Main Location | Field of Mars Reserve, Pittwater Road, East Ryde Wallumedegal Country |
Supply bus driver with Field of Mars Reserve bus information No bus entry into Field of Mars Reserve. |
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Field of Mars Reserve risk management plan | |
View the YouTube track overview videos. |
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Alternate location | Buffalo Creek Reserve, 117 Pittwater Road, Hunters Hill Wallumedegal Country |
Supply bus driver with Buffalo Creek bus information. No bus entry into Buffalo Creek Reserve carpark. |
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Buffalo Creek Reserve risk management plan | |
View the YouTube track overview videos. |
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Cost | 2023 DoE $24 per student - GST free 2023 Non-gov school cost $34 per student - GST free, minimum charge $600 |
Covid | COVID-19 safety plan |
Welfare | Participants will be bushwalking during the day in rugged terrain. This excursion may not be suitable for people who have recently been unwell. |
Bring | Backpack, medication, low-waste food, water bottle, sunblock, raincoat, hat, sturdy shoes, mask. Students wear reusable name tag and sports uniform. |
Please provide | Two tote trays per class to transport your clay models back to school. |
View | |
Supporting resources |
Social story – Schoolyard safari - written for Field of Mars Reserve Invertebrate Explorer - available free from Apple Books |
Bin access | All student waste to be taken home by students. |
Parent/carer helpers | Optional one parent per class, no siblings. Closed shoes essential. Check COVID-19 restrictions. |
Medical or special needs | Notify Field of Mars staff prior to excursion. Students, staff and visitors must not attend if unwell, even with mild symptoms. |
Extreme or wet weather | Days predicted to be above 35ºC, high winds, extreme bush fire danger and dust storms may result in the excursion being modified, postponed or cancelled. |
Cancellations | Cancellations with less than three school weeks' notice will incur a $500 administration fee. This does not apply to cancellations due to weather, fire danger or COVID-19 restrictions. |
Time |
Classes A, B, C |
Classes D, E, F |
9.45 - 10.30 | Introduction, recess and toilets |
Introduction, recess and toilets |
10.30 - 12.00 | Bushwalk
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Invertebrate investigations
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12.00 - 12.30 | Lunch |
Lunch |
12.30 - 2.00 | Invertebrate investigations
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Bushwalk |
2.00 - 2.15 | Pack up, toilets and depart |
Pack up, toilets and depart |
Students will investigate where small animals and invertebrates live in the bush, and what their features are.
Inquiry questions
Where do invertebrates and small vertebrate animals live?
What are the features of invertebrate and small vertebrate animals?
Fieldwork
Bushwalk
On a bushwalk traversing a variety of environments, students will observe the different places in the natural environment that invertebrates are found. Many invertebrate species will remain hidden during the walk, so particular emphasis will be placed on looking for animal evidence such as tracks, scats and sounds.
Build a bug
The session will be introduced with the picture book The Ugly Bug. Students will then work in small groups to undertake tree shake surveys that dislodge invertebrates from the foliage of shrubs for collection and observation. Students will use paper clay to create small clay models of invertebrates based on their observations of the collected invertebrates, embedded invertebrate specimens, and The Ugly Bug illustrations.
Invertebrate investigation
Students will work in small groups to search for and collect leaf litter invertebrates in the gardens surrounding the Field of Mars education centre. Collected specimens will then be examined for their structural features using personal magnifiers, and identified using ID charts. Some of the collected invertebrates will be magnified onto the IWB and features and adaptations will be explained.
Science and technology K-6 Syllabus (2017)
Outcomes
A student:
Content
Working Scientifically
Students:
External features of living things
Students:
Living things live in different places
Students:
Other syllabus links
Learning experiences will also support but not explicitly teach the following outcomes and content.
Geography K-10 Syllabus (2015)
Outcomes
A student:
Content
Features of places
Students:
investigate features of places and how they can be cared for, for example:
description of the natural and human features of places
consideration of how a place can be cared for
Curriculum note - this excursion is aligned with the language, learning models and experiences of the Primary Connections Stage 1 unit Schoolyard Safari.
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, 2017
Geography K-10 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2015
address
Field of Mars Reserve
Pittwater Road
East Ryde NSW 2112
telephone 02 9816 1298
We’d like to acknowledge the Wallumedegal Peoples of the Darug Nation, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we stand and pay our respects to Elders past and present.
Copyright for this website is owned by the State of New South Wales through the Department of Education. For more information go to http://www.dec.nsw.gov.au/footer/copyright.