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On the 24th of October 2020, Western Murray Land Improvement Group along with Barham Landcare, held a fun and interactive workshop involving local Primary School children at Federation Reserve in Barham NSW.
Two primary school classes from Barham Public School attended the workshop that saw Kindergarten on their very first out of school excursion. They were buddied up with Grade 3/4 and accompanied by 6 teachers and assistants from the school- making the total number of attendees 47. The workshop was facilitated by Barham Landcare volunteer and group treasurer Christine Dartnell and Local Landcare Coordinator (hosted by WMLIG) Stacey Waylen. |
An excerpt from the Barham Public School Newsletter. Term 4, week 5, 2020.
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“It was an exciting activity to do and we encourage families to go and enjoy the natural environment at the reserve.” Hannah & Lana (BPS Students) |
The workshop begun by the students all standing in a large circle and looking at, touching and investigating various types of seeds and seed pods from all around Australia. Some of the children were quite fascinated by the varying shapes, sizes and forms of seed pods. Some seeds were endemic to our local region, and others were from as far as Cape York QLD. One of the group favourites was a large Banksia Prionotes seed pod, with one of the children suggesting it resembled a ‘grumpy old man’s face’. All of this interaction led to a discussion where the children then learnt how seeds are protected in all the varying types of seed pod, and why this protection is so important for species survival.
The children then broke off into smaller groups where they were able to go for a walk around the wonderful Federation Reserve, and learnt how to identify and collect their own seed. It was a fun, practical activity that gave the children a chance to investigate the different stages of seed production across a variety of endemic plant species. We then gathered to compare our findings and used activity sheets to sort and identify seed and seed pods according to shape, size and colour. We finished the workshop with a group discussion about the science and biology of seeds. Western Murray Land Improvement Group would like to thank Barham Public School for their eager involvement in the day, and are very excited about future events that promote Landcare education to our Junior Landcarer’s. Extended thanks also goes to Christine Dartnell from Barham Landcare for her participation and continuous efforts that she puts into Barham Landcare and Federation Reserve. For more information please contact Stacey Waylen 03 5453 1577, [email protected]. |
Federation Reserve
Federation Reserve is located down the East Barham Road, Barham NSW. It is only 1.6km from the centre of town and is accessible at all times to members of the public who want to visit the spectacular site. It is a 10 hectare area with three walking trails, amenities and an amazingly diverse variety of over 125 endemic plant species with interpretive signage to assist in species identification. There is also a huge array of wildlife that can be found at the site- a sign of the importance of rich biodiversity and a great example of a healthy, local ecological community.
WORKSHOP PARTNERS
This event was a joint initiative between WMLIG, the NSW Government Department of Education, Barham Landcare and made possible through funding from the Australian Government National Landcare Program Initiative.
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