sciences/ Earth and Beyond • Examine the various sources of energy used by humans and the impact of mining and burning of fossil fuels versus use of renewable energy sources. • illustrates ways that used of the earth’s resources can change the physical environment.

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State Outcomes

Energy and Change • Reports on patterns of energy use at home and at school. Investigate the systems in which various forms of energy are transferred. • Compares energy options available in the community.

QLD: SS 3.2, 3.3, EB 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, EC 3.2, 3.3, LL 3.1, 3.3, NPM 3.1, 3.2, 3.3

Life and Living • Understands how living things depend on the features of the natural and built environment (considers and designs appropriate living requirements for animals and humans). • Maps relationships between living things in a habitat. • Explains why some living things have become extinct and identifies threats to current endangered species.

SA SA: ES 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2; EC 3.3, 3.4, 4.3, 4.4, LS 3.5, 3.6, 4.5, 4.6, 3.1, 3.2 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.7, 3.8

Place and Space • Considers how humans care for the environment by using “friendly” alternatives. • Investigates how local environments such as the home and school can participate in responsible practices. • Identifies issues that arise when people’s actions affect other living things and places.

WA WA: ICP3.2, ICP3.3, ICP3.4, ICP4.3, ICP4.4, PS3.1, PS3.2, PS3.3, PS4.1, PS4.2, PS4.3, R3.2, R3.2, R4.1, R4.2, TCC3.2, TCC3.3, TCC4.2, TCC4.3, NSS3.1, NSS4.1

Society & Environment / SOSE / HSIE

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Resources • Understands that alternative resources such as wind, solar and hydro-power are being sought as solutions to the threat of environmental destruction and depletion of fossil fuels.

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Natural Systems • Describe the components of a natural system such as the water system or ecosystem, and considers how humans are influenced by, and can influence this system. • Illustrates the linkages between rights and responsibilities for members of a community.

National: TCC 3.1b, 3.3, PS 3.4, 3.5, 4.5, 3.6, 4.6, R 3.10, 4.10, 3.12, NSS 3.13, 3.14, ICP 3.16, 3.17 NSW: ENS3.5, ENS3.6, SSS3.7, SSS3.8

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Investigation, Communication and Participation • Presents information to explore a key idea. • Frames questions and identifies sources of information.

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Time, Continuity and Change Understands why the local community and global environments have changed or are likely to change.

Vic: TIme, Cont. and Change 3 (3.2), Natural and Social Systems 3 (3.1, 3.2, 3.3), Place and Space 3 (3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.2), Resources 3-4 (3.1, 4.1, 4.3)

Speaking and Listening • Participates in a range of speaking and listening activities such as debates, peer interviews, presentations and role-play. Reading / Viewing • Engages in research to locate additional information and word meanings to enhance topic understandings. Writing • Expresses understanding of topics in a variety of creative and formal written formats, including stories, debating topics, signwriting, newspaper articles, reports and letters.

QLD: TCC 3.1, 3.4, 4.5, PS 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 3.5, D3.6, 4.1, 4.2, SRP 3.1, 3.5, D3.7, 4.1, 4.5

SA: Time, Cont, & Change 3.3, Place, Space & Env. 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, Society & Culture 3.9 Vic: SL 3.1, 3.2, 3.4; RE 3.5a & b, 3.8 a & b; WR 3.9, 3.10 WA: SL 3.1a & b, SL 4.1a & b, 3.2; R 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4; W 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, V 3.2, 4.2 National: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.8a & b, 3.9 NSW: TS 3.1, 3.2; RS 3.6, WS 3.9 QLD: Cu 3.1, 3.2, 3.3; Cr 3.2, 3.3 SA: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11

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Science Assessment Name:_______________________

Term __________ Year ___________

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Unit : Environmental Sustainability

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Indicators of progress relevant to this work sample: •

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•

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Focus: Exploring the reasons why we have been placing the earth under environmental threat through overuse and mismanagement of natural resources, and addressing issues of responsibility for ensuring a sustainable planet. Understands

Needs further opportunities

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Satisfactory Unsatisfactory

Participation in Science lessons: Teacher Comments:

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________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

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HSIE/SOSE/S&E Assessment Name:_______________________

Term __________ Year ___________

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Unit : Environmental Sustainability

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Indicators of progress relevant to this work sample: •

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•

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•

Understands

Needs further opportunities

•

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Focus: Investigating aspects of our environment which are under threat due to human consumption and understanding the progress that is being made towards creating a sustainable planet. Aspects addressed include natural resource use, renewable energy, biodiversity, pollution and recycling and conservation.

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Participation in Society and Environment lessons:

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Satisfactory Unsatisfactory

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Teacher Comments:

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TEACHERS’ NOTES

SCIENCE Q][

Ecological Footprints / LESSON OUTLINE Important: Hand out the student information text on page 12 to the students prior to completing the student activity sheet. Information contained within this text is required for successful completion of the task.

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• Review what is meant by an ‘ecological footprint’. Ask the students to predict how big their own footprint might be. Encourage the students to give reasons for their estimates. • Model how an ecological footprint can be calculated using the equation given on the student worksheet. • Allow the students to use calculators to find the ecological footprints of a person in each of the countries given in the table in Question 1. • Compare the footprint sizes of each country based on the calculations made to complete the table. Identify the largest and smallest footprints and encourage the students to suggest reasons why there may be variations between these countries. • Deduce which country is having the biggest environmental impact and why their impact is so great. Discuss what might happen if there were a billion Australians consuming as much as we are now. • Allow the students time to complete Question 2. • Discuss what needs to be done to reduce our environmental impact. As a whole class, brainstorm ideas for reducing the amount of natural resources we are using. Have the students take note of the suggestions in the footprint outline to complete Question 3. • Discuss how the students think they might be able to reduce the size of their own ecological footprints in practical day-to-day terms.

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1. (a) 207.1 million hectares; (b) 1000 million hectares; (c ) 2997.5 million hectares. 2. Answers will vary; America is having the greatest impact on the environment because of the size of its population. Australia is doing the same amount of damage on a smaller scale because its population is small. People in India consume the least amount of natural resources but because their population is so great, they are making a considerable impact on the environment. 3. Answers will vary; water, land, minerals, air, timber, plants, animals.

/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES • Have students mark an area of 10.9 hectares on a map of the local area to demonstrate the area of land and resources they will use in one year. • Develop a list of other countries that have a significant impact on the environment. Give reasons why each country should be included on the list.

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ACTIVITY

SCIENCE Q][ ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS

Who Can Solve The Problem? Imagine you are an environmental scientist. You are researching the impact different countries have on their environment. Scientists often need to use mathematical equations to find the results of what they are researching. To work out ‘ecological footprints’ the equation is:

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Consumption of natural resources

Consumption per person per year

AUSTRALIA INDIA

Population

Ecological footprint (per million hectares)

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Complete the data table for this research.

10.9 hectares

19 million

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hectares

1 hectare

1000 million

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hectares

What are the results of your research?

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We need to work together if we are going to reduce the amount of natural resources we are currently using, and reduce the size of our ‘ecological footprints’.

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Brainstorm the natural resources you think you are using which make up your ecological footprint.

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Discuss how you think you might be able to reduce the size of your ecological footprint. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

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TEACHERS’ NOTES

HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][

Ecological Footprints

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The concept of the compounding effect of increased population and increased consumerism as having a destructive impact on the environment is not a new one. Back in 1987, a report called “Our Common Future” was published under the commission of the Prime Minister of Norway, Ms Gro Brundtland. The report found that the needs of the environment must be considered jointly with development if we are to achieve sustainability. This conclusion was drawn when it was ascertained that central to environmental problems around the world are: •Significantly increasing world populations; and •The over-exploitation of resources made possible by powerful technologies. So a new approach was needed and the concept of sustainable development started to be understood. From a humanitarian perspective we are starting to realise that not only do we, as a world community, have a responsibility to care for the environment for intra-generational equity but also inter-generational equity. In other words, a healthy, diverse and productive environment should not only be available to all persons living today, but also all future generations to come. However, we need to take this a step further because the world is not only for humans but needs to be shared by millions of other life forms for it to function correctly. In Australia, the concept has been expanded to ‘ecologically sustainable development’ defined in the National Strategy for ESD as “using, conserving and enhancing the community’s resources so that ecological processes, on which life depends, are maintained, and the total quality of life, now and in the future, can be increased”. An interesting point is that of current intra-generational equity when we look in terms of how developed countries live in comparison to undeveloped countries. Some believe that it would be a utopian world if all people (all 6.1 billion of us) could live the same standard of living as in the United States and Australia, for example. However, because of the very high impact per capita on natural resources in these countries, there is simply not enough resources in the world to provide this to all people. In very broad terms it seems that we need some people to have less to enable others to have more. The question is if we are to truly have equity, how can this be solved? Should the world strive for population decrease, should we decrease the level of natural resources consumption, or should we be focusing on new solutions in sustainability? Maybe it is a combination of all three that will be required. Websites relevant to this topic can be found on page 8.

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Important: The student information text (Background Notes) on page 12 should be given to the students prior to completing the following activity sheet. To assist the students in comprehending what they have read, encourage them to take notes or follow the reading with recall-based discussion and questioning.

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• Discuss why we would need three worlds if everyone used the resources Australians do. • Think about and discuss the way students live and how it might be different from other countries. • Discuss whether or not everyone should live equally. Allow the students to complete Question 1. • Look at the table in Question 2. Ask the students to write ways each of these resources might be wasted in Australia. • Give the students an opportunity to feed their answers back to the class. Highlight the wastage that students can take responsibility for and improve on. • Discuss what is meant by the world having limited resources and how these limited resources can be mismanaged in some countries. Consider what it might be like to live in poverty. Ask the students whether they would be willing to forfeit some of the luxuries of their own lifestyle to help provide a better life for people living in poverty. • Allow the students time to complete Questions 3, 4 and 5, predicting what they think will happen to our natural resources in the future. Give the students an opportunity to share their ideas.

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Answers will vary. Answers will vary. Answers will vary. By reducing the amount of resources we use, preserving and replenishing renewable resources and not wasting the resources we use. 5. Everyone.

/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES •

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Develop a class chart showing ways we waste natural resources. Circle the things the students can help prevent happening. Have the students make signs to put around the school to remind others not to waste natural resources. Predict what would happen if the world were to run out of natural resources.

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ACTIVITY

HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][ ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS

Is One World Enough? Not only do we use natural resources – we waste them!

/ THINK & DISCUSS

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If everyone in the world used up as much natural resources as each person living in Australia, we would need three worlds! For people in Australia to live the way they do – what must people in other countries have to do without?

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Do you think all people in the world should have the same standard of living?

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Yes / No. Why? ______________________________________________________

List three ways we might waste each of the following natural resources. WATER

FOSSIL FUELS (for electricity)

• ______________ • ________________ ______________

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PLANTS

ANIMALS

• _______________ • ________________ _______________

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• _______________ • ________________ _______________

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Can you solve the problems? We only have one world and its resources are limited. Already, people in some parts of the world live in poverty or cannot survive due to lack of, or mismanagement of, resources.

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Will the world’s natural resources run out? Yes / No

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Why do you think this? ___________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

We need natural resources to survive.

How can we make sure there will be natural resources in the future?

Who should be responsible for making sure this will happen? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

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STUDENT BACKGROUND NOTES

Ecological Footprints

It is no secret that around the world we are witnessing and participating in a range of activities that are having a detrimental effect on our environment.

Many experts, such as environmental scientists, ecologists, conservationists and restorationists, are working to solve these environmental problems. However, solving environmental problems is not as easy as simply reducing population growth. All detrimental impacts and their causes need to be addressed together to achieve sustainable living.

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The way this is happening is through: • population growth; • increasing use of our natural resources; • destruction of wildlife habitats; • extinction of plants and animals (loss of biodiversity); • poverty; • pollution.

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For example, it takes about 10.9 hectares of land to sustain each person in Australia, as opposed to only one hectare to sustain a person in India. But if you look at the compounding effect of population on the use of natural resources, the impact of India as a country is much greater than Australia because their population is so much higher. (See figure below.)

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For the world to be sustainable, it would mean that all people’s basic needs can be satisfied without the depletion of natural resources for current and future generations of humans and all other species.

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To understand the compounding effect of environmental damage to the planet, often environmentalists refer to a person’s ecological footprint. A person living in Australia or the United States of America has a high environmental impact per person because of the amount of natural resources individually being consumed compared to, say, a person living in India.

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As the standard of living increases in all countries around the world, so does the pressure on natural resources. If the entire world population of 6.1 billion consumed as much as each Australian, we would require the land area of three worlds. However, all humans should have the same standard of living and this is where we get back to sustainability. Our use of natural resources has to become less wasteful, so that our ecological footprints are considerably reduced.

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SCIENCE Q][

TEACHERS’ NOTES

Natural Resources / LESSON OUTLINE Important: Hand out the student information text on page 17 to the students prior to completing the student activity sheet. Information contained within this text is required for successful completion of the task.

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• Review what is meant by renewable, non-renewable and potentially renewable resources. Discuss each of the resources in the box in Question 1 and allow the students to write each into the most appropriate category. • Discuss ways the resources in the ‘renewable’ category are being used. Identify uses for these resources in the students’ own homes, whether or not they are being used currently and why they may or may not be used. Have the students complete Question 2. • Discuss why water and air are not renewable resources. Have the students identify how humans may inadvertently damage these resources. • Identify why the threats to plant and animal resources might be similar. • Discuss the impact pollution has on all potentially renewable resources. • Allow the students time to complete Questions 3 and 4. • Give the students an opportunity to share their predictions about the future of the planet without nonrenewable resources. Make predictions about the changes in landscape, lifestyle and whether or not it would improve the environment for living things. • Discuss the motivations behind using non-renewable rather than renewable resources to produce energy. • Have the students rate each type of resource on a scale of one to ten to complete Question 5. Encourage the students to compare their ratings and share the reasons for their rating with a peer.

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/ ANSWERS 1. 2. 3.

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www.nrm.qld.gov.au/education/index2.html water.usgs.gov/education.html (Contains trivia game on water basics.) interactive2.usgs.gov/learningweb/fun/trivia.htm

Renewable-tides, wind, sun; Potentially renewable-water, milk, air, plants, animals, pearls; Non-renewable-gas, limestone, mineral sands, oil, coal. (a) Answers will vary; examples include: wind mills, solar power, oyster farming. (b) Answers will vary. (a) Pollution, salinity from over harvesting. (b) Pollution, too much carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels. (c) Pollution, habitat destruction, land clearing. (d) Pollution, poaching, habitat destruction. (a) Answers will vary. (b) Because the infrastructure to produce energy from fossil fuels is already in place and therefore cheaper to produce.

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/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES • Using a section of the playground, mark a line with one end being ‘strongly agree’ and the other being ‘strongly disagree’. Read out a list of resources one by one and have the students stand along the line to show how they feel about that natural resource being used. Encourage students to give reasons for their choices and to consider the impact their choice would have on the environment.

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ACTIVITY

SCIENCE

Q][ NATURAL RESOURCES

Renewable, Non-renewable and Potentially Renewable Resources with little chance of running out are termed renewable. Resources which cannot be replaced or take a long time to be produced naturally are termed non-renewable. Potentially renewable resources are those which must be used carefully to be sustained.

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Look at the list of resources below. Decide which are renewable, non-renewable and which are potentially renewable. Write them into the appropriate box. •plant •tides

RENEWABLE

a) List three ways we are currently using renewable resources. •

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•soil •mineral sands

•water •sun

•air •gas

POTENTIALLY RENEWABLE

NON-RENEWABLE

Give a reason why each of

a) Predict what you think

the following may not be available to be reused.

a) water: ___________

might happen when all non-renewable resources have been used.

b) air: ______________

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b) Do you use any renewable resources in your home? Yes / No List.

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b) Why do you think nonrenewable resources are being used rather than always using renewable resources to produce energy?

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d) animals: __________

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_________________ _________________ c) plants: ____________

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•coal •pearls

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•limestone •wind •animals •milk

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_________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________

Rate the use of each type of resource on the ‘environmentally friendly’ scale. RENEWABLE

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POTENTIALLY RENEWABLE

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

☺

NON-RENEWABLE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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TEACHERS’ NOTES

HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][

Natural Resources

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We now share our world with six billion other people. Each of us needs some very basic things for survival – food, water, clothing and shelter. Interestingly, one of these components is needed to provide all the others – water. Water is required to grow food and most of the materials required for clothes and shelter. About 60% of the weight of a tree is water. In most animals water comprises between 50% and 65% of the total weight. However because we live in a world covered by 71% water, this is a resource that surely can be considered as renewable and have little chance of running out. Suprisingly, there are some pretty good reasons why this resource can be considered only ‘potentially’ renewable and must be carefully managed in order for sustainability. These are: • 97.4% of the world’s water is seawater – too salty for drinking, irrigation or industry. This leaves only 2.6% fresh water. • Of the 2.6% fresh water, most is locked away in ice caps and glaciers. • Only 0.014% of water is easily available. • About 20% of rain falls in regions too remote to be of any human use. • About another 50% of rainfall cannot be collected before reaching the oceans. • Only 30% of the rain that falls can be used for human use. The small amounts of fresh water available have been compounded by increasing global populations combined with increased use of water per person (see unit on Ecological Footprints). The result has seen each person use four times the water they did in the year 1900 and overall, throughout the world, we use nine times the fresh water. Overuse is not the only problem for this potentially renewable resource – pollution being a major one. So how do we go about ensuring fresh water sustainability? The answer is a complex one requiring integrated management solutions that include: • Agreements between regions and countries regarding sharing surface water supplies; • Reducing the amount of water wasted in irrigation, industry and homes; • Increased government incentives for reducing water waste; • Maintaining ecological health and not depleting aquatic systems; • Preserving water quality; • Slowing or even reducing population growth. Websites relevant to this topic can be found on page 13.

/ LESSON© OUTLINE ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons

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Important: The student information text on page 17 should be given to the students prior to completing the following activity sheet. To assist the students in comprehending what they have read, encourage them to take notes or follow the reading with recall-based discussion and questioning. • Have the students identify what kind of resource water is ‘potentially renewable’ and revisit why water is not a renewable resource like the sun or wind. • Brainstorm a class list of uses for water to demonstrate how widely used and necessary water is to our existence and the existence of all living things. Have the students note ideas from the class list to complete Question 1. • Ask the students what they consider the biggest killer in the world is. Read together the passage about water being deadly. Discuss how the resource responsible for keeping us alive could also be responsible for killing more people than anything else in the world. • Allow the students time to write their explanation about the deadly nature of water to complete Question 2. • If possible, have apparatus displayed which could be used to distill water. Use the apparatus to demonstrate how the distilling process works. • Discuss the difficulties involved in collecting steam and brainstorm ways this could be overcome. • Allow the students time to invent their own distillery and complete Questions 3 and 4. • Use a petri dish containing a small amount of water on a hot plate or over a bunsen burner to cause it to evaporate. Have the students predict what will happen to the water and whether or not a residue will remain. • Discuss why our water contains additives. Allow the students to complete Question 5.

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Answers will vary. When water becomes polluted it becomes a breeding ground for diseases. When people wash in or drink the dirty water, they become infected with the diseases. Answers will vary. Teacher check. (a) Answers will vary. (b) No. (c ) To ensure it is sanitary and suitable for human consumption.

/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES • Have the students construct the distilleries they invented to test whether they work. • Collect samples of water from different locations, including drains, ocean, creeks, dams, birdbaths or fish ponds and compare the residue left after the water has been evaporated. Use this process to compare the level of pollution in different locations.

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ACTIVITY

HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][ NATURAL RESOURCES

Water: A Valuable Resource Brainstorm uses for water. • __________________________________________________ • __________________________________________________

Fresh water is a precious commodity. It can be used for a myriad of purposes.

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• __________________________________________________ • __________________________________________________ • __________________________________________________

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All living things need water to survive. When water becomes polluted it becomes deadly. In fact, polluted water is the biggest killer in the world.

Explain how polluted water could be responsible for so many deaths.

______________________________________________________________________________

It is possible to extract pure clean water from polluted water using a process called ‘distillation’. When water is boiled, the steam which it produces is pure. When the steam particles are collected and join together, pure distilled water forms. Producing steam is easy. Collecting steam and the water it forms is more difficult.

© ReadyEdPub l i cat i ons Draw and label a diagram collect steam to create purified water? Describe of your water distillery. how you• think it could be done successfully. f o rr e vi e w pur pos esonl y•

INVENT your own water distillery. How would you __________________________________________

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__________________________________________

a) Describe what is left in the petri dish. __________________________________________

water? Boil a petri dish of water until all of the water has become steam.

b) Is our water pure? Yes / No

c) Why do you think things have been added to our drinking water? __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________

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STUDENT BACKGROUND NOTES

Natural Resources

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Natural resources can be renewable, nonrenewable or potentially renewable. Energy from the sun, tides and wind are examples of resources which have little chance of running out. These are known as renewable resources. Fossil fuels and minerals take so long to be produced naturally, that they are considered nonrenewable resources.

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A resource is anything that has value to humans. Resources can either come from nature or from humans. Human resources include everything that has been achieved through development and civilisation, as well as cultural things such as music, art and religion.

value. Different people value different things based on their cultural beliefs and their level of understanding. For example, many people fear snakes and feel they have no useful value to them. However, ecologists understand the important value snakes have for the health of an ecosystem. Indirectly, snakes have a value to humans by keeping ecosystems functioning correctly and therefore maintaining environmental health.

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Potentially renewable resources are those which must be used carefully to be sustained. For example, air and water are resources that can only be used if kept clean from pollution. Extinction of plant and animal species results in potentially renewable resources being lost forever.

It is also important to remember that some things may not appear to have a usage value to humans, but instead have an inherent or existence value. Visiting places of natural beauty, such as rainforests and reefs, enriches our experience of life. Most people now understand that the world is full of special places, rich in diversity, that should be preserved in their own right. To look at it another way, humans do not have the right to destroy these places just because the environments do not have a current resource use.

When we think of resources as being things that have ‘value’, it suggests that maybe there are things that do not have any

This is one reason why we now preserve and protect many natural environments throughout the world.

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TEACHERS’ NOTES

SCIENCE Q][

Renewable Energy / LESSON OUTLINE Important: Hand out the student information text on page 22 to the students prior to completing the student activity sheet. Information contained within this text is required for successful completion of the task.

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• Read together the passage “Chasing the Wind”. Have the students underline the benefits of using the Albany wind farm (i.e. does not produce greenhouse gases, does not use fossil fuels, reduces greenhouse gas emissions). • Discuss whether wind power would be a good way of producing electricity for every city in the world. • Allow the students time to complete the table in Question 1 identifying the ‘pros and cons’ of using wind energy. Give the students the opportunity to share their answers with the class. • Ensure equipment is available for the students the make their anemometers. It is sufficient for one anemometer to be made between 4-5 students. • Demonstrate the construction of an anemometer and then allow the students time to construct their own. • Look at the graph in Question 2. Discuss suitable locations for the collection of readings for the completion of the graph. • Have the students graph their results and use this information to complete Questions 3 and 4. • Encourage the students to share their findings and evaluate the suitability of each location for harnessing wind energy.

www.greenhouse.gov.au/education/index.html www.epa.gov/globalwarming/kids/greenhouse.html www.wind-power.com/

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Benefits of using wind energy: wind is a renewable resource which will not run out; wind energy does not produce greenhouse gases; collecting wind energy does not involve using fossil fuels; using wind energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Problems with harnessing wind energy; wind velocity and direction changes daily; some locations are not windy enough to produce wind energy; expensive equipment is needed to harness the energy of wind. Teacher to check. Answers will vary. Answers will vary.

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/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES • Brainstorm a list of things which require wind energy to operate. • Have the students design, construct and operate a wind driven device such as a pinwheel, windmill or kite. • Have the students design, construct and operate a device driven by another renewable resource.

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ACTIVITY

SCIENCE

Q][ RENEWABLE ENERGY

Chasing the Wind European settlers used wind energy to drive mills to grind flour. They later used windmills to pump water. These windmills can still be seen in rural areas. Today, we have the technology to generate energy using large wind driven turbines.

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The Albany Wind Farm in Western Australia uses 12 enormous turbines, each producing up to 1.84MW of electricity to provide 15 000 homes with power – 75% of Albany’s electricity needs.

As wind energy does not produce any of the greenhouse gases produced by using fossil fuels, this wind farm alone reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 77 000 tonnes a year. BENEFITS OF USING WIND ENERGY

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Discuss and complete the table below.

PROBLEMS WITH HARNESSING WIND ENERGY

Experiment © ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons

Make and use an anemometer to determine wind speed and the most suitable locations for harnessing wind energy.

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Construct your anemometer

Use your anemometer in each of the locations shown in the graph.

MATERIALS

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DIRECTIONS

Thumbtack

Thumbtacks

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Which locations would harness the wind best? ________________________________

Aluminium Foil Strip

Why? ________________________________ Thumbtack

Aluminium Foil Strip

Area under cover

Long Pin

Cardboard

Sports oval

Pencil

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Between buildings

Long Pin

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Inside a classroom

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a) Mark numbers 1–10 evenly spaced around the curved edge of the quadrant. b) Attach the quadrant to the pencil using thumbtacks. c) Fold one end of the foil over the long pin and fasten with sticky tape. d) Press pin with foil into the rubber in the pencil as shown in the diagram.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Graph the wind speeds shown on the scale of the anemometer for each location.

• Pencil with a rubber end (at least 20cm long) • Cardboard quadrant with a radius of 10cm • One straight pin • Two thumb tacks • Aluminium foil (strip at lesast 15cm long)

Why do you think the readings were higher in these locations?

SIDE VIEW

FRONT VIEW

_____________________________________

Wooden block

_____________________________________

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TEACHERS’ NOTES

HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][

Renewable Energy

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As the finite resources of fossil fuels as our prime source of energy start to diminish, science and industry around the world are scrambling to find alternatives, primarily through the use of renewable energy. Many industries are looking for cleaner and greener solutions to energy and other primary resources. Smart industries that have the wisdom to look to the future recognise environmental sustainability as a major planning consideration. They can also see the long-term economic benefits in being energy efficient. However we still have a long way to go. Take, for example, producing electricity from wind – a totally renewable resource. This is the world’s fastest growing energy resource but still only produces about 1% of the energy used in the United States. Because systems for traditional energy resource use is so well established it will take a long time before new systems are in place. What also needs to be considered is that something like wind energy does not suit all environments. Many places simply do not have the high winds required. There are also other problems associated with wind power. Firstly, they create visual and some noise pollution when located near urban settings. Secondly, they kill large amounts of wildlife (particularly birds of prey) and may interfere with migratory bird flight. It is evident that these new ideas need refining to be carefully integrated into the environment so as not to diminish the area’s aesthetic integrity and to minimise the loss of wildlife. Industries are constantly seeking ways to improve energy efficiency through the production and use of equipment that requires less energy to operate and last longer (e.g. energy efficient light bulbs). One of the biggest wastes of energy is that involved in moving products from one area to another. This energy cost must be taken into consideration when costing the manufacture of items and its ultimate delivery to consumers. There are also huge expenses of energy related to the transport of people to and from school and work every day. Thanks to technological advances it is becoming possible for more people to work from home, thus saving energy consumed for travel. However, when one problem is solved, unexpected ones may emerge. For example, people who work from home may not have much contact with other people. Could the advent of working from home initiate social problems related to isolation and loneliness? Websites relevant to this topic can be found on page 18.

/ LESSON OUTLINE © ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons

Important: The student information text on page 22 should be given to the students prior to completing the following activity sheet. To assist the students in comprehending what they have read, encourage them to take notes or follow the reading with recall-based discussion and questioning.

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• Review the problems with using fossil fuels. Discuss the motivation behind continuing to use fossil fuels even though they are damaging the environment and becoming depleted. • Discuss what can be done to improve the situation so that the fossil fuels which are being burnt are not wasted. • Have the students brainstorm a list of things which require energy produced from fossil fuels (everything that requires electricity and fuel for vehicles and factory machinery). • Identify from the list brainstormed which things are being used by the class. • Ask the students to use the pictograph in Question 1 to monitor the amount of energy being used by major appliances in the class. Explain the means of recording, using one light bulb to represent an hour and half a light bulb to represent half an hour. • Based on their findings, the students can then complete Question 2 (a). • Hold a class meeting to decide how energy consumption could be reduced by the class. This may include nominating classroom monitors for turning on and off appliances when they are not being used or cutting back on the amount of time the appliances are being used. Have the students take notes from the discussion in the space provided to answer Question 2 (b). • Allow the students to take the remainder of the worksheet home for completion to assess the efficiency of energy use in their own home and to identify areas for improvement. • Students should be given an opportunity to report their findings from their home investigations back to the class.

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Teacher to check. Answers will vary. Answers will vary. Teacher to check; answers will vary.

/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES • Conduct an experiment comparing the energy efficiency of different types of light bulbs. Take note of other appliances with energy efficiency ratings. • Debate whether there are certain electrical appliances which should be kept on permanently and whether or not this has a significant impact. P A G E 2 0 SAVE THE PLANET

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ACTIVITY

HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][ RENEWABLE ENERGY

Are You Energy Efficient? Renewable energy systems can be very expensive to set up. At present, it is far cheaper to to use fossil fuels that are readily available as the machinery and equipment are How much already in place for them to be used. If this is the case and our only option is to use the energy source already put in place in our community, there are things we energy do can do to at least become more efficient in using energy. This way, we can slow you use? down the rate at which we are using fossil fuels and damaging our environment and allow more time for renewable energy sources to be established.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Monitor the energy you use in your classroom during school hours. Complete the pictograph ENERGY USES IN THE CLASSROOM

= 1 hour

TIME SPENT USING ENERGY

LIGHTS

COMPUTERS FAN OTHER:

a) Do you think you are using energy efficiently in your classroom? Yes / No

= ½ hour

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using one light bulb for every hour of energy used.

a) Monitor the energy you use in your home between 5pm and 8pm. Complete the time spent using energy by using one light bulb ( to represent 15 minutes.

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Energy uses in the home

Time spent using energy

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Minimum amount required

Television Lights Stove/oven

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b) Discuss how could you organise the running of your classroom to reduce the amount of energy being consumed?

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Computer

a) List the ways energy is being used in your Fridge home.

• _________________________________ • _________________________________ • _________________________________ • _________________________________ • _________________________________ • _________________________________ b) Is your family using energy efficiently? Yes / No

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Other:

b) Use the same scale to show the minimum amount of time required for your home to function effectively. c) Where do you waste most energy in your home? ________________________________

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STUDENT BACKGROUND NOTES

Renewable Energy

Forms of renewable energy include solar, hydro (water), wind and geothermal (extracting heat from the earth’s i n t e r i o r ) . However, there is another very exciting aspect with one of the solutions now being investigated. It has to do with burning hydrogen for our primary energy resource. We currently burn fossil fuels to produce electricity, but there are damaging pollutant by-products created, in particular, carbon dioxide.

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a transition to burning hydrogen would be the solution to eliminating most of the world’s air pollution and global warming. Why? Because the burning of hydrogen does not produce any carbon dioxide.

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Traditional sources of energy are derived from non-renewable resources such as coal. Our ability to continue the use of these substances is finite because there will come a time when they have all been consumed. Consequently, many scientists around the world are currently looking for new ways to produce energy, as well as looking at how we can be more energy efficient.

Scientists are also constantly creating new ways to be more energy efficient. You cannot recycle energy itself, but you can use it to its fullest capacity. One way is through better building insulation to take advantage of the heat produced as a byproduct of using energy. Another is to buy energy efficient lighting and appliances.

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Carbon dioxide is one of the natural gases in the atmosphere which traps the sun’s radiation in the form of heat (this is known as the greenhouse effect). An increase in carbon dioxide means that more radiation is being trapped, which in turn is responsible for global warming. However,

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Many people have spoken about the advantages of using the Internet to save paper, but it also saves a lot of energy. Two ways this is achieved is through: - allowing more people to stay home and work (no energy consumed for travel);

- eliminating the need for warehouses, as products can be shipped directly from the manufacturer (reduction in energy consumed for transportation). It is interesting to think that the challenges of replacing finite energy resources with sustainable resources, may actually help us solve many of our other environmental problems.

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SCIENCE Q][

TEACHERS’ NOTES

Recycling / LESSON OUTLINE Important: Hand out the student information text on page 27 to the students prior to completing the student activity sheet. Information contained within this text is required for successful completion of the task.

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• Look at the example given of recycling in nature. Make note that not only is this natural process an example of recycling, but that the process is dependent on being recycled. Each step in the cycle benefits the next. Compare this natural recycling process to the human-made recycling process. • Brainstorm things the students buy or use which are recyclable and have them note examples of this to answer Question 1. • Have the students look carefully at their list and identify the things they are recycling to complete Question 2. • As a whole class, demonstrate how an item goes through the recycling process. With the assistance of the students, construct a labeled diagram showing the cyclical process. • Ask the students to choose a recyclable item from their own list and draw how it is recycled in a similar way, to complete Question 3. • Debate whether the level of pollution is increasing. Encourage the students to suggest what has helped them form that opinion. • Compare the current means of waste disposal, landfill and incinerators. Discuss the detrimental effect each has on the environment. Have the students use the information from this discussion to help them complete the Venn diagram in Question 4.

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www.recyclingnearyou.com.au/ www.epa.gov/recyclecity/ (Kids recycling site) www.abc.net.au/science/features/bags/default.htm (Plastic bags)

/ ANSWERS . t

Answers will vary. Teacher to check. Answers will vary. Answers will vary.

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/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Set up a composting bin for biodegradable lunch remains. Use the compost to fertilise the school gardens. • Encourage the school community to use paper wisely. • Make recycled paper or construct new furniture from recycled timber.

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ACTIVITY

SCIENCE Q][ RECYCLING

Learning From Nature All systems in nature are cyclical. In nature, all things that are consumed or used are returned to the environment in a form that can be used all over again. Look at the diagram below showing an example of this.

List things you buy or use which are recyclable. • __________________________________ • __________________________________

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• __________________________________ • __________________________________

Bird eats berries and flies to a new place.

New seedlings grow and produce new berries.

• __________________________________ • __________________________________

Berry seeds are deposited in a new place in bird droppings.

a) Put a tick next to the things you are recycling. b) Put a cross next to the things you are not recycling.

Droppings provide fertilizer for seeds to grow.

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• __________________________________

Our planet is gradually becoming more and more polluted.

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billion nappies each year – that’s enough to stretch to the moon and back seven times – and they are all buried in landfill and break down very slowly.

o c . che e r o t r s super INCINERATORS

Discuss how landfill and incinerators affect

our environment. Write key points in the Venn diagram provided below. Use these key points to help you present your ideas to the class.

LANDFILLS • • • • •

_____________________ _____________________ _____________________ _____________________ _____________________

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BOTH

• • • • •

_____________________ _____________________ _____________________ _____________________ _____________________

• • • • •

_____________________ _____________________ _____________________ _____________________ _____________________

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TEACHERS’ NOTES

HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][

Recycling

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One of the best ways to encourage students to recycle is to set up systems in the school as an example. The old adage “do what I say not what I do” is still as useless today as ever. But if students can actually see the process of recycling at work the lesson is well received and accepted. This can be done by: • Setting up a recycling station for paper, glass, plastic, etc • Composting food scraps An even better example is to see the complete cycle, similar to how nature returns all consumed items back in a form that can be used again. Students: • place scraps in the food scrap recycling bin; • are involved in maintaining a worm farm which transforms these food scraps into compost; • establish a vegetable, fruit and herb garden; • pick the fresh product; • use these products for various lessons such as food groups, nutrition and cooking; • take any left over scraps (after preparing and eating their cooking) to the recycling bin and the process starts again. These activities are already happening at some schools with very positive results. PLASTIC BAGS Another waste reduction measure could be in the introduction of a visible cost to consumers for the plastic and paper bags at supermarkets. Currently the cost is absorbed in the price of the goods we buy. Those people who bring their own bags to the store are in fact subsidising the cost of plastic bags for everyone else. They are being penalised for doing the ‘right thing’ for the environment. However, should such a rule be introduced, consumers would immediately jump to the conclusion that they will be paying more and be outraged. In fact, if they obtain a supply of reusable canvas shopping bags, and not buy plastic ones each time they shop, they will be rewarded for doing the right thing, because of the reduction in the hidden cost in the price of their groceries. In the future, we will hopefully see more government legislation emulating this simple example of encouraging best practice in waste management by rewarding those things that benefit the natural environment, rather than continuing to subsidise detrimental practices. Websites relevant to this topic can be found on page 23.

ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons / LESSON© OUTLINE

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Important: The student information text on page 27 should be given to the students prior to completing the following activity sheet. To assist the students in comprehending what they have read, encourage them to take notes or follow the reading with recall-based discussion and questioning.

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/ ANSWERS

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• Use a visual stimulus such as a plastic shopping bag with several pre-packaged items to demonstrate the amount of waste that is produced unnecessarily. Introduce the idea that there are options we can take when shopping to help reduce waste. Have the students suggest ways that waste from shopping could be reduced. • Read together the introductory passage on the student worksheet. Have the students complete Question 1. • Propose that it is a waste of time changing to string bags if you are the only person doing it. Have the students argue that this is not the case and that the individual can make a difference. • Allow the students time to write five points arguing the case for the individual making a difference using the space in Question 2. • If time permits, hold a mini-debate where the students argue the ‘for’ case against the teacher. • Discuss how people could be encouraged to change their shopping habits. Suggest things governments could put in place to encourage recycling and reusing products. • Have the students look at the examples given in Question 3 and have them decide whether these things help to reduce rubbish or encourage recycling to answer part (a). • The students can reflect upon previous discussions to devise and write other ways the government could encourage recycling to complete Question 3 (b).

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a) Answers will vary. b) Answers will vary. Answers will vary. a) Helps create less rubbish: Taxes on industries with high wastage; Increasing the prices of non-recycled products; 5c

back on bottles. Encourages recycling: 5c back on bottles; labelling to show recycled products; governments only buying recycled products. b) Answers will vary.

/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES • • •

Organise for the waste paper from the school to be collected and recycled. Sell string shopping bags as a fundraiser to buy recycling bins for the school. Investigate other government incentives to reduce, recycle and reuse.

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ACTIVITY

HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][ RECYCLING

Shopping Bag Debate Plastic shopping bags are horrible pollutants. They degrade (break down) slowly. They are also harmful to wildlife if swallowed (for example, marine life think they are jelly fish, eat them and die). Paper bags degrade quickly, but use up resources like trees and cause pollution when they are made. An alternative to using plastic or paper shopping bags is to use canvas or string bags which can be used over and over.

r o e t s Bo r e p oPLASTIC T PAPER T u k S

a) Tick the type of shopping bags your family use. b) Why do you use this type of bag?

TREUSABLE

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____________________________ ____________________________

Write five points arguing the case for how the individual can make a difference by using resusable shopping bags.

DEBATE: Can the individual make a difference?

FOR

•__________________________________________________________ •__________________________________________________________ •__________________________________________________________

•__________________________________________________________ © Re adyEdPubl i cat i ons •__________________________________________________________ •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• Governments can do things to encourage people to create less rubbish and recycle more.

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HELPS CREATE LESS RUBBISH

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• 5c back on bottles • Labeling to show recycled products

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a) Draw a line from each of the following examples to either section.

ENCOURAGES RECYCLING

o c . che e r o t r s super • Taxes on industries with high wastage • Governments only buying recycled products

• Increasing the prices of non-recycled products

b) Can you think of any other ways a government could encourage recycling? Write your ideas. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ P A G E 2 6 SAVE THE PLANET

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STUDENT BACKGROUND NOTES

Recycling

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Ways we can produce less waste and pollution: - buying products that are less harmful and can be recycled; - reducing packaging of materials in products; - manufacturing products that last longer, are recyclable, reusable and easy to repair; - using less harmful chemicals in industry and farming.

Every item we purchase is made from natural resources. Once we are finished with it, there is close to a 70% chance that the waste will end up in landfills or burned in an incinerator. We have taken and used a natural resource that is now gone forever as a resource, but remains with us always as pollution. The planet is being diminished to pollution by human consumerism. We need to take a lesson from nature, because all systems in nature are cyclical. In nature, everything that is consumed is returned to the environment in a form that can be used again.

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tyres, i.e. ones which will last longer and/or are made of material that could be recycled.

After all efforts are made to reduce waste, then the second priority is to recycle and reuse as much as possible. This can be achieved by: - reusing products (like plastic containers and shopping bags); - repairing products instead of just throwing them away; - recycling; - composting; - choosing products which use recycled materials.

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So this is where the term recycling comes from – using our natural resources over and over again in a continuous cycle. Before we look at ways to reuse and recycle goods, we need to ask ourselves another question. Why are we producing so much waste in the first place? Rather than trying to fix the problem after it happens, our first priority really needs to be waste prevention.

Unfortunately, most governments around the world are yet to encourage best practice in waste management. In fact, many countries still subsidise the extraction of natural resources, rather than subsidising and encouraging recycling industries. Although more things are now being recycled, in the United States each person still generates 730 kilograms of solid waste each year (the world’s highest, with Australia not far behind). Considering that the United States recycled six times as much in 1999 than in 1970, there is still a lot more that can be done.

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In the United States, for example, if you took all the car tyres used in one year and lined them up, they would encircle the planet three times. Instead of finding new ways to get rid of tyres, we need to find ways to produce better designed

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TEACHERS’ NOTES

SCIENCE Q][

Pollution / LESSON OUTLINE Important: Hand out the student information text on page 32 to the students prior to completing the student activity sheet. Information contained within this text is required for successful completion of the task.

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• Read together the introductory passage at the beginning of the student worksheet. Encourage the students to share stories they have heard from their grandparents or other elderly people about their local environment in years gone by. • Discuss what it would have been like to live fifty years ago. Talk about why the environment has changed so much in such a short time. • Direct the students to the elements of their environment shown in the chart for Questions 1 and 2. Based on the previous discussion, have them briefly describe each element (waterways, air, land, vegetation) as they would have been fifty years ago and then describe how they are now. • As a whole class, compare the changes in each of these elements over time. Encourage the students to give reasons for these changes. • Ask the students to complete Question 2 by listing the pollutants which exist in each element of our environment today. • Read together the case study about coral. Expand upon what is meant by a symbiotic relationship. Encourage the students to think of other symbiotic relationships in nature. Discuss and describe why our relationship with nature is not symbiotic. • Look at the examples of the everyday things we do which impact upon our environment. Give the students time to complete the table writing firstly, the pollutants produced by each and then, the ways these pollutants affect the environment.

www.cleanup.com.au/ www.gbrmpa.gov.au (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park)

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Answers will vary. Answers will vary. a) fishing trip - outboard motor fuel, discarded bait and tackle.

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/ RELEVANT WEBSITES

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b) barbeque - carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels. c ) fertilising the lawn - additional nutrients. d ) a shopping trip - plastic bags, exhaust fumes from transportation, packaging. a) fishing trip - ocean water becomes unhealthy, bait and tackle hazardous for sea life. b) barbeque - air pollution contributes to greenhouse effect and global warming. c ) fertilising the lawn - upsets balance in waterways, extra algae grows. d) shopping trip - extra land fill, air pollution.

/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES • Investigate the symbiotic relationships that can be found in different ecosystems. • Conduct an investigation of the types and quantity of pollution accumulating in the school ground. • Design an action plan for the reduction of pollution within the school environment. P A G E 2 8 SAVE THE PLANET

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ACTIVITY

SCIENCE Q][ POLLUTION

Changing Environments When pollution is introduced to an environment, it changes. If you talk to an elderly person, they will tell you stories about a time when you always caught fish when you went fishing, the sky was clear and the only creature apart from the dinosaurs that had become extinct was the dodo bird. Today, our world is a very different place.

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Describe the environment you live in. In the table, use key words to describe each of the aspects of your environment and how you think they have changed over time.

In the last space, list any pollutants that now affect each aspect of your environment.

WATERWAYS

Then:

Now:

Pollutants:

VEGETATION

Then:

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Now:

Pollutants:

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Coral is made up of tiny living animals (polyps) that need certain plant algae to live together with it to survive. Corals are white and their beautiful colours are the algae that live with them. When two creatures need to live together to survive, their relationship is called ‘symbiotic’. It is when this symbiotic relationship is broken down, from pollution and global warming killing the algae, that coral bleaching occurs and the coral polyps die.

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Our relationship with the environment is not symbiotic. While we are dependent on our natural environment for survival, our natural environment can continue to function perfectly without us. In fact, it would function far better without the pollution we create!

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DISCUSS AND WRITE.

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Each of the activities listed in the table below creates pollution. In the first column, list the ways each activity may pollute our environment.

In the second column, suggest how these activities affect and change the environment. Pollution

Changes to the environment

a) fishing trip b) barbeque c) fertilising the lawn d) a shopping trip

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TEACHERS’ NOTES

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Q][

Pollution

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When we are sick or have injured ourselves, our bodies send out signals in the form of pain. The Great Barrier Reef and other reefs around the world can be likewise used as signals for dramatic climate change. As their health deteriorates it is a message to the world that we need to do something. Of course, there are other problems affecting the reef from many sources of pollution, over-harvesting of fish and marine creatures and tourist-related issues. Thankfully, many problems have recently been addressed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Over 30% of the reef is now totally protected. In addition, other areas have been re-zoned and a much better management plan for sustainability has been implemented. This is a great step forward but unfortunately, when we are considering global warming, the issue is one of world wide concern and cannot simply be fixed by one organisation. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is continuing. It is estimated that prior to the industrial revolution about 200 years ago, CO² was about 280 parts per million. In 1896, Swedish chemist, Svante Arrhenius noted 300 (ppm) and now it is at least 350 (ppm). Some scientists estimate that this will continue to increase to 560 ppm by 2030 unless something serious is done to turn the situation around. Such a serious environmental problem needs co-operation throughout all nations. A united approach from all government, industry and individual people must be sought. The problem of pollution (and other environment problems) must be tackled by everyone and that will take an across the board mind-change – perhaps nothing short of a ‘nature’ revolution. Websites relevant to this topic can be found on page 28.

/ LESSON OUTLINE

Important: The student information text on page 32 should be given to the students prior to completing the following activity sheet. To assist the students in comprehending what they have read, encourage them to take notes or follow the reading with recall-based discussion and questioning.

• Ask the students to share what they know of the industrial revolution. Construct a semantic web of ideas stemming from the industrial revolution, that have affected the way we think about and treat the environment. • Have the students consider and write a list of priorities in their lives. Encourage them to share their lists and to make note of how important they currently consider their environment to be. • Read together the introductory passage at the top of the student worksheet. Discuss how we might know we have reached an environmental ‘crisis point’. • Read the definition of a ‘revolution’ in Question 1 and allow the students to write their own definition of a ‘nature’ revolution to complete the question. • Have the students look at what is being said in each of the speech bubbles in Question 2. Use these statements as a basis for four short role-plays. The students can work in pairs to prepare and present a short conversation based on one of the speech bubbles, between ‘Average Joe’ and someone trying to convince them to think in a more environmentally friendly way. • Discuss how Average Joe needs to change the way he is thinking about the environment and have the students fill in the blank speech bubbles with what he should be thinking if we are to save our environment. • Ask the students to think about who might be in a position to bring about a nature revolution. Discuss government bodies that are dedicated to the environment and the work they do. • Have the students imagine what they might say to convince people to think differently about the environment if they were politicians. They can then complete Question 3 on a separate piece of paper. • Allow the students to share their political speeches. Encourage them to to do so as convincingly as possible to get their message across.

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A nature revolution would mean a complete turn around in the way we think about the environment with people considering the needs of the environment.

a) If everyone recycled, we would create far less waste.

b) Every environment is important and has the right to exist. c) I need to be careful about using paper because trees have to be cut down to make it. d) I’m going to use string bags so there are less plastic bags polluting our environment. Answers will vary.

/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES •

Have the students present their speeches at assembly to convince the school body of the importance of taking care of the environment.

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ACTIVITY

HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][ POLLUTION

The ‘Nature’ Revolution

Our world is fast reaching crisis point with pollution levels, waste and threat to wilderness and wildlife higher than they have ever been. To save our planet from complete destruction by man, we need to rethink the way we live with and use our planet.

A revolution is a word used to describe a great change or a complete turn around in thinking.

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What do you think the author means by a nature revolution?

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We need to change the way we think about our world and to encourage others to do the same.

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Below, Average Joe is saying what he thinks about the environment. He needs to change his thinking. Write what he should be thinking in the empty speech bubble for each.

Australia is a big place so why not spread out? Most of it’s only desert anyway.

I don’t make much rubbish. So if I recycled it wouldn’t make any difference.

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Average Joe

o c . che e r o t r s s r u e p I can’t be bothered bringing Paper is cheap - I can

use as much as I want.

my own bags from home. String bags aren’t cool and plastic bags are usually free!

Imagine you are a politician promoting a ‘nature’ revolution. On a separate piece of paper write a short speech to try and convince the community to change their thinking.

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STUDENT BACKGROUND NOTES

Pollution

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The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s natural wonders and is visited by thousands of tourists each year wanting to see such a beautiful environment. But like everywhere in the world today, the Great Barrier Reef is under threat from pollution. What makes things worse is that the reef is being polluted from all angles.

survive. The relationship between the coral and algae is broken down when the water is too warm and the algae leaves the coral.

Throughout history, coral bleaching has occurred naturally and coral has recovered. However, now the corals are debilitated by the compounding effects of all the other pollutants. Their health declines and in turn, their chances of recuperating after coral bleaching is greatly reduced.

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Global warming, caused by air pollution (high levels of carbon dioxide and other pollutants in the atmosphere), in turn causes sea temperatures to rise and coral bleaching. Coral polyps need to live together with certain algae plants to P A G E 3 2 SAVE THE PLANET

Humans are dealing with the same problems as the corals and all other living creatures. Pollution is causing an unhealthy environment for us to live in. So what is the answer? Certainly, recycling and using renewable energy are part of the solution – but we need to go further. In fact, we need to totally change the way we think about nature. Over the past 200 years we have experienced the industrial revolution, which involved the destruction of nature and the creation of by-products which are polluting our environment. We now know that this cannot continue, because many resources being used are finite and running out fast! Furthermore, without nature, we simply will not have clean air and clean water.

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There are oil spills from cargo ships, plus rubbish, sewerage and outboard motor fuel from the tourist and fishing industries. There are land-based pollutants entering the reef through waterways in the form of sediment (caused by erosion from land clearing), and herbicides and pesticides from farms. Because Australian soil is low in nutrients, farmers also load tonnes of fertiliser into the soil, much of which also ends up in waterways and therefore on the reef. Nutrients from these fertilisers increase plant growth and disturb the natural balance of the reef environment.

Maybe our next revolution will be the ‘nature’ revolution!

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TEACHERS’ NOTES

SCIENCE Q][

Biodiversity / LESSON OUTLINE Important: Hand out the student information text on page 37 to the students prior to completing the student activity sheet. Information contained within this text is required for successful completion of the task.

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• Construct an explosion chart breaking a rainforest down into water, sky, land and then into habitats within these ecosystems such as streams, canopies, tree roots and so on. Have the students suggest things that live in each of these habitats to demonstrate the biodiversity in rainforests alone. • Direct the students to the simple model in Question 1 of the student worksheet. Have the students complete Questions 1 (a) and (b). Allow the students to share ideas with their peers as they work to complete this question so that they build up an extensive list of living things within a desert. • Direct the students’ attention back to the explosion chart for the rainforest. Identify the habitats within the rainforest and have the students write lists of habitats that might be found within a desert ecosystem to complete Question 1 (c). • Discuss the different models that could be used to display data to show the biodiversity of an ecosystem. Give students the opportunity to draw their own suggested models for the class. Encourage the students to be as detailed as possible and include as many habitats within their model as possible. • Allow the students time to draw their own models to demonstrate the biodiversity in an ecosystem of their choice, other than a desert. • Alternatively, have the students work in pairs or in small groups using butchers’ paper to construct and extend their models.

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www.acess.250x.com/ (Australian loss of biodiversity) www.nd.edu/~archives/latgramm.htm (Latin) (from University of Notre Dame www.nd.edu) www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/ www.australianmammals.org.au/Species/species.htm (Echidna)

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a) Water - animals: fish, yabbies; plants: lily, algae;

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Sky - animals: eagle, owl, budgerigar; Land - animals-snake, lizard; plants: cactus, spinifex. b) Teacher to check. c) Answers will vary, but examples include waterholes, caves, rocky outcrops, sand dunes, hollow trees. Teacher to check.

/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES •

•

Brainstorm all of the ecosystems in the world. Have the students work in small groups or pairs to create a chart showing the biodiversity in their designated ecosystem. Join these charts together to demonstrate the biodiversity in the world. From the charts made by the students, have them nominate a species and explore the impact their extinction would have on the rest of their habitat, and consequently on their ecosystem and the world.

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ACTIVITY

SCIENCE

Q][ BIODIVERSITY

Life on Earth a) Add the words in the box to the chart below to give an example of the biodiversity in a desert ecosystem.

Animals

WATER

•eagle •budgerigar •fish •snake •owl •lizard •cactus •spinifex •algae •yabbies •lily

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Animals

Desert Ecosystem

Animals

Plants

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Plants

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Choose an ecosystem of your own and create a diagram to demonstrate the biodiversity

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TEACHERS’ NOTES

HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][

Biodiversity / BACKGROUND INFORMATION

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Do we really want to live in a world where the only animals are cats, dogs and cane toads? Do we really want to live in a world where there are no reefs or alpine regions? Of course not, because like all humans we love the diversity of living things and all the beautiful places that are their homes. Unfortunately, as we lose biodiversity through the loss of sub-species (genetic diversity), species, habitats and often entire ecosystems, we are diminishing the world and all its capabilities. The result is altered environments, many of which are restricting the cyclical life-support systems of nature. The loss of biodiversity also diminishes the resources available to scientists who work in the field of discovering new food resources, medicines and other health products. Once the damage is done – an environment is detrimentally altered by the inappropriate actions of humans – the restoration process is a highly difficult task. Take, for example, the situation in New Zealand and the introduced species of brush-tailed possum. This possum is protected in Australia but in New Zealand there are very few native mammals. Therefore, when introduced (for the fur trade) these animals populated quickly in the absence of many predators and without competition. The result has been defoliation and tree deaths in many of New Zealand’s beautiful forests and a solution must be found. Many inhumane approaches have been used to eradicate the possum without success. Scientists and politicians are now debating whether or not to release a genetically modified nematode (internal worm parasite) into the environment. This nematode species is specific to the brush-tailed possum and disenables the reproductive system. The idea is humane and the effect will be to totally exterminate the population over time, as the possums eventually die a natural death but without reproducing. This will solve New Zealand’s problem and their ecosystems will eventually return into balance. The fear is that if the nematode reaches Australia accidentally, it will also wipe out our natural population, the possum will become extinct and our ecosystems will then be unnaturally altered. There is also a concern that the nematode could eventually cross over to other possum species. Scientists across the world are working very hard to find solutions for all the problems created by tampering with biodiversity and the environment. As you can see from this example, often a solution can lead to other problems. Environmental managers are now striving towards a proactive approach to sustaining biodiversity by intercepting problems before they arise, as prevention is always better than a cure. Websites relevant to this topic can be found on page 33.

Important: The student information text on page 37 should be given to the students prior to completing the following activity sheet. To assist the students in comprehending what they have read, encourage them to take notes or follow the reading with recall-based discussion and questioning.

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• Compare the similarities and differences between people in the class. Discuss how this came to be and why we don’t all look exactly the same. Ask whether the students think all animals are exactly the same. Have the students share examples of variations they have seen within a species. • Discuss what is meant by genetic material and consolidate what is meant by a sub-species. • Read together the introductory passage at the top of the student worksheet. Have the students look at each of the features of the echidnas listed and the maps of their locations. If possible show some images of echidnas from this website: www.isidore-of-seville.com/echidnas • Use this information to initiate discussion about why the echidna may need the variations in features to exist within their environment. Allow the students time to complete Question 1 using information from the class discussion. • Ask the students if they have ever seen two identical plants. Discuss whether or not they think there is genetic material in plants and why they think this. Discuss how animals and plants are different. • Investigate ways in which plants also adapt to their surroundings. Look at the examples in Question 2 and have the students list the ways each plant has adapted.

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a) and b) Check illustrations. a) Spines for leaves, thick succulent trunk suitable for storing water.

b) Unique upturned roots for absorbing oxygen from air, salt tolerant, broad shallow root structure suitable for stability in sand, tolerant of waterlogged soil conditions.

/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES • •

Take the students on a nature walk around the school. Have them identify a living thing in their environment and give reasons why the environment is or is not suitable for it to live in. The students can also suggest any adaptations that assist the survival of their living thing in its environment. Define what a weed is. Investigate which ‘weeds’ live in the local area and how they came to be there and grow so prolifically.

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ACTIVITY

HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][ BIODIVERSITY

It’s Genetic You may have heard about certain attributes being genetic. For example, you may have the same colour hair as your mother or father, thus having the ‘same gene’ for hair colour. In the same way, the same species of living thing can have differences because the genetic material that makes up the characteristics of living things can have differences.

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The echidna has five ‘sub’ species. In other words, the echidna has five different genetic variations. These five sub species are suited to different parts and conditions of Australia.

Read the features of these two echidna sub species listed below, that make them suited to

T. aculeatus setosus

T. aculeatus acanthion

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the environment in which they are found. In the boxes, draw what you imagine the echidnas found in these regions should look like. (found in Tasmania)

(found in arid areas of W.A. and N.T.)

FEATURES:

•short fur

•long fur

•light brown colour

•dark brown colour

•small size

•suited to warmer climates

•suited to cooler climate of Tasmania

•sparse fur

•dense fur

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Research the characteristics of these plants and write how you think their features assist them in surviving in their unique environments.

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• ______________________________

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STUDENT BACKGROUND NOTES

Biodiversity

The term biodiversity refers to the diversity or variety of living species on Earth. Living things can be diverse in a number of ways.

For example, the echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) has five sub species (races) that differ from each other by the length and density of their fur. The sub species acanthion – found in the arid regions of Western Australia and the Northern Territory – has short, sparse fur. However, the Tasmanian sub species, setosus, has fur that may be longer than the spines. The long, thick fur of the Tasmanian echidnas is an obvious adaptation to the colder climate.

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Genetic diversity relates to the variations of genetic makeup within an individual species.

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different communities of species all interacting with each other and their nonliving environment to create ecosystems. Habitats include rainforests, rivers, oceans, reefs, deserts, arctic regions, mangroves, swamps, grasslands, beaches, alpine regions, caves and heathland, just to name a few. No ecosystem is more important than another in a global sense. We need all types of ecosystems to maintain ecological diversity. Functional diversity describes the processes and cycles that sustain species and communities within ecosystems. By looking at functional diversity we can see how the entire living and non-living environment is connected, and how the removal of one or more of the elements can cause a ‘ripple’ effect throughout the entire ecosystem. Sea otters, for example, eat sea urchins which eat kelp. Kelp also provides food and shelter for numerous fish species. When sea otters were exterminated by hunters off North America, the sea urchin numbers increased, kelp decreased and there was a dramatic decline in many fish species. When sea otters were reintroduced, the sea urchin numbers returned to normal, and the kelp reappeared, along with the fish.

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If one or more of the sub-species were to become extinct, both the genetic diversity of that species and their ability to i n h a b i t suitable environments would be diminished.

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Ecological diversity describes the variety of environments and the plants and animals in them that combine to make an ecosystem. There are multitudes of

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This is a dramatic example of how the elimination of one single element of an ecosystem can have such far-reaching consequences. When looking at how interrelated life on Earth is, we begin to learn why biodiversity is the key to keeping our earth healthy.

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TEACHERS’ NOTES

SCIENCE Q][

Threatened Species / LESSON OUTLINE Important: Hand out the student information text on page 42 to the students prior to completing the student activity sheet. Information contained within this text is required for successful completion of the task.

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• Take the students outside the classroom to observe their local ecosystem. Discuss how humans have changed this ecosystem from its natural state. Consider the impact of these changes on the living things within the ecosystem. • Discuss whether or not the actions of humans have caused any living things to become extinct in this area. Ask where these living things may have gone or relocated to. • Ask the students to draw a diagram of their own backyard or a section of natural land near where they live to complete Question 1. • Have the students complete Question 2 by drawing a picture of what they imagine the same section of land would have looked like 200 years ago, before the industrial revolution. • From their diagrams, have the students deduce or recall the living things that exist in it today and those that lived there 200 years ago. Ask the students to write their lists to complete Question 3. • Read together each part of Question 4. Give the students time to complete each part of the question. • Discuss the threatening processes at work in the students’ backyards. Conclude whether or not this impact is significant and whether action can be taken to reverse these threatening processes.

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www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/

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• Have the students work in small groups to create charts for display which outline one of the five principal ways humans are threatening species with extinction, (e.g. habitat destruction, pollution, over-harvesting, introduced species, habitat fragmentation). The chart should include a definition of the threatening process and examples of how it is affecting species and their environments. • Have the students conduct a research project to investigate the impact of an introduced species. Their research should include why the species was introduced, and how the species has affected other living things within its ecosystem.

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SCIENCE Q][ THREATENED SPECIES

Threatening Processes in My Backyard

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Each individual species has its own localised problems depending on the environment in which it lives. If we attempt to move a species to a new location, there are new problems. Humans have changed the way many ecosystems work by changing the land to build or farm, creating pollution and introducing new species. Just think about your own backyard. Draw a diagram of your backyard. Draw a diagram of what you think your backyard would have looked like 200 years ago.

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200 YEARS AGO • ___________________________________

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TODAY

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• ___________________________________

a) Of these living things, circle the species from 200 years ago which are now extinct in your backyard.

b) Describe some of the things that have caused the extinction of species in the area of your backyard. ___________________________________________________________________________ c) Describe some of the things that are threatening the species living in your backyard today. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

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TEACHERS’ NOTES

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Q][

Threatened Species / BACKGROUND INFORMATION

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When a plant or animal has been classified as being a threatened species and the urgency of the situation is closely assessed, a management plan for that species is effected at government level. Different things will be listed in the plan, such as current population status, number of individuals, mapping of population range and densities, causes for decline (which may differ throughout regions) and the action plan to halt the decline and improve upon the current situation. This needs to be done by addressing each of the threats. For example, a captive breeding program may be needed, combined with an eradication of feral species and habitat protection for the proposed release and repopulation site. Whatever the solutions are, you can be certain they will require a number of strategies. Nearly always, this includes educating and involving the public in the rescue project. When the public do become involved, not only are there greater human resources available to conservation managers, but the community feels like they are part of the solution, not the problem, and can positively contribute in many ways. So at an individual level, threatened species are being managed with specifically and scientifically designed plans. However, a more holistic approach to threatened species is being looked at in the form of whole ecosystem or habitat protection. Looking at a management plan in this way not only assists one threatened species in an area but all species, threatened, at risk or likely to be threatened in the future. In Australia, we are fortunate to have many native animals and plants living in our own backyard. There are few cities in other countries that can boast the diversity of life that we have here in our cities. It is a precious resource and plays a vital part in the health of ecosystems. Wildlife living in cities face different threats from what they do in the wild. These include cars, human persecution, power lines, pet dogs and cats, pollutants and chemicals. Although many environmental problems threatening species are at a world level, these urban threats are ones that we as individuals do have control over and it is our responsibility to reduce those threats wherever and whenever we can. Websites relevant to this topic can be found on page 38.

/ LESSON OUTLINE

Important: The student information text on page 42 should be given to the students prior to completing the following activity sheet. To assist the students in comprehending what they have read, encourage them to take notes or follow the reading with recall-based discussion and questioning.

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• Discuss the existing road system in the students’ local environment. Reflect upon what would have been where the roads are today. Discuss whether all of the roads in their local area are necessary and the kind of impact they have had upon other living things in their local environment. • Read together the introductory passage at the top of the student worksheet. Use the information in Question 1 to instigate conversation about the building of roads and other infrastructure in a town or city. • Reflect upon the five principal ways that humans are threatening species with extinction: 1) Habitat destruction 2) Pollution 3) Over-harvesting 4) Introduced species 5) Habitat fragmentation • Consider which of these threats will come into play with the building of the proposed road in Question 1. Allow the students time to list the possible impacts of the freeway upon the species living in the area using the explosion chart provided. Encourage the students to give specific examples using the species list. • Give the students an opportunity to share their ideas and so equip one another with sufficient information to make an informed decision about whether the freeway can be justified. • Have the students write their opinion about the building of the freeway to complete Question 2. • Allow the students to debate their point of view, giving reasons for their decision.

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Answers will vary.

/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES • Brainstorm a list of known endangered and threatened species. • In pairs or small groups, plan and build a model of a place for humans to live and work which would cause minimum threat to other living species. Have other class members evaluate the environmental impact of the design.

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ACTIVITY

HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][ THREATENED SPECIES

Case Study: A New Freeway Many growing cities throughout the world have been faced with the dilemma of improving their road system to cater for their increasing population and to make central business districts more accessible for workers. However, the effect upon natural ecosystems can sometimes be devastating.

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A freeway is proposed to allow workers from the western suburbs of Brisbane to travel

SPECIES

- Koalas (threatened) - Agile wallabies - Eucalyptus trees - Sulphur-crested cockatoos

- Grass trees - Brown bandicoots - Fringed lily plants - Tawny frogmouths - Sedgefrogs - Green tree snakes - Richmond birdwing butterfly (threatened)

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into the city more quickly. Look at the list of species in the box. These species live in the area through which the freeway will be built. Use the explosion chart below to list the possible impact the planned freeway will have upon the species living in the area.

E.g. Habitat destruction

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FREEWAY

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Do you think that building the freeway can be justified? Yes / No Why? ________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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STUDENT BACKGROUND NOTES

Threatened Species

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When a species becomes extinct the world loses a little more biodiversity, but also loses the opportunity for ourselves and for all future generations to know and understand that particular species. Furthermore, any direct benefits, for example medicines, that could have been discovered by future scientists is also gone. A good example of this is the gastric brooding frog (Rheobatrachus silus) from Queensland that has not been seen since 1981 and is thought to be extinct. This frog was able to incubate its eggs in its stomach without the eggs being digested. The process of how this unique frog was capable of such a feat is unknown to science and could have been useful in human medicines to combat gastric illness. Now that the gastric brooding frog is most likely extinct, we have lost this opportunity forever.

natural stocks are currently experiencing the effects of over-harvesting.

Introduced species compete with native species for food and habitat. For example, the cane toad (Bufo marinus) was introduced to the cane fields of Queensland to help combat the cane beetle (Dermolepida albohirtum). Not only does the toad compete for food and habitat, but it is deadly poisonous to most predators at all stages of its life (i.e. egg, tadpole and adult frog).

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1. Destroying habitats; 2. Polluting; 3. Over-harvesting; 4. Introducing species; 5. Habitat fragmentation (creating habitat islands which isolate species).

Habitat destruction and pollution are obvious threats. Over-harvesting relates to taking more of a species from the wild to satisfy human needs at a rate higher than the species can repopulate. Many fishing industries around the world that rely on P A G E 4 2 SAVE THE PLANET

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There are five principal ways throughout the world that humans are threatening species with extinction. They are:

Habitat fragmentation occurs when there are gaps between groups of a species. These groups are sometimes referred to as ‘islands’. These gaps prevent plants and animals from reproducing with their other populations, eventually leading to the decline and loss of some species. It can also cause over-populations when animals are able to breed but are unable to spread out, leading to habitat destruction by overgrazing and ultimately a complete collapse of the environment and localised extinction of the animal. Unfortunately, these threatening processes are not the only ones. Along with some of the major threats, each individual threatened species has its own localised range of problems, such as poaching and living close to urbanisation (i.e. cars, electric power lines, competition with crops / grazing).

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TEACHERS’ NOTES

SCIENCE Q][

Spotted-tailed Quoll / LESSON OUTLINE Important: Hand out the student information text on page 47 to the students prior to completing the student activity sheet. Information contained within this text is required for successful completion of the task.

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• Discuss what is meant by a predator. Brainstorm well-known predators in the animal kingdom. Make a list of words to describe these predators. • Direct the students to complete question 1, naming a predator from each of the ecosystems listed in the table. • Read together the passage that follows Question 1. Discuss reasons why large predators at the top of the food chain are at the greatest risk. • Have the students write a summary of what they have learnt about risks to large predators to answer Question 2. • Direct the students to look at the food chain accompanying Question 3. Note the amount of food each species would need to be sustained. Identify the large predator at the top of the food chain (the shark). Have the students suggest what it would take for the shark to be at risk. • Allow the students time to write their predictions about the impact of each scenario in Question 3. Ensure they make special note of how each scenario would impact the shark. • Have the students read their predictions to the class for discussion. In each scenario, predict how long it would take to impact upon shark numbers. Discuss whether a decline in shark numbers would be a good early measurement of environmental decline.

©WEBSITES ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons / RELEVANT

•f orr evi ew pur posesonl y•

www.quollseekers.com/index.htm

/ ANSWERS

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Pacific Ocean - shark, killer whale; Suburban gardens - snakes, owls; Amazon rainforest - gorillas, anacondas; Australian desert - eagle, snake; African savanna - tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs; Great Barrier Reef - crown of thorns starfish, sharks; Arctic - polar bears; Rocky Mountains - brown bears. Answers will vary. a) Number of whales decline; number of krill increases – impacts on capacity of mangrove breeding ground and health of mangroves may decline; number of sharks may decline or switch to eating more large fish. If sharks decline there may be an increase in large fish resulting in stress on baby fish survival and kelp. If sharks switch to eating more fish there will be a consequent decline in large fish with fewer babies being born and so on. b) Number of dugongs will decline and since they are a threatened species this is a high risk conservation problem; number of sharks may decline or switch to eating more large fish. If sharks decline there may be an increase in large fish resulting in stress on baby fish survival and kelp. If sharks switch to eating more fish there will be a consequent decline in large, fish with fewer babies being born, and so on. c) Number of baleen whales decline; number small fish decline; competition between larger fish becomes great, resulting in the loss of species that are out-competed for food; possibility of krill being eaten at a rate higher than being born; could result in whole ecosystem collapse and fishing industry consequently does not survive.

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/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES • •

Have the students research an endangered species that is at the top of the food chain. Find out all of the threats contributing to it being endangered. As a whole class, develop a food web stemming from a large predator. Discuss the environmental issues that would inadvertently affect the food supply of the large predator.

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SCIENCE Q][ SPOTTED TAILED QUOLL

Life at the Top ... ... At the top of the food chain that is. As we trace a food chain to the ‘top’ we find the animals become larger and more predatory.

Name a predator that exists in each of these environments. Pacific Ocean

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African savannah

Great Barrier Reef

Arctic

Rocky Mountains

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Amazon rainforest

It makes sense that the largest predators would be the most likely to survive were their environment threatened. In fact, the opposite is true. Environmentalists monitor the numbers of these large predators and use this information as one indicator of ecosystem health.

Why do you think large predators would be under the greatest threat if their environment were degraded? ________________________________________________________________

© ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons ______________________________________________________________________________ or r e vi e wp u r pfood os es on l y• Look at • the f food chain below. Consider how much each of the creatures featured ______________________________________________________________________________

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a) Restrictions are removed and whaling is permitted.

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would need to survive. Describe what would happen to this simple ecosystem and to the shark – the largest predator and ‘top’ of the food web – for each of these scenarios listed.

KELP

MANGROVES

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b) Toxic chemicals leach into waterways and into the sea, poisoning sea grass.

c) A new species of fish is introduced to boost the fishing industry, however, it feeds on the same krill as baleen whales and small fish.

BABY FISH

ADULT FISH

DUGONGS

SHARKS

KRILL (baby crustaceans)

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TEACHERS’ NOTES

HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][

Spotted-tailed Quoll / BACKGROUND INFORMATION

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When you ask people if they know of any carnivorous marsupials the answer is often yes – the Tasmanian devil. When asked if they know what type of animal a quoll is most people have simply no idea. Using scientific classification, carnivorous marsupials belong to the Order Dasyuromorphia, Family Dasyuridae and are commonly referred to as Dasyurids. In fact, there are 50 different species belonging to this family and include such creatures as quolls, dibblers, pseudantechinus, antechinus, phascogales, planigales, ningauis and dunnarts. One of the biggest problems facing many of our threatened species is that they do not have a high profile. How can an animal or plant be helped if nobody knows about it to help? For example, a couple of decades ago nobody knew about the cute marsupial called a bilby. Scientists knew that to save the bilby would require captive breeding and a huge fenced release site reserve, free of introduced predators. To do this required public help through donations. Two amazing conservationists, Mr Peter McRae and Mr Frank Manthey, set about the difficult task of raising the profile of the bilby and established the “Save the Bilby Fund” in 1999. The somewhat misguided comparison that people have of bilbies to rabbits came in very handy when it was decided to profile them through the sale of Easter Chocolate Bilbies made by Darrell Lea. Some of the proceeds went to the Save the Bilby Fund and now nearly everyone around Australia knows what a bilby is. With the help of thousands of donations (and the consumption of many yummy Easter bilbies), the 25 kilometre square fence has been completed and captive bred bilbies have been re-introduced into their new predator-free habitat. Another problem is that some threatened species are not so appealing. People are more likely to be interested in saving koalas than say ghost bats or false water rats, and even less are likely to be enthralled by threatened plants. However, sometimes conservation efforts for a higher profile species can also benefit other species. This is why ecosystem conservation is so important because it not only protects those species we hear so much about, but all the other smaller, non-descript, lesser-known species that are just as important to ecological health. Websites relevant to this topic can be found on page 43.

/ LESSON OUTLINE

Important: The student information text on page 47 should be given to the students prior to completing the following activity sheet. To assist the students in comprehending what they have read, encourage them to take notes or follow the reading with recall-based discussion and questioning.

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• Review the information given in the text about the spotted-tailed quoll. Discuss what possible benefits there may be from the existence of the quoll for the environment and for humans. • Divide the class into small groups or pairs and have them work together to compile a list of reasons why the quoll should be preserved. Each student should write their list in the space provided to complete Question 1. • Read about the Quoll Seekers Network and discuss why an organisation like this may have started up and who would run such an organisation. • If possible, provide the students with an opportunity to use the Internet to visit the Quoll Seekers Network website at www.quollseekers.com to become more familiar with the aims and activities of the network. Alternatively, provide the students with copies of the most relevant pages of the website for perusal and discussion. • Discuss the work that is being done by the network to raise community awareness and funds to support their work. Encourage the students to think of their own original ideas for raising community awareness and to list their three best ideas to complete Question 2. • Ask the students who they think most needs to be educated about the plight of the quoll and have them suggest how these people might be reached. Allow the students to answer Question 3.

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Answers will vary. Answers will vary. Answers will vary.

/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES • Use the Internet to investigate what other wildlife organisations exist and the work they are doing in the community. • Encourage the students to join a wildlife organisation such as the Quoll Seekers Network and to become involved in the welfare of animals.

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HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][ SPOTTED-TAILED QUOLL

Raising Community Awareness Not many people know the spotted-tailed quoll exists – and certainly, not many know why it is important to preserve this creature or any creature that they may not encounter, or feel is valuable to them personally.

In small groups or with a partner, discuss why you believe it is important to save the spotted-

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tailed quoll and other threatened species. List your arguments for why they should be saved in the space below. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

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______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

In Queensland, a ‘Quoll Seekers Network’ has been established and aims to:

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• Encourage management agencies and landholders to facilitate quoll conservation.

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• Provide training for volunteers

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You can visit the Quoll Seekers Network at www.quollseekers.com to help you answer Questions 2 and 3!

If you were part of this organisation, how might you go about raising community awareness? List your three best ideas:

• _____________________________________________________________________________ • _____________________________________________________________________________ • _____________________________________________________________________________

What sections of the community would be most important to reach? Why? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ P A G E 4 6 SAVE THE PLANET

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STUDENT BACKGROUND NOTES

Spotted-tailed Quoll

What is a spotted-tailed quoll?

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The spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) has reddish-brown fur on its back and pale fur underneath with white spots over its back, and of course, its tail. This animal does resemble a cat in size and sharp teeth, but has a long snout. The females have a pouch. Males grow up to 7 kilograms, making this animal not much smaller than the Tasmanian devil, which is the best known carnivorous marsupial. Their diet includes small to medium-sized mammals, birds, lizards, insects and carrion.

The threatening processes for quolls include: • habitat destruction (clearing for agriculture, logging, rural urban development);

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This is a question that most people have trouble answering. Some respond with “it’s a bird ... no, it’s a type of wallaby”. Some describe it as a native cat. In fact, a quoll is neither a bird nor a wallaby and definitely not a cat. It is a carnivorous marsupial. Furthermore, it is one of Australia’s threatened fauna species.

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areas except south-west Western Australia where its current status is endangered.

• Competition from feral animals (foxes and cats); • Intolerance from poultry owners (shooting). Many quolls also die from eating poisonous cane toads and there is unsubstantiated evidence that poisoning from ‘1080’ baits set for foxes and dingoes may also be threatening quoll populations.

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SOUTH AUSTRALIA VICTORIA QUEENSLAND

NEW SOUTH WALES

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There are three other quoll specials found in Australia which are smaller and do not have a spotted tail. The current status of the spotted-tailed quoll is as follows:

What is interesting about spotted-tailed quolls is that they represent the top of the food chain in Australian mainland environments, being the largest marsupial carnivore. Large predators are often the first species to decline when an environment is degraded, and serve as an indicator for ecosystem health.

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TASMANIA

Extinct

Endangered

Vulnerable Vulnerable

Many things are being done to save our wonderful wildlife and plants that are threatened. The quoll is no exception and in Queensland the Quoll Seekers Network has been established. They have an informative and interesting website: www.quollseekers.com

At Risk

Most other quoll species have similar stories. For example, the chuditch (or western quoll) is extinct from all former

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TEACHERS’ NOTES

SCIENCE Q][

Conservation / LESSON OUTLINE Important: Hand out the student information text on page 52 to the students prior to completing the student activity sheet. Information contained within this text is required for successful completion of the task.

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• Review the information about conservation and discuss what conservation is about. Revisit the roles of different people involved in conservation. • Read together the introductory passage at the beginning of the student worksheet and introduce the hypothetical about reef mining. Before reading the hypothetical, explain that a hypothetical is a made-up situation designed to encourage people to think about the consequences of its occurrence in real life. • Read the hypothetical about reef mining. Allow the students to give their immediate thoughts on the situation presented and to weigh up the advantages of each side of the proposed mining. • Designate members of the class to take on the role of each of the people shown next to a speech bubble on the student worksheet. Encourage the class to ask each of these people questions to ascertain the view of each. The students being questioned will need to be clear on what their job involves and what their view would be in this situation. • Have the students use the viewpoints presented to assist them in writing the views of each person in the speech bubbles provided. • Allow the students to complete Questions 2 and 3 independently. Then, have them share their decision about the role they would like to take in conservation and their reasons why, to the class.

/ RELEVANT WEBSITES / ANSWERS

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www.wwf.org.au (World Wide Fund for Nature) www.ecnc.nl/doc/europe/organisa/interorg.html (Guide to conservation organisations)

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• Have the students make up their own hypothetical situations involving a conflict between the needs of humans and the needs of the environment. They can then write a comparison of the benefits to each party should they win the case, evaluate these benefits and propose a resolution to the debate. • Nominate an area in the school grounds or local community suitable for restoring. Write an action plan for restoring the area back to its natural state.

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ACTIVITY

SCIENCE

Q][ CONSERVATION

What’s Your View? Conservationists are concerned with the way all natural resources are managed regardless of their use to humans. ‘Conservationist’ is the title given to a number of more specific groups of environmental workers who seek the common goal of creating a cleaner, sustainable environment for the benefit of humans and all living things now and in the future.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S HYPOTHETICAL - REEF MINING

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A rare and valuable mineral has been found underneath a reef. The reef is richly diverse and has many species unique to that reef alone. Some damage to the reef has already occurred, as a result of exploration by mining companies who are now proposing to mine a large section of the remaining reef to extract the mineral.

What would be the view of each of these people? Write what you think each would say about the mining proposal in the speech bubbles provided.

Conservation Biologist

Mining Company Executive

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Environmentalist

Restorationist

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If you could choose to be one of the experts above, which would you choose to be? ______________________________________________________________________________

How would your work be helpful to the environment? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

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TEACHERS’ NOTES

HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][

Conservation / BACKGROUND INFORMATION

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Not for profit conservation organisations around the world play a very significant role in protecting the natural environment. Governments alone cannot take all the responsibility and do not always have the resources available that they desire. Non-government organisations contribute through a diversified range of ways. Some examples are: • protection and restoration of property purchased by conservation organisations through donations/fundraising; • restoration projects such as weed eradication and re-vegetation of government lands (e.g. catchment groups which do a lot of riparian – river and creek banks – restoration work); • wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and release programs; • scientific research; • education and other community work; • rubbish and pollution eradication/control programs; • prosecuting using government legislation (e.g. RSPCA); • bringing together conservation experts from different fields to collaborate on finding sustainability solutions; and • scientific reporting to assist in government decision-making. One of the most important positions conservation organisations undertake is a regulatory role that aims to keep the pressure on governments to continually update and enforce legislation in respect to the changing nature of environmental problems. But what is it that motivates people to establish organisations, volunteer time, donate money and lobby governments about conservation? Individual reasons from person to person would vary, but most people become concerned when they hear this sort of information: • One third of the world’s natural resources were lost in the last 30 years; • In the past 50 years we lost one quarter of our topsoil; • In the past 50 years we lost one third of our forest cover; • Freshwater ecosystems are disappearing at the rate of 6% per year; • Marine ecosystems are disappearing at the rate of 4% per year; If this continues we will see over 70% of the world’s coral reefs disappear during our lifetime, remembering that they contain 25% of all marine life. And if that isn’t enough incentive, global warming – through the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – is causing polar caps to melt, oceans to rise, more intense storms and changed weather patterns, and loss of ecosystems and biodiversity, just to name a few. Those who work and support conservation organisations realise that we cannot just sit around and wait for scientists to come up with the solutions of fixing all the problems. If we want a healthy world in the future then there is no time like the present to get involved. Websites relevant to this topic can be found on page 48.

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/ LESSON OUTLINE

Important: The student information text on page 52 should be given to the students prior to completing the following activity sheet. To assist the students in comprehending what they have read, encourage them to take notes or follow the reading with recall-based discussion and questioning.

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• Provide students with access to material about the World Wide Fund for Nature. This is readily available along with some excellent environmental links on their website, www.wwf.org.au. • Divide the class into small groups or pairs. Allow them time to discuss and make a plan for their own conservation organisation. Encourage the students to focus on one particular aspect of the environment they wish to conserve. This will help them to focus on specific needs and will assist them in devising a name and mascot for their organisation to get them started. • Have the students use the student work sheet to record the most important information about their organisation by answering Questions 1 to 5. • Encourage each group to feed back to the class the name, mascot, goals and mission statement of their new organisation. • Provide the students with appropriate materials for creating their own posters for advertising the goals of their organisation the school. • If the facilities are available, encourage students to design and make a webpage using information on their student worksheet.

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/ ANSWERS Answers will vary.

Answers will vary.

Teacher to check.

Answers will vary.

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES •

Each conservation group in the class can make an action plan for how they intend to raise community awareness or directly assist in the conservation cause with which they have identified – and where possible, take action!

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HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][ CONSERVATION

Design Your Own Conservation Organisation Our natural world is so precious. We need each and every species, ecosystem and environment. We need clean air and water. We need people who recognise how important the world’s natural resources are and who are prepared to take action to make sure they are conserved. Are you one of these special people? Imagine you are a conservationist. Take action! Make a plan for your own conservation organisation.

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___________________________________

What will you use as your mascot? ___________________________________

What will be the goals of your organisation? What do you want to achieve? ___________________________________

Write a single sentence to say what your organisation stands for and aims to do. This will be your mission statement.

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What will you name your organisation?

____________________________ aims to ___________________________________ ___________________________________

Design a poster to promote your

organisation.

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this framework to make posters to put up around your school. Or, set up your own webpage!

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STUDENT BACKGROUND NOTES

Conservation • Environmentalists are concerned with the ways humans are degrading the quality of the whole of the earth’s environment.

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• Conservationists are not only concerned with preserving and managing areas in national parks and reserves, but are concerned with the way all natural resources are managed regardless of their specific land use.

Many people who care for the environment fit into more than one category mentioned above. Another major point is that all these different types of people with their different interests and views, are all working together for the same common cause – they all want a healthy and diverse living enviroment today and for the future.

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The world’s largest independent conservation organisation, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) now has 4.7 million regular supporters across 96 countries and aims to conserve nature and ecological processes by “preserving genetic, species and ecosystem diversity; ensuring the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable; and promoting actions to reduce pollution and wasteful exploitation and consumption of resources and energy”. This is what conservation is all about.

It is also important to note that you do not have to be employed as a conservationist to be one. Many people do volunteer work for the environment or are members of a conservation group like WWF. Anybody who strives towards changing detrimental human practices to achieve a cleaner, sustainable environment for the benefit of humans and all living things, is contributing to the vitally important purpose of conservation.

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To understand this a little better, we need to look at some of the other people that are involved in environmental welfare. For a start, there are scientists including ecologists, environmental scientists and conservation biologists. These scientists are the people who work towards finding accurate information used to develop practical solutions to environmental problems. But there are also preservationists, restorationists and environmentalists.

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• Preservationists are people concerned with preserving natural areas from being changed in any way by humans. • Restorationists concern themselves with restoring areas disturbed by humans back to their natural state.

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SCIENCE Q][

TEACHERS’ NOTES

National Parks / LESSON OUTLINE Important: Hand out the student information text on page 57 to the students prior to completing the student activity sheet. Information contained within this text is required for successful completion of the task.

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• Discuss what is meant when someone says that “variety is the spice of life”. Have the students recall and share situations in which this statement is used. Relate the phrase to the environment. Consider why variety is a positive and beneficial thing for the environment. • Read together the information at the top of the student worksheet and ask the students to colour approximately 1% of the world map provided to demonstrate the proportion of the world that is currently being protected. • The students can then brainstorm natural environments from around the world in the space provided. • Develop a comprehensive class list of unique environments including ecosystems and habitats from around the world using contributions from the students’ own lists. • Discuss whether the students feel enough of the world’s natural environments are being protected. Allow the students to complete Question 3 (a) and (b) stating their opinion based on this discussion. The students should be able to justify their decision. • Read together the passage following Question 3 to spark discussion regarding the religious, cultural and economic diversity in the world. Encourage the students to imagine how the lifestyles in other countries may vary from their own and to reflect upon how the lifestyles of people in their own community are affected by these factors. • Ask the students to discuss in pairs why it might be difficult to conserve land in other countries and have them list their reasons to answer Question 4. List reasons why it might be difficult to conserve land in other countries. • Have the students apply this same idea to Australia and have them write reasons why it might be difficult to conserve some places in Australia. • Give each pair the opportunity to report their conclusions to the class.

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/ ANSWERS

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Teacher to check. Answers will vary. Answers will vary. Answers will vary. Answers will vary.

/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES • Have the students investigate the varieties of a single species of plant such as the lettuce or cabbage. • Encourage the students to investigate lifestyles in countries in a different political, economic or religious situation. Countries of particular interest include Zimbabwe, Iraq, China, Cuba, Malaysia, South Africa, Turkey and India.

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SCIENCE Q][ NATIONAL PARKS

Variety is the Spice of Life!

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The world is also diverse in other ways. Each country has its own political system, economic situation and religious beliefs. These factors impact on each country’s ability to preserve areas which are ecologically important.

a) Australia, for example, is an amazingly diverse country, ranging from rainforests to desert, from mountain ranges to vast plains, from limestone caves to living reefs. Can you imagine fitting all of these unique environments into the 1% of the world’s total area?

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Approximately 1% of the world is protected for the purpose of conservation. Colour approximately 1% of this world map.

Discuss and list reasons why it might be difficult to conserve land in other countries.

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Yes / No

Brainstorm and list as many different natural environments as you can.

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• __________________________________ • __________________________________ • __________________________________ • __________________________________ • __________________________________ • __________________________________ • __________________________________ • __________________________________ P A G E 5 4 SAVE THE PLANET

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b) Do you think enough of our world is being preserved?

Discuss and list reasons why it might be difficult to conserve some places in Australia. ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________

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HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][

National Parks / BACKGROUND INFORMATION

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There are many different types of protected areas that serve different purposes. The major purpose of national parks is for ecosystem protection and recreation. Other protected areas include wilderness reserves, forest reserves, marine parks, scientific parks, world heritage areas, Ramsar wetlands, habitat/species management areas, managed resource protected areas, and so on. Sometimes there may be a specific natural or cultural feature of outstanding significance. However, the reasons we protect areas in Australia now, have changed dramatically throughout time. Take for example Sydney’s Royal National Park established in 1879. Legislators wanted to reserve a place of recreation to ‘ensure a healthy and consequently vigorous and intelligent community’ but it was seen as primarily for public use. Areas were set aside for cricket, a racecourse, zoological and ornamental gardens, wildflower collecting, swimming, military training and even for the introduction of foreign game birds and animals to enable them to acclimatise. Throughout the next 100 years, there were often calls for changes to the management of the park becoming increasingly concerned with conservation ideals until in 1967 the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service was formed and conservation became the main agenda. There are many social, financial, political and logistical reasons today why it is hard to declare an area as protected. Once protected, there are huge management considerations, such as: • Conservation of flora and fauna; •Visitor use including managing visitor numbers; • Education and interpretation; •Policing of activities; • Maintaining water quality; •Maintaining and enhancing landscape quality; • Fire protection and management; •Threat management – such as introduced plants and animals; • Infrastructure for visitors – roads, tracks, accommodation and related maintenance; • Other authorised uses, such as selective forestry, fishing and mining (allowed in some protected areas). It is quite evident how complicated the protection of areas such as national parks is as well as finding the financial and human resources that are necessary for their successful maintenance. In other countries, especially developing ones, the declaration and management of national parks is even more difficult. The social problems such as poverty and over-population in these countries take economic precedence. They also have added threat management difficulties with illegal hunting and poaching. In many of these areas, the natural resource destruction such as forests and fisheries is being depleted at a rapid and totally unsustainable rate. The urgency for protected areas in these areas is immense before entire life-support systems have collapsed. The world’s natural environment knows no country borders and the solutions for sustainability need to be the same. Websites relevant to this topic can be found on page 53.

/ LESSON OUTLINE

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Important: The student information text on page 57 should be given to the students prior to completing the following activity sheet. To assist the students in comprehending what they have read, encourage them to take notes or follow the reading with recall-based discussion and questioning.

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• Review the list of protected places in Question 1 on the student worksheets. Provide the students with the opportunity to share any experiences they may have had visiting these locations. Encourage the students to describe the locations as best they can and to state why they think the particular place they visited is protected. • To complete this activity the students will need to be provided with current atlases and coloured pencils. • Allow the students to work independently to locate each of the protected areas and to colour the appropriate places on their map of Australia. • The students should also be told to label each location and to use the appropriate colour as listed in Question 2. The status of each location (National Park, Reserve or World Heritage Area) has been marked with ‘NP’, ‘R’ or ‘WH’ respectively in the list in Question 1 to assist the students.

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/ ANSWERS

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Check Atlas. World Heritage areas (ORANGE) - Great Barrier Reef Marine Park - Qld; Shark Bay Marine Park - WA; Blue Mountains - NSW ; National Parks(GREEN) - Royal National Park- NSW; Yanchep National Park - WA; Cradle Mt - Lake St Clair National Park - TAS; Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park- NT; Reserves (YELLOW) - Agnes Waters Scenic Reserve - VIC; Hastings Caves State Reserve - TAS; Glenrock State Conservation Area - NSW.

/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES • Use a comprehensive world atlas to locate protected areas in other countries in the world. • Investigate unique environments within Australia that would be suitable areas to be protected. Write a compelling argument to convince a local government body of the area’s environmental importance.

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Places to Go ... Wilderness to See ... Use an atlas (or website) to help you locate and mark these protected areas.

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• National Parks (NP) – green • Reserves (R) – yellow

• World Heritage areas (WH) – orange

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•Royal National Park (NP) •Agnes Waters Scenic Reserve (R) •Great Barrier Reef (WH) •Yanchep National Park (NP) •Cradle Mountain – Lake St Clair (NP) •Blue Mountains (WH) •Shark Bay Marine Park (WH) •Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (NP) •Hastings Caves State Reserve (R) •Glenrock State Conservation Area (R)

Teac he r

Colour your map in the following way:

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STUDENT BACKGROUND NOTES

National Parks government to firstly purchase the land, and secondly to manage protected areas. Many people now believe that the government should not have to deal with the total responsibility of acquiring and caring for natural areas. A number of conservation organisations have recently started to purchase land to be protected. One such organisation is the Australian Bush Heritage Fund, which now has over 345 000 hectares protected in reserves around Australia, containing over 107 threatened plant and animal species.

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Teac he r

The Royal National Park in Sydney is the world’s second oldest, proclaimed in 1879 (Yellowstone National Park in the United States of America is the oldest). Since then, many national parks, reserves and ‘world heritage areas’ have been added to the terrestrial and aquatic locations protected by the Australian Government. Because of increasing exploitation of the world’s natural resources, it has become important that environments of conservation value be protected. Most national parks are open to the public to enable people to enjoy natural places and wildlife. The cultural significance of many national parks is also recognised by protecting Aboriginal sacred sites.

Most other lands within Australia that are not under the protection of the government, within national parks and reserves, or preserved through conservation organisations, are privately owned. Over recent times, many landowners have also realised that by keeping some of their land reserved in its natural state, the overall health of their properties can be maintained.

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Throughout the world, about 1.6 miillion square kilometres (about 1% of the world’s land surface) is now reserved in some way. In comparison to other countries, Australia has a large number of national parks, however, there are still large tracks of significant, yet lesser known habitats that are not protected. For example, only 3% of Queensland is within national park areas, but the diversity of ecosystems in this state is unable to be captured just in those areas. Furthermore, there are hundreds of thousands of hectares of land still being cleared for cropping and development every year.

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For over 100 years, Australians have recognised the need to protect significant ecosystems via government management to benefit the environment, the fauna inhabitants and to provide enjoyment for Australians and all people today and in the future.

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One of the major reasons that there is not a larger area protected, is the cost to the

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SCIENCE Q][

Zoos and Wildlife Sanctuaries / LESSON OUTLINE Important: Hand out the student information text on page 62 to the students prior to completing the student activity sheet. Information contained within this text is required for successful completion of the task.

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• Review the information presented in the student text. Discuss how the workers in zoos might go about planning and creating an enclosure for a new animal in their zoo. • Read together the introductory passage at the start of the student worksheet. Discuss how the reasons for the existence of zoos have changed over time and why this change has become necessary (for the conservation of animals under threat). • Ask the students to imagine they are a worker in a zoo and that they have been put in charge of designing and constructing an enclosure for a specific type of animal. Tell the students they need to choose an endangered animal to build an enclosure for. • Read together Questions 1 to 4. Encourage the students to ask questions about any aspect of the project they are uncertain of. Make special reference to Question 3, giving examples of how animals are stimulated to behave in the way they do in the wild. For example, a seal may be given live fish to chase, or a tiger may be given a large fallen log to sharpen its claws on. • Provide the students with suitable written and software resources to investigate the needs and behaviours of their chosen endangered animal. • When the students have compiled the background information they need, allow them to begin designing their enclosure on a separate piece of paper. Encourage the students to label their diagram and to supplement these labels with justification of their inclusion.

/ RELEVANT WEBSITES / ANSWERS

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www.durrellwildlife.org/ (Jersey Zoo) www.arazpa.org.au/ (Guide to Zoos & Sanctuaries, Australia and New Zealand)

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• Have the students construct a model of their enclosure for display in the school library. • Research the plight of the giant panda and how zoologists have overcome the difficulties of breeding this endangered species in captivity. • Watch an educational video showing the positive work done in zoos around the world today. Videos of the groundbreaking work of Gerald Durrell at Jersey Zoo can still be obtained from some local libraries.

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HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][ ZOOS & WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES

Home Away From Home

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S DESIGN YOUR OWN ANIMAL ENCLOSURE

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Not that long ago, zoos were places where animals were kept in small concrete cages for people to see and be entertained by. For example, people could go to a zoo to see lions and tigers rather than going to Africa. However, these animals often did not behave like lions and tigers in Africa. They did not eat the same food or stay healthy or even reproduce, as their enclosures were not satisfactory. For animals to be held happily in captivity and to breed and increase in number (especially threatened species) their enclosures need to cater for their needs and simulate the environment in which they are found naturally.

What animal will your enclosure be designed for? _______________________________ Research your animal to compile a profile of requirements.

PROFILE OF__________ © Ready Ed Publ i cat i ons •Size: ______________________________________________________________________ •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• •Food: _____________________________________________________________________ •How does it find food? (E.g. hunter, scavenger, grazer.)

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•Environment where your animal is found:

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___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

•Social behaviour: (E.g. lives in groups, independently, with a mate.)

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___________________________________________________________________________

•Other behaviour traits:

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How will you stimulate your animal to behave in the way it would in the wild? (E.g. Live fish could be released into a seal’s enclosure to encourage it to hunt.) ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

On a separate piece of paper, draw and label a diagram of your enclosure, including its size, how food will be provided, what the food will be, and ways in which you will provide stimulation for your animal to behave in the way it would in the wild.

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Q][

Zoos and Wildlife Sanctuaries / BACKGROUND INFORMATION

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Teac he r

One of the key roles that zoos and sanctuaries play in the conservation of wildlife species is offering scientists access to animals to conduct research. Many zoos also participate in captive breeding programs for particular research projects and sometimes release into the wild. Perth Zoo in Western Australia has special breeding-for-release programs for such species as the chuditch (Western quoll), dunnart, Shark Bay mouse and numbats. Most of their project work is done off display to the customers, the zoo providing a location for the work to be done. At Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Queensland, there is an unusual situation regarding their main attraction, koalas. They have the largest captive bred population of koalas anywhere in the world (approximately 130 individuals) and this offers a great opportunity for research. In most zoos, collections of animals of a particular species are usually in small numbers and this often limits what research can be done. In recent years, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, in conjunction with the University of Queensland, has conducted successful in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) studies on their koalas, that resulted in important information to help scientists with the conservation of other marsupial species. It is important to be mindful that captive animals, particularly undomesticated, are not just items for research, education and entertainment, but are beautiful living creatures, all with individual behaviours and needs. Around the world, zoos and sanctuaries are studying these animals with the aim of increasing their captive welfare. This not only includes habitat, breeding and diet requirements, but also the mental welfare of animals. Most zookeepers now include the practice of enrichment programs in their line of work to improve the quality of life for the animals in their care. For example, dingoes are the same species as domestic dogs (canis lupus) but are genetically closer related to wolves than our pet dogs. If they are kept in captivity in a cage with little stimulation, they become frustrated and aggressive, similar to what our pet dogs would do under similar circumstances. Many zoos that include dingoes as part of their collection, are now taking them to “puppy school” to have some obedience training. This then allows for the dingoes to be taken on walks throughout the day, mingling with customers and taking in all the senses of the outside-cage environment. Other enrichment activities for dingoes include freezing blood into ice blocks for hot days, placing small pieces of meat throughout the enclosure and leaving blood trails. Zoos are becoming more active in promoting animal welfare through leading by example and delivering interpretation programs. People are more likely to be encouraged to have respect for animals and their natural environments if they can see that they are being treated with respect in captivity. Websites relevant to this topic can be found on page 58.

/ LESSON OUTLINE

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Important: The student information text on page 62 should be given to the students prior to completing the following activity sheet. To assist the students in comprehending what they have read, encourage them to take notes or follow the reading with recall-based discussion and questioning. NOTE: The activity on page 59 (Home Away From Home) can be used in conjunction with the activity on page 61 (Reading the Signs).

• Read together the introductory passage at the top of page 59. Ask the students to recall places where they have seen signs for the purpose of educating the public. • Discuss why it is important for the future of our planet for the general public to be educated about wilderness and wildlife. Debate whether or not the public consider the plight of wildlife as important. • Have the students choose and research an animal about which to write an informative sign. If the students have completed the activity on page 59, they should use the research already conducted to complete this task. • Encourage the students to take notes about their animal on a separate sheet of paper and to compile a list of important points worthy of sharing with the public. • When prepared, allow the students to use the sign provided on the student worksheet to write about the behaviour, current status and threats to their animal. The students should also make use of the world map provided to show where their animal is found and to draw or glue a picture or diagram of their animal. • These signs could be displayed around the classroom or library on their own or accompanying an enclosure design from the previous activity.

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/ ANSWERS Teacher to check. / ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES • Visit a zoo or wildlife sanctuary to investigate what measures are being taken to promote a better appreciation of wilderness. • Compile a photographic record of the enclosures at a zoo or wildlife sanctuary and have the students evaluate their suitability for the animals that live there and identify what has been included (or excluded) from the enclosure to make it as similar as possible to the animals natural environment. P A G E 6 0 SAVE THE PLANET

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Q][ ZOO & WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES

Reading the Signs When you visit a zoo, wildlife sanctuary or even a national park, you will find signs which have information about the flora, fauna and natural environment in which they exist. These signs aim to educate the public about problems that exist for wilderness and wildlife and to promote conservation programs, helping the public to appreciate and fully experience their natural environment.

r o e t s RESEARCH PROJECT Bo r e p ok u S

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Choose an animal to research. Use the information from your research to write a sign to accompany your animal in an enclosure at a zoo or wildlife park. Your sign should include a picture or diagram of your animal, a map showing where it is found and information about its environment, basic needs and what is being done to help conserve it.

PICTURE OF ANIMAL

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Zoos & Wildlife Sanctuaries

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Many zoos have now followed Jersey Zoo’s example by integrating important breeding programs for threatened species and providing places for zoologists to carry out scientific studies. Information about the breeding programs, threatened species and scientific work being done at zoos, is usually incorporated into their interpretation program, which highlights the plight of many species, hopefully resulting in more people taking an active role in conservation.

education about both endemic (creatures found only in that continent) and exotic (creatures not native to a continent) wildlife. In the past, the focus of zoos was more to entertain the public, and little consideration was given to animals with respect to their enclosures and mental well-being. Today, exhibits aim to mimic the animals’ natural environment and keepers undertake enrichment programs to stimulate mental activity similar to what the animals would encounter in the wild.

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A major part of any conservation is interpretation and education. If people are not aware that a problem exists, how can they know to solve the problem? When we visit national parks around Australia, there are many interpretational activities and signs that give us a better appreciation of our experience of wilderness and wildlife.

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In 1956, a man named Gerald Durrell founded a zoo with a difference. At Jersey Zoo in the United Kingdom, he commenced breeding endangered animals to save them from extinction. A total of 75 species (mainly birds and mammals) disappeared between 1900 and the 1960s and the extinction rate has increased dramatically since then. However, it has only been relatively recently that the need for conserving animals and natural environments has become widely acknowledged. It is sad to think that we have lost many species to extinction in the past fifty years that may have been saved if more people had the future in mind as much as Gerald Durrell.

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Zoos offer an opportunity to meet and learn about wildlife and in doing so encourage people to become more concerned about our natural world and aware that we all need to take an active role in conservation if we are to save species form extinction.

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SCIENCE Q][

Help for Wildlife / LESSON OUTLINE Important: Hand out the student information text on page 67 to the students prior to completing the student activity sheet. Information contained within this text is required for successful completion of the task.

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• Discuss the types of threats wildlife may be under as a result of human activity. Of these threats, suggest those which may be happening without the knowledge of the humans that are causing them. Argue whether or not humans would change their actions if they knew wildlife were being affected. • Allow the students to share stories about people they know and their attitudes towards wildlife, to demonstrate the mentality of a variety of Australians towards wildlife. • Read together the passage at the beginning of the student worksheet, including the example showing the long-term effects on wildlife of burning rubbish. • Discuss how an action can seem far removed from the consequences and revisit the concept of the ‘ripple’ effect through an ecosystem. Note that the non-living elements of an environment can impact dramatically on the ecosystems within it. • Draw the students attention to the flow chart showing the chain of events or the ‘ripples’ caused by burning rubbish. • Look at the activities given in Question 1. Briefly discuss what the consequences of each of these actions may be for wildlife. • Have the students’ write a flow chart for each to show the chain of events leading to the threat they would ultimately have on wildlife to complete Question 1. • For each activity in Question 1, invite a student to draw their flow chart on the board as a basis for discussion. Encourage the students to offer any variations they may have in their own flow charts. • As a whole class, discuss some other ways we threaten wildlife. Have the students take notes from this discussion to complete Question 2.

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www.wires.org.au/index.html (NSW Wildlife Rescue) www.kanyanawildlife.org.au/ (Perth Wildlife Rescue) www.connectqld.org.au/koala (Moggill Koala Hospital)

/ ANSWERS

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/ RELEVANT WEBSITES

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a) Making paper > cut down trees > wildlife lose their homes > wildlife perish: Answers will vary.

b) Fertilising the garden > extra nutrients leach into drains > nutrients in drains flow into rivers > algae grows > ecosystem in river becomes unbalanced > fish die; Answers will vary. c) Building a road > divides the population of a species into fragments > species ceases to breed effectively > species’ numbers gradually decline > species becomes extinct; Answers will vary. d) Building a dam > water covers habitats where wildlife once lived > wildlife populations move and share the land of other wildlife > land becomes over-grazed > not enough food to support all the wildlife that lives there > wildlife perish: Answers will vary. Answers will vary.

/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES • Investigate the types of wildlife that live in your local environment and the threatening processes caused by humans within in. • Have the students choose another more specific threat to wildlife from Question 2 on the student worksheet and make up a flow chart demonstrating the threat caused to wildlife in their case.

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SCIENCE Q][ HELP FOR WILDLIFE

Under Threat A threat is made when someone or something intends to harm or injure another creature. In the wild, living things are threatened by natural predators or phenomena such as fire or storms. Under these conditions, species are able to maintain the population of their species. Humans are capable of threatening species to the point where they cannot maintain their population and ultimately become extinct. In many cases, humans have not intended for extinction to occur and have created threats for wildlife without realising the consequences of their actions.

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For example, burning off rubbish causes toxic smoke and gases that rise into the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. Global warming causes some areas to receive less rainfall than before, which causes some species of plants to die. The wildlife which fed on those plants also dies.

RUBBISH

WILDLIFE DIES

GAS RISES INTO ATMOSPHERE

PLANTS DIE

GLOBAL WARMING

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LESS RAIN

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FERTILISING THE GARDEN

BUILDING A ROAD

BUILDING A DAM

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MAKING PAPER

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List some other ways we threaten wildlife. • _____________________________________________________________________________ • _____________________________________________________________________________ • _____________________________________________________________________________ P A G E 6 4 SAVE THE PLANET

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HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][

Help for Wildlife / BACKGROUND INFORMATION

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Teac he r

As human populations around Australia continue to increase, so do the number of animals injured and orphaned by the threatening processes related to living in urban environments. Over recent years, many wonderful organisations have been established to help these animals recuperate for re-release. Thousands of Australians welcome these creatures into their homes at all hours of the day and night, care for them, tend to all their needs, usually grow very fond of them and eventually make that heart-wrenching but wonderfully rewarding release to freedom. When it comes to the needs of wildlife it is not an easy task. Native animals are very different from domestic animals. Food does not come in a tin from the supermarket. Each species’ diet is different and needs to be as natural as possible. For example, to raise an orphan marsupial the composition of milk not only needs to be species specific but it also changes throughout the age development of the baby. Special milk products have been developed and are available through wildlife suppliers and sometimes produce stores. Most animals will need browse – this is a term used by wildlife carers when they are talking about cuttings from plant species that are eaten or used in some way by the particular species they are caring for. For example, ringtail possums eat various Eucalyptus, Callistemon (bottlebrush) and Grevillea species plus many other native and some introduced plant species. Not only do they eat them, they also make nests called ‘dreys’ from plant materials as a place to sleep during the day. Most animals in care will require the collection of fresh browse every day. Wildlife carers need to know how to assess injuries and have a good working relationship with their local vet. They are often given medicines or treatments to administer, and need to monitor temperatures and behaviours. Many animals will require hand-feeding and manual toileting (stimulating young to go to the toilet, something done by most marsupial mothers) and all will need to be handled in some way. Carers have to learn the correct way to handle animals for the protection of both the animal and themselves. Animal enclosures need to be cleaned on a daily basis and fresh water must always be available. Baby animals sometimes need feeds throughout the night and carers must be prepared to have interrupted sleep. The most important thing for carers is to remember that they must be preparing their animals for re-release and this will require training the animals to care for themselves in their natural environment. Being a wildlife carer takes a lot of dedication and knowledge. Although challenging, it offers individual Australians the opportunity of making a valuable contribution to saving our precious natural world. Websites relevant to this topic can be found on page 63.

Important: The student information text on page 67 should be given to the students prior to completing the following activity sheet. To assist the students in comprehending what they have read, encourage them to take notes or follow the reading with recall-based discussion and questioning.

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/ ANSWERS

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• Brainstorm volunteer work carried out in the community. Identify the purpose of each type of voluntary work and what has motivated people to become involved. • Discuss the nature of voluntary work, i.e.unpaid, carried out during leisure time or outside of paid work time. • Allow the students to share any experiences they may have had doing voluntary work, or occasions where they have volunteered to do something. Have them share how it felt to do voluntary work. • Give the students time to complete Question 1; listing voluntary jobs in the community and Question 2; explaining why people would want to do voluntary work. • Review the information above about voluntary wildlife carers. Have the students suggests the types of tasks these carers would do. Allow the students to take notes from this discussion to complete Question 3. • Read together about Naomi, the wildlife carer. Have the students imagine they have to do the work Naomi is doing. Discuss how she would be feeling at the end of the working day to then turn around and begin another job. Ask the students to think about what must be motivating Naomi to do this type of work. • Tell the students that Naomi would need to be organised to get her voluntary work done everyday. Have the students revisit the list of things that need to be done and to organise them into the timetable to complete Question 4.

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Answers will vary. Answers will vary. Providing first aid, feeding wildlife, bathing wildlife, preparing special food, providing a suitable home, cleaning wildlife enclosures and finding a suitable location for each animal to be released into. Suggested timetable: 5.00 pm - collect browse (native plants) for baby possum and rosella, 5.15pm - thaw out two dead mice for tawny frogmouths, 5.30pm - clean rosella cage & give fresh water & native flowers (fruit & seed given in morning), 5.45pm - make milk for baby possum, 6.00pm - feed and toilet baby possum, 6.15pm - clean possum basket bedding and add fresh browse, 6.30 pm - clean tawny frogmouth cage and add fresh water, 6.45pm - feed tawny frogmouths (done last because they are nocturnal).

/ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES • •

Invite a wildlife carer from the local community to come and speak to the students about their voluntary work and perhaps to show and discuss some specific cases of animals they are currently caring for. Have the students advertise a hotline for people to call if they find wildlife that is sick or hurt.

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HSIE/SOSE/S&E

Q][ HELP FOR WILDLIFE

Pick Me! Have you ever volunteered to do something? A volunteer is someone who takes on a job knowing they will not be paid or rewarded.

Write some of the voluntary jobs in your ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________

Naomi is a wildlife carer. She works all day and gets home at 5pm. Then she begins her voluntary work – caring for wildlife. At the moment she is caring for two tawny frogmouths, a baby brush-tailed possum and a rosella. Here is a list of all the things she needs to do to care for them in one afternoon.

___________________________________ ___________________________________

Why do you think people want to do voluntary work?

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community below.

Naomi’s List of Things to do:

• Thaw out two dead mice for tawny frogmouths. • Clean rosella cage and give fresh water and native flowers (fruit and seed given in morning). • Make milk for baby possum. • Clean tawny frogmouth cage and add fresh water. • Feed tawny frogmouths (done last because they are nocturnal). • Feed and toilet baby possum. • Collect browse (native plants) for baby possum and rosella. • Clean possum basket bedding and add fresh browse.

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Raising orphaned, sick or injured wildlife is difficult and time-consuming.

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Write a timetable to help Naomi organise her evening to make sure she looks after the wildlife in her care properly.

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What do you think some of the tasks of a voluntary wildlife carer might be?

5:00pm _________________________ 5:15pm _________________________ 5:30pm _________________________

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5:45pm _________________________

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6:00pm _________________________

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6:15pm _________________________

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6:30pm _________________________

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6:45pm _________________________

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STUDENT BACKGROUND NOTES

Help For Wildlife many of our animals are endemic (not found anywhere else in the world). Also, we have mostly marsupial m a m m a l s . Sometimes a female marsupial can be hit and killed on a road, but because many species carry their young in a pouch, the young sometimes survives the accident. A person finding an orphan can contact the Government Parks and Wildlife body in their state who will find a carer to raise, and ultimately release, the animal back to the wild.

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Animals and plants have instinctive and learned behaviours that help them cope with a range of natural predators and threatening situations. Increasingly, however, they are being exposed to numerous threatening processes that are the direct result of human activites. In many instances, the habitat range and consequently the population of species has declined, sometimes so dramatically that they have become extinct.

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The task of raising orphans and caring for sick and injured wildlife is a difficult, timeconsuming and often heart-breaking experience. However, releasing a healthy animal, that would have otherwise perished, back into the wild is extremely worthwhile and rewarding. Wildlife care is almost always volunteer work and is another way that many concerned Australians are involved in conservation.

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Some threatened species are being assisted through special programs. However, even our most common of species are being affected by humans, and it is the opinion of many people that we should endeavour to help all wildlife that fall into peril. Around Australia there are now many organisations and individuals who care for injured, sick and orphaned wildlife. Australia’s fauna is quite unique. We have a large variety of birds and reptiles and

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P A G E 6 7 SAVE THE PLANET

REFERENCES ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS Bruntland Commission Report, 1987, available online at home.att.net/ ~slomansonb/Bruntland.html

Our Sea, Our Future - Major Findings of the State of the Marine Environment Report For Australia, 1995, GBRMPA, Townsville. World Wide Fund for Nature, ‘The Implications of Climate Change on the Great Barrier Reef’ 2004, available online at www.wwf.org.au/

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, available online at www.iczn.org/iczn/index.jsp Miller, G.T. 2002, Living in the Environment, Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, Belmont, CA, USA.

Strahan, R. 1995, The Mammals of Australia, Reed New Holland, Sydney. CONSERVATION

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National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD), 1992, available online at www.deh.gov.au/esd/ national/nsesd/strategy/ Suzuki, D. & Dressel, H. 1999, Naked Ape to Superspecies, Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, NSW. NATURAL RESOURCES

Attiwill, P. & Wilson, B. 2003, Ecology - An Australian Perspective, Oxford University Press, Melbourne. Miller, G.T. 2002, Living in the Environment, Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, Belmont, CA, USA. Starr, C. 2000, Biology Concepts and Applications, Brooks/Cole Thomson Learning, South Melbourne.

Attiwill, P. & Wilson, B. 2003, Ecology - An Australian Perspective, Oxford University Press, Melbourne. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, New Zealand, ‘Measuring the spread of the Candidate Possum Biocontrol Vector Parastrongyloides tichosuri’. Available online at: www.maf.govt.nz/mafnet/ publications/research/biologicalmanagement-of-possums/biologicalmanagement-of-possums-13.htm Starr, C. 2000, Biology Concepts and Applications, Brooks/Cole Thomson Learning, South Melbourne. Strahan, R. 1995, The Mammals of Australia, Reed New Holland, Sydney.

Suzuki, D. & Dressel, H. 1999, Naked Ape to Superspecies, Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, NSW.

Miller, G.T. 2002, Living in the Environment, Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, Belmont, CA, USA. Worboys, G, Lockwood, M. & De Lacy, T. 2001, Protected Area Management Principles and Practice, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne. World Wide Fund for Nature, available online at www.wwf.org.au/

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Quoll Seekers Network, available online at www.quollseekers.com/ Ride, W.D.L. 1970, A Guide to the Native Mammals of Australia, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

NATIONAL PARKS

Bush Heritage Fund, available online at www1.bushheritage.asn.au/

Ham, S. 1992, Environmental Interpretation - A Practical Guide for People with Big Ideas and Small Budgets, Fulcrum Publishing Golden, Colorado. Pearson, M. & Sullivan, S. 1995, Looking after Heritage Places - The Basics of Heritage Planning for Managers, Landowners and Administrators’, Melbourne University Press, Carlton.

Aplin, G. 1998, Australians and their Environment, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

Miller, G.T. 2002, Living in the Environment, Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, Belmont, CA, USA. Perth Fuel Cell Bus Trial, available online at www.dpi.wa.gov.au/fuelcells/

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RECYCLING

Miller, G.T. 2002, Living in the Environment, Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, Belmont, CA, USA.

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No Waste by 2010 Strategy - Canberra, available online at www.nowaste.act.gov.au/strategy/ implementingthenowastestrategy.html Plastic Bay information from Planet Ark, available online at www.planetark.com/ index.cfm POLLUTION

Bowen, J. 1993, ‘The Great Barrier Reef: towards conservation and management’, as cited in Dovers, S. (ed.) 1994, Australian Environmental History - Essays and Cases, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne.

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THREATENED SPECIES

Aplin, G. 1998, Australians and their Environment, Oxford University Press, Melbourne. Australian Koala Foundation, available online at www.savethekoala.com/ koalasdanger.html

Cane Toad Factsheet - Australian Museum, available online at www.austmus.gov.au/factsheets/ canetoad.htm Miller, G.T. 2002, Living in the Environment, Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, Belmont, CA, USA.

Thompson, C. (ed.) 1997, Discovering Yanchep National Park, Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth, W.A. Worboys, G, Lockwood, M. & De Lacy, T. 2001, Protected Area Management Principles and Practice, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne. ZOOS AND WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, available online at www.durrellwildlife.org/

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Aplin, G. 1998, Australians and their Environment, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

Miller, G.T. 2002, Living in the Environment, Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, Belmont, CA, USA.

The Encyclopaedia of Animals, 1993, Fog City Press, San Francisco.

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RENEWABLE ENERGY

Recovery Outline for Gastric Brooding Frog, 1997, available online at www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/ threatened/action/frogs/27.html The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List, available online at www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/ red_list_2004/English/ background_EN.htm

Walraven, E. 1999, Care of Australian Wildlife, New Holland Publishers (Aust) Pty. Ltd., Sydney.

Ham, S. 1992, Environmental Interpretation - A Practical Guide for People with Big Ideas and Small Budgets, Fulcrum Publishing Golden, Colorado.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, available online at www.koala.net Perth Zoo Conservation Information Breeding Programs, available online at www.perthzoo.wa.gov.au/ HELP FOR WILDLIFE

SPOTTED-TAILED QUOLLS

Bowden, J. 1999, Living with the Environment in the Pine Rivers Shire, Fergies, Brisbane.

Bilby Conservation, available online at www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/ threatened/publications/bilby.html

Walraven, E. 1999, Care of Australian Wildlife, New Holland Publishers (Aust) Pty. Ltd., Sydney.

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