student workbook 2 NAME:...

Transcription

1 student workbook 2 NAME:...

2 Let s Start Working If you have found out all there is to know about your local creek, you can then work together, and with others, to try and look after it. It is your mission to find those who can help you look after the creek. Together you can do activities that will help create or maintain a healthy creek habitat. Burnett Mary Regional Group - 2 -

3 My Creek s Cultural Story Aboriginal art symbols are used to tell stories about a local area. Use these symbols to create an Aboriginal story of your creek and write an explanation of your painting s story. Animal Signs Emu Possum Kangaroo Dingo Snake Environmental Signs Rain River/Creek/Smoke/Fire Waterhole/Campsite/Fireplace Sun/Star Water connecting two waterholes Rainbow/Cloud/Cliff/ Sand dune Human Occupation Signs Man/Woman Sitting Sitting around a campfire Travelling Tracks Travelling sign with circles as resting place Burnett Mary Regional Group - 3 -

4 My Creek s Cultural Story My painting represents:... Burnett Mary Regional Group - 4 -

5 Building Nest Boxes Did you find tree hollows along your creek s riparian zone? Do you know what animals live in them? Artificial tree hollows can help provide valuable habitat for many native species, but not all species have the same nest box. Using the list below, describe what features you may think each animal might need for their nest box. Animal Possums Nest Box Features Bats Lorikeets/ Parrots Sugar Gliders Cockatoos Ducks Burnett Mary Regional Group - 5 -

6 What animal s nest box are you going to build? Write a list of materials will you need to build your nest box? Animal:... Materials: Observing your nest boxes Use the observation sheet to help identify which hollow loving creatures are using your nest box/es. Date of Observation: Box Type and Number Chew Marks Scuff Marks Possible Resident Burnett Mary Regional Group - 6 -

7 Seed Pocket When you have native plant seeds collected from the local area, they are known as Local Provenance. Seed need to be collected at the right time of year so that they will germinate when planted. Your collection of seeds also needs to be labelled correctly. Use the label/seed pocket below to help you identify your local provenance seed as well as store your seed. Host plant name... My plant looks like... fold the paste to back flap Location where seeds were collected... Seeds were collected on... fold here Seeds were collected by... fold the paste to back flap Burnett Mary Regional Group - 7 -

8 Plant Propagation The two most common methods of plant propagation are from seed (sexual) or from cuttings (asexual or vegatative). Propagation from Seed Ensure the seed is fresh, mature, and insect and disease free. Sprinkle a small amount of seed on the surface of a free-draining seed mix (equal parts coarse river sand and vermiculite is suitable) in a punnet. Cover lightly with sifted sand so that the seed is buried to a depth about equal to its thickness. Water the punnet carefully and place it in a warm spot. Do not allow the mixture to dry out. Prick out the seedlings once germination has occurred and the cotyledons (seed leaves) are large enough to hold, the seedlings can be pricked out into small pots containing a suitable potting mix. Advantages Some seed can be collected and stored for long periods of time and still be capable of germinating. Many plants can be produced from seed. Disadvantages Plants propogated from seed are not genetically the same as the parent plant. Therefore they can vary in appearance. For example, the plants can vary in overall size and shape and the leaves and flowers can vary in size, shape and colour from plant to plant. Many species are difficult to grow from seed. With some species (e.g. Acacia species) the seeds may need special treatment to help germination. There are a number of plants which we cannot germinate from seed. This is probably because we do not know the special conditions required to break dormancy or trigger a growth response. SOURCE: Australian National Botanic Gardens Burnett Mary Regional Group - 8 -

9 What are the two type of ways you can propagate plants? What shouldn t you do to your newly sowed seeds? How deep should you plant your seeds? twice the width of the seed the width of the seed lay them on the surface Name one advantage and one disadvantage of propagating plants from seed. What plant are you going to try and propagate from seed? Burnett Mary Regional Group - 9 -

10 Seedling Jumble Identify which order you need to follow to when planting your seedling. Describe what each image is indicating in one word. Step... Step... Step... Step... If you don t plant your seedling the right way it may not survive. Use the diagram to work out what is the right and wrong ways to plant seedlings. Describe your decision. A B C A:... B:... C:... Burnett Mary Regional Group

11 Revegetation Revenge ACROSS 1. The production of plants from seeds or cuttings. 2. A place that is nearby is said to be. 3. This is what happens to a seeds when they begin to grow. 6. Plants that occur naturally in an area are said to be. 7. A young plant. 8. This liquid is essential to all life on Earth. 9. A living thing that is not an animal. 10. A seedling that has been planted wrong may not. DOWN 1. Seed collected from your creek is called local? 4. The natural process of allowing native habitat to recover. 5. Sourcing and bringing items together to a single location Burnett Mary Regional Group

12 A Model Creek The way we look after our creek is very important for both humans and the environment. Below is an example of how the land can be managed in good and bad ways along a creek. Using this diagram as a guide, create a model of how your creek is currently managed, or how you would like your creek to be managed. Healthy Creek Stable banks Stock fenced - no creek access Native plants and animals Large variety of vegetation Green energy Unhealthy Creek Pollution & Stormwater Salinity & Erosion Stock access to creek Introduced plants and animals Agricultural runoff (e.g. fertilisers) Burnett Mary Regional Group

13 Once you have built your model catchment, answer the following. My model is about:... By removing one bad management proctice from my creek (like pollution), it will change...what? What are some examples of how others can change their management practices to maintain a healthy creek? (e.g. farmers could stop livestock accessing the creek) Burnett Mary Regional Group

14 Down the Drain When it rains, do you know where the water goes? Some water may soak into the ground and provide valuable water for plants and underground animals. The rest flows on the surface and often goes down stormwater drains. Test the absorbtion rate of water on different surfaces in your school grounds. Using one glass of water in each trial and a stopwatch, record your observations below. Time Pavement Grassed Oval Garden Bed 2 seconds 30 seconds 2 minutes Percent* of school grounds *use a map of the school to help estimate the percent If the percent of pavement and hard surfaces (like building roofs) in your school is greater than 50%, what impact will this have on your local creek? Burnett Mary Regional Group

15 Are there stormwater drains where you live that have messages painted on them?... If you do, what do they say?... Do you think people pay attention to them?... If you where to get the support of your local Council, what is a message that you would like to paint on stormwater drains? This needs to be a message that helps to change people s behaviour about what goes down the drain. Burnett Mary Regional Group

16 Waste Audit Collect your class/school s litter for a day. Record it below. Mixed Waste (Garbage) Bucket Weight (kg) Total Bucket + Waste Weight (kg) Net Weight (kg) =Bucket - Total Approx. Volume (L) 20L bucket 240L wheelie bin Recyclable Containers (PET Plastic Bottles) Organic Material (Paper & Catdboard) Other Organic Material (Garden & Food Waste) TOTAL (kg) Waste Projections School population A Students & Staff Total waste generated B kg per day C kg per week (= B x 5) D kg per year (= C x 40 school weeks) Waste generated per person E kg per person per year (= D A) F kg per person per term (= E 4) G kg per person pre week (= F 10) H kg per person per day (= G 5 or B A) Burnett Mary Regional Group

17 The Perfect Litter Bin Litter can be a problem for any creek habitat. You task is to try and design the perfect litter bin. It may be able to sort your recycling for you, it may tell you how to dispose of your rubbish. Draw your perfect litter bin below and describe its features. My perfect litter bin s features include: Burnett Mary Regional Group

18 Get Active There are many organisations who contribute to pollution. People will use a product and throw away the waste of that product. Sometimes it is good to tell the makers of that product where their waste ends up. Step 1: Conduct a litter clean up at your local creek. What is the largest percentage of waste collected? Who makes or sells that product? Step 2: Write a letter to the pollution source. Individually, or as a class, write a letter that explains what is happening to the waste from the product that is being made or sold. Suggest some tactics they can use to help keep the local creek clean. Examples could be supporting creek clean up days or selling less packaging. Burnett Mary Regional Group

19 Community Creek Survey What is the name of our local creek? Which three reasons are most important to you concerning our local creek? The water looks dirty and unclean. The creek looks untidy. Rubbish can harm wildlife. It is expensive to clean up the rubbish. To reduce pollution of rivers and seas caused by litter. Children could get hurt when playing near the creek. Would you help look after our creek? YES / NO What would you do? Pick up rubbish or support a clean up day Tell others about the importance of the local creek Pull out weeds Nothing, the creek looks after itself Burnett Mary Regional Group

20 Some Helpful Contacts Burnett Mary Regional Group Stormwater Mary River Catchment Coordinating Committee mrccc.org.au Fraser Coast Regional Council Bundaberg Regional Council Gympie Regional Council North Burnett Regional Council South Burnett Regional Council Gladstone Regional Council Somerset Regional Council Sunshine Coast Regional Council Dalby Regional Council Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire (07) P Kdesigns nvironmental & ducational designs & publications This publication was produced by PeeKdesigns for the Burnett Mary Regional Group, through funding from the Australian Government s Caring for our Country. Burnett Mary Regional Group