Junior birder HPGE enrichment program | Stage 2–3 Creative Arts and Science and Technology | Field of Mars EEC

Cost, risk assessment and details

Cost	$60 per student - GST free This will be processed through the student's home school. This program is only available to NSW Department of Education school students.
Dates	Available dates
Times	9.15 – Drop off 2.15 – Pick up
Risk assessment	Field of Mars Reserve risk assessment - main location
Transport	Schools are required to organise transport for students to and from the location. No vehicles are permitted into Field of Mars Reserve.
Staff	Teachers are not required to attend but are welcome.
Student selection	Maximum 12 students per school per day. When choosing your students, remember the program takes place indoors, outdoors and in public spaces. Students may be near creeks and bushland tracks. While EEC teachers supervise them all day, consider if they’ll need SLSO or teacher support to stay safe.
Bring	Sports uniform, backpack, medication, low-waste food, water bottle, sunblock, raincoat, hat, sturdy shoes, reusable name tag.
View	Preparing for your excursion
Welfare	Participants will be walking during the day on an accessible boardwalk. Wheelchair accessible. May not suit recently unwell participants. For medical or special needs notify staff prior to program.
Extreme or wet weather	Program may be modified, postponed or cancelled due to predicted extreme temperatures, bush fire danger, heavy rainfall, high winds or dust storms.
Booking policy	Confirm student details 7 days in advance.
Cancellation fee	Less than 4 weeks notice – full cost Weather or fire danger cancellation – $0

Activities

Binocular bootcamp

Students learn how to use binoculars safely and effectively before entering the reserve. They practise adjusting focus, locating birds with their eyes first, raising binoculars smoothly, following movement and observing wildlife without disturbance.

Birdwatching walk

Students explore Field of Mars Reserve on a guided birdwatching walk. They move slowly through different habitats, pausing to watch, listen, record and sketch. Students observe bird features, calls, movement, feeding behaviour, social behaviour and habitat use.

Bird identification lab

Students use field guides, photographs, observations and group discussion to confirm bird sightings. They compare similar species and justify identifications using evidence such as size, shape, colour, beak type, tail shape, movement, behaviour, call and habitat.

Artwork planning

Students select one focus bird from their field observations and plan a vintage-style bird plate. They identify the key features that need to be shown accurately, including body shape, beak, eye, wing markings, tail, feet, posture, colours and habitat details.

Vintage bird plate studio

Students use Field of Mars EEC iPads, digital pencils and Procreate to create a vintage-style bird illustration. They use layers, brushes, colour palettes, linework, texture and labels to create a finished artwork that combines scientific observation and creative design.

The artwork will be printed, framed and returned to your school at a later date.

Showcase

Students share their completed bird artworks and explain the observations, identification evidence and creative choices behind their work.

This program is only available to NSW Department of Education schools.

Explore related fact sheets

Use these student-friendly fact sheets before or after your Junior birder HPGE enrichment program to support birdwatching, field notes, identification evidence and bird-inspired artwork.

• ⁠Birds fact sheet – Learn about feathers, beaks, wings, eggs and other features that help birds survive.
• ⁠Bird fact sheets – Explore Australian birds found in bushland, gardens, parks, wetlands and school grounds.
• ⁠Laughing kookaburra fact sheet – Learn about a familiar native bird with strong calls, sharp eyesight and hunting adaptations.
• ⁠Australian magpie fact sheet – Explore a common black-and-white bird with distinctive calls, social behaviour and nesting needs.
• ⁠Satin bowerbird fact sheet – Learn about a native bird that builds and decorates bowers using sticks and colourful objects.
• ⁠Tree habitats fact sheet – Discover how trees provide nesting places, perches, flowers, insects and shelter for birds.

Timetable

Time	Activities
9.15	Arrival
9.30 - 10.15	Binocular bootcamp
10.15 - 10.30	Recess
10.30 - 11.30	Birdwatching walk
11.30 - 12.30	Bird identification lab and artwork planning
12.30 - 1.00	Lunch
1.00 - 2.00	Vintage bird plate studio
2.00 - 2.15	Showcase
2.15	Depart

Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary

observe, identify, compare, record, evidence, behaviour, habitat, adaptation, fieldwork, ornithology, binoculars, species, silhouette, plumage, beak, wing, tail, call, field notes, illustration, composition

Syllabus outcomes and content

Syllabus outcomes and content Stage 2

Creative Arts K-6 Syllabus (2024)

Visual Arts

Outcome

• makes artworks using art forms to represent subject matter and ideas, and describes ways artists convey ideas about their world to audiences through artworks CA2-VIS-01

Content

Making: Artists represent their world through subject matter and ideas in artworks

• represent subject matter and ideas in artworks, making choices based on own interpretations of the world
• use drawing materials and techniques to create effects with texture and tone to represent subject matter and ideas
• explore balance, scale and proportion in compositions to represent subject matter and ideas
• demonstrate safe art making practices with respect for physical, social and digital safety

Creative Arts K-6 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2024

Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2024) - Stage 2

Physical and living systems depend on energy

Outcomes

• Uses information to investigate the solar system and the effects of energy on living, physical and geological systems ST2-SCI-01
• Uses and interprets data to describe patterns and relationships ST2-DAT-01

Content

Living things depend on energy and materials to survive

• Observe and describe living and non-living things in a habitat
• Describe the transfer of energy between plants and animals using food chains, Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary
• Describe ways in which plants and animals depend on each other for survival

Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2024

Syllabus outcomes and content Stage 3

Creative Arts K-6 Syllabus (2024)

Visual Arts

Outcomes

• makes artworks in intentional ways to represent ideas about their world, and explains ways artists are influenced by contexts and how artworks are interpreted by audiences CA3-VIS-01

Content

Making: Artists represent their world in intentional ways through their artmaking practice

• Represent ideas or perspectives of their world and intentions in own artmaking practice
• Use drawing materials and techniques to create artistic effects to represent subject matter or ideas in intentional ways
• Create intentional effects with awareness of the relationships between colours and tones, to represent subject matter or ideas in realistic, imaginative or symbolic ways
• Use painting materials, techniques and processes to explore ways to apply paint in combination with mixed media materials
• Apply understandings of materials, digital technologies and processes to represent intended ideas in artworks
• Explore artistic conventions and ways to represent subject matter and ideas in compositions
• Demonstrate safe artmaking practices with respect for physical, social, digital and cultural safety

Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2024) - Stage 3

Knowledge of our world and beyond inspires sustainable solutions

Outcomes

• Uses evidence to explain how scientific knowledge can be used to develop sustainable practices ST3-SCI-01
• Interprets data to support explanations and arguments ST3-DAT-01

Content

Living things may change over millions of years, in response to their environments

• Observe behavioural and structural adaptations of plants and animals, and suggest how these may help them survive in their environments
• Interpret a food web that describes the flow of matter and energy between plants and animals in an ecosystem
• Identify and describe how the loss or introduction of plants or animals affects an Australian ecosystem

Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2024