Experience Engage Enable
T: Telephone02 9816 1298
| Location | Field of Mars Reserve, 220 Pittwater Road, East Ryde Wallumedegal Country |
| Supply bus driver with Field of Mars Reserve bus information | |
| Field of Mars Reserve risk management plan | |
View the YouTube track overview videos. |
|
| Alternate location (others are available) | 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. |
|
| Buffalo Creek Reserve risk management plan | |
View the YouTube track overview videos. |
|
| Cost | DoE $25 per student - GST free Non-gov school cost $35 per student - GST free, minimum charge $700 |
| Welfare | Participants will be bushwalking all day in rugged terrain. Limited wheelchair accessibility. This excursion may not be suitable for people who have recently been unwell. Toilets are only available at the beginning and end of the day. |
| Worksheets | Student worksheets depend on your excursion's location. Here is a sample worksheet for the Field of Mars Reserve site. |
| Bring | Backpack, medication, low-waste food, water bottle, sunblock, wet weather gear, hat, sports uniform, sturdy shoes. There are no shops near the study site. |
| View | |
| Preparation and supporting resources |
Eucalypt Forest Digital Book for iPads and Macs |
| Bin access | All student waste to be taken home by students. |
| 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 whether | 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 four school weeks' notice will incur a $500 administration fee. This does not apply to cancellations due to weather or fire danger. |
Time |
Activities |
| 9.30 - 10.00 | Introduction and recess |
| 10.00 - 11.30 | Fieldwork (two sites) |
| 11.30 - 12.00 | Break |
| 12.00 - 1.30 | Fieldwork (two sites) |
| 1.30 - 1.50 | Break |
| 1.50 - 2.15 | Conclusion and depart |
Ecosystem investigations
Students conduct hands-on ecosystem investigation at two fieldwork sites, including in-field planning, rigorous data collection with quality instruments, processing and interpretation of the differences in biotic and abiotic data between the two fieldwork sites.
Invertebrate investigation
Students will investigate bushland invertebrates using safe collection procedures. They will then identify and classify these invertebrates to the level of phylum/class, they then observe their invertebrate's features and behaviours before inferring and communicating their structural and behavioural adaptations, interactions and local food webs.
Plant structure investigation
Students will explore the features, structures and tissues of several bushland plants and investigate how these plants are used traditionally by aboriginal peoples for for medicine, tools, food and shelter. Safe, engaging hands-on activities that occur in this investigation may include fire-starting, natural soaps, medicine and insect repellant preparation and blood sugar boosting.
This program works best for students who have already started, or are close to concluding, the topic areas of ecosystems, plants, adaptations and/or classification.
Science 7-10 Syllabus (2018)
Outcomes
A student:
Content
LW1 There are differences within and between groups of organisms; classification helps organise this diversity.
b. classify a variety of living things based on similarities and differences in structural features
c. use simple keys to identify a range of plants and animals
f. explain how the features of some Australian plants and animals are adaptations for survival and reproduction in their environment
Other syllabus links
Learning experiences will also support but not explicitly teach the following outcomes and content:
A student:
Content
LW5 Science and technology contribute to finding solutions to conserving and managing sustainable ecosystems.
a. construct and interpret food chains and food webs, including examples from Australian ecosystems
c. describe interactions between organisms in food chains and food webs, including producers, consumers and decomposers
d. predict how human activities can affect interactions in food chains and food webs, including examples from Australian land or marine ecosystems
Life Skills
Outcomes
A student:
Content
Students communicate by:
a. presenting ideas, findings and solutions to problems using scientific language and representation using digital technologies as appropriate
b. using appropriate text types presentations, including a discussion, explanation, exposition, procedure and recount
Science and Technology 7-10 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2018
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.