Location | Field of Mars Reserve, Pittwater Road, East Ryde Wallumedegal Country |
Bus access | Supply bus driver with Field of Mars Reserve bus information No bus entry into Field of Mars Reserve. |
Cost | 2023 DoE $24 per student - GST free 2023 Non-gov school cost $34 per student - GST free, minimum charge $600 |
Risk assessment | |
Tracks | View the YouTube track overview videos. |
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. |
View | |
Supporting resources |
Phasmids - 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 |
Invertebrate investigation Build a phasmid |
12.00 - 12.30 | Lunch |
Lunch |
12.30 - 2.00 | Invertebrate investigation Build a phasmid |
Bushwalk |
2.00 - 2.15 | Pack up, toilets and depart |
Pack up, toilets and depart |
Students will learn about the features of plants and animals and how they change as they grow through different life stages.
Inquiry question
Fieldwork
Bushwalk
The bushwalk will traverse several environments. Along the way students will undertake a variety of sensory activities to observe the different stages plants and animals go through as they grow and change. Some plants and animals will only be found in one or two life stages so visual props will also be used.
Invertebrate investigation
Students will work in small groups to search for and collect leaf litter invertebrates in the gardens around the education centre. Collected specimens will then be examined and identified using magnifiers and ID charts. Some will be magnified onto the IWB and their life stage and features explained.
Build a phasmid
The session will be introduced with leaf insects from the centre’s collection and their various life stages shown and explained. Students will then choose a stage of growth of a leaf insect and work individually to create it from pipe cleaners and natural materials.
Science and technology K-6 Syllabus (2017)
Outcomes
A student:
Content
External features of living things
Students:
describe the external features of a variety of living things
Living things change
Students:
explore how living things grow, change and have offspring similar to themselves
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
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.
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