Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre

Experience Engage Enable

Telephone02 9816 1298

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

Ecosystems program

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Teacher checklist

Location

Field of Mars Reserve, 220 Pittwater Road, East Ryde

Wallumedegal Country

Google maps - Apple maps
Supply bus driver with Field of Mars Reserve bus information
Field of Mars Reserve risk management plan

View the YouTube track overview videos.

Buffalo Creek track

Doyle and Warada loop track

Strangers Creek loop track
Cost

2025 DoE $26 per student - GST free

2025 Non-gov school cost $36 per student - GST free, minimum charge $750
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 available at the beginning and end of the day and during breaks (see timetable below).
Bring

Backpack, clipboard, medication, low-waste food, water bottle, sunblock, wet weather gear, hat, sports uniform, sturdy shoes.

There are no shops near the study site.
View

Preparing for an excursion
Preparation and supporting resources

Fact sheets - content on native animals and plants

Fieldwork techniques - information of fieldwork tools and methods
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.

Suggested timetable

Time

Activities
9.30 - 10.00 Introduction and fieldwork preparation
10.00 - 11.30 Fieldwork investigations 
11.30 - 12.00 Break
12.00 - 1.30 Fieldwork investigations 
1.30 - 1.50 Break
1.50 - 2.15 Conclusion and depart

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Learning activities

Detailed activity descriptions coming soon.

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Syllabus outcomes and content

Science 7-10 Syllabus (2023)

Outcomes

A student:

  • SC4-LIV-01 describes the role, structure and function of a range of living systems and their components

  • SC4-WS-02 identifies questions and makes predictions to guide scientific investigations

  • SC4-WS-05 uses a variety of ways to process and represent data

  • SC4-WS-08 communicates scientific concepts and ideas using a range of communication forms

Content

Living systems

    Ecosystems

  • Identify the components that make up an ecosystem
  • Investigate the interactions of biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem
  • Identify how matter and energy are cycled through an ecosystem
  • Create a food web and ecological energy pyramid based on local area observations to describe how matter and energy move through an ecosystem
  • Examine secondary-source data on the factors that change populations, including the introduction of a new species to an ecosystem, to identify trends, patterns and relationships, and draw conclusions

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, 2023

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Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre

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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.