Local Ecostudy Project - Steven Papp, Cate Fredrickson and Kathy Stewart

Today, Steve, Cate and Kathy presented at Thinking Globally, Delivering Locally seminar about our Local Ecostudy Project.
Steve and Cate are from Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre. Kathy is our academic partner and lecturer in Science Education from Macquarie University.
One of the main goals of the project:

• Getting our students to engage in our outdoor environment. We need to ensure that our students consider the impact on our environment of humans, both in the rural and urban environments.

How do we do this?
Invertebrates are the indicators of the health of our planet and in particular our Australian environment. A biodiversity study where monitoring our local environment to measure the indicators of this ecosystem can tell us so much about the health of this system.
Studies tell us we are losing about 1000 species/day and is not sustainable.
Why? Mismanagement, forestry, urban development, introduced species, pollution (chemical included).
Climate Change as an issue needs to be addressed to protect our biodiversity. Based on old-fashioned technology to provide our energy.
What do we do??
Govts recognise and are beginning to address these issues, biodiversity corridors being protected.
Macro - micro scale
Lane Cove corridor:
Investigation of ecosystems can lead to students embrace the environment
Macquarie Remnant bushland as a simulation.
Inquiry-based process to develop this project to monitor and care for the ecosystem. Built into school curriculum. Is a longer term process than just one lesson.
Planning - Skill Building (Macquarie - based, School - based) Both teachers and students receive skills-based training:technology skills, field work skills, mentoring and leadership and teambuilding skills to collect data in the field. This reinforces the learning for the HS students, what are they doing, why are they doing it, when they have teachers get to step back, student-centred learning. Local community workers can also be invited into the project to collaborate with the team. Digital products are used to present their work
Investigation at school level.
Technology: NOVA 5000, digital cameras, wikis, databases: macro photos from leaf litter, transect interpretation, datalogging data,dissolved oxygen, web2.0
Schools involved: Brown's waterhole, Blue Gum forest of Chatswood,
Negotiated between the school and MACICT.
Language building skills, assessment checklist of skills, scientific photos using rulers,
Products of learning: Information reports, songs, digital art, webpages, animation,
Be outdoors, opening eyes to how special our environment is.
Look at the little animals in our environment.
ongoing monitoring. schools revisiting the project means that teachers who are in their 2nd cycle, are moving away from the skill-building to higher order thinking skills with their students. These teachers are requesting more, taking more responsibility for the lesson design of their local ecostudy project.
schools in Riverina adopting and adapting the project.