Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre

Experience Engage Enable

Telephone02 9816 1298

Emailfieldofmar-e.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Poetic adventures excursion program

Decorative images
decorative image
decorative image
decorative image

Teacher checklist

Location

Field of Mars Reserve, Pittwater Road, East Ryde

Wallumedegal Country

Google maps - Apple maps
Bus access

Supply bus driver with Field of Mars Reserve bus information

No bus entry into Field of Mars Reserve.
Cost

2025 DoE $25 per student - GST free

2025 Non-gov school cost $35 per student - GST free, minimum charge $750

Term 1 - Catholic school Weeks 3 to 7  cost = DoE cost - GST free, minimum charge $750

Schools are to confirm the number of students and classes at least 7 days prior to attending. Schools will be charged based on the number of students confirmed or number of students who attend on the day (whichever is greater). 
Risk assessment Field of Mars Reserve risk management plan
Tracks

View the YouTube track overview videos. 

Buffalo Creek Track

Doyle and Warada loop track
Welfare

Participants will be bushwalking during the day in rugged terrain.

Limited wheelchair accessibility.

This excursion may not be suitable for people who have been recently unwell.
Bring Backpack, medication, low-waste food, water bottle, sunblock, raincoat, hat, sturdy shoes.

Students wear reusable name tag and sports uniform.
View Preparing for an excursion
Supporting resources

Eucalypt forest digital book - available free from Apple Books

English textual concepts website

NSW Department of Education English support site

Fact sheets
Bin access

All student waste to be taken home by students.
Parent/carer helpers Optional one parent per class, no siblings. Closed shoes essential. 
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 30 working school days notice will incur a $600 administration fee. 

Cancellations with less than 7 working school days notice will incur the full cost for the program based on the original booking. 

Cancellations due to weather or fire danger are exempt from fees. 

Suggested timetable for up to three classes

Time

Classes A, B, C, D
9.45 - 10.15 Introduction
10.15 - 10.30 Recess
10.30 - 10.45 Equipment distribution
10.45 - 12.45

Poetic adventures

  • location scouting
  • poem development
  • macro photography
12.45 - 1.15 Lunch
1.15 - 2.00 iMovie studio - Visuals and audio
2.00 - 2.15 Pack up and depart

decorative image
decorative image

Learning activities

During this program students will collaborate on the development of a digital communication product using a range of apps, poetic devices and visual literacy strategies.

Students will develop environmental vocabulary and use the English textual concept of perspective to create a five senses poem based on the experiences of a minifigure. They will learn how to take high quality macro photographs and create a digital story to bring their poem to life. 

Poetic adventures - composing

During this session the students will walk to a variety of locations in the Field of Mars Reserve.

At each location students will work in pairs to compose a sentence for their poem from the perspective of their minifigure. They will be exposed to a range of descriptive words that describe bushland locations and objects in nature. 

Students will be introduced to macro photography and how to compose shots using visual literacy skills to illustrate their poem. 

Publishing

During this session students will review and edit images taken in the field. Using iMovie or a similar app the students will develop a sequence of images to support their poem. They will narrate their poem, add titles and select a complementary soundtrack. Completed products will be sent back to school via Google Drive.

Decorative image

Syllabus outcomes and content

English K-10 Syllabus (2022)

Vocabulary

Outcome

  • Extends Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary through interacting, wide reading and writing, morphological analysis and generating precise definitions for specific contexts EN3-VOCAB-01

Content

Learning and using words

  • Identify newly encountered words from interactions and wide reading, and use them in writing, discussions and presentations

Creating written texts

Outcome

  • Plans, creates and revises written texts for multiple purposes and audiences through selection of text features, sentence-level grammar, punctuation and word-level language EN3-CWT-01

Content

Text features for multiple purposes

  • Use word repetition and word associations as cohesive devices across texts
  • Experiment with figurative language for effect and to engage the reader, including metaphor, hyperbole, oxymoron and allusion
  • Create written texts that include multiple paragraphs with clear, coherent transition of ideas
  • Choose multimodal features suited to a target audience and purpose, to reinforce and extend ideas

English textual concept

Perspective

Students understand that perspectives may differ and that these differences need to be considered

They learn that:

  • perspective may be expressed in different ways including the values expressed and the form of expression.

Other syllabus links

Learning experiences will also support but not explicitly teach the following outcomes and content.

Science and Technology K-6 syllabus (2024)

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

English K–10 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2022.

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

English textual concepts © NSW Department of Education, 2016

Return to program summary

Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre

General enquiries

CallGet directionsMail

Follow us

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.