Sustainability


 * Sustainable House **

Using Google SketchUp you are going to create an ultra sustainable house.

Google SketchUp is a program which allows you to create digital 3D representations of objects including houses and buildings.

Make sure that you have experimented with Google SketchUp before you begin designing your house. You can search for tutorials using youtube, one has been embedded for you below.

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When you are creating your house you will need to include as many sustainable features as possible to your house. Things you could include are a chook yard, compost heap, vegetable gardens etc.

Remember that you will be required to complete an explanation text about each of the sustainable components that you have used in creating your house as part of your Literacy Assignment. So as you are including these components begin to think about the purpose and the way in which it is environmentally friendly.


 * Animal Study [[image:http://www.ecartoongrafix.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/5-australian-animals_richard-peter-david.jpg width="225" height="164"]] **

Choose an animal that you would like to research information about. You can decide on any animal that you wish however it is recommended you choose an animal that is threatened or endangered.

Research your animal by sourcing books, websites, information packages, documentaries etc. to assist you in finding information about your animal.

You must use at least one website and one book for your research.

While researching you need to take notes under the following questions:

Describe the habitat that you animal lives in. What things does your animal need in their habitat? Where do these animals rest/nest? What is your animals diet? What are some threats/problems for your animal? What can people do to help protect your animal?

When completing the following activities refer back to the work that you did in class on Barking Owls.

Complete a Y chart of your animals habitat.

Complete the threats/problems table for your animal.

Construct a Food Web of your animal.

Create an advertisement (poster, iMovie, Keynote presentation etc.) highlighting the role humans can play in the survival of your chosen animal.
 * Barking Up The Right Tree **

As a class discuss what is an ecosystem?

Read through the following PDF Document Write the following questions into the Inquiry section of your binder book. From the PDF document provide notes in response to the questions.

1. How big is the territory size for a Barking Owl? What are the problems with this for Betty? 2. What things does Betty need as part of her habitat? 3. How long does it take for a hollow to form big enough for Betty’s nest? What are the problems with this? 4. What are Betty’s favourite foods? What do you think her ‘foods’ eat? 5. What can people do to help protect Betty and her species?

Watch DVD and take additional notes to the above questions.

Compare notes as a class and add any further information from the discussion.


 * Y Chart**

To investigate Barking owls further download and complete the Y Chart below to emphasise how many different components make up the ecosystem and how all of them are important for just one species survival.

W**hat’s the problem?**

Download the following worksheet to complete Using the worksheet list as many problems and threats that exist for the Barker Owls.

Once you have listed as many problems and threats that you can see if you can come up with a solution for each.

Discuss as a class some of the solutions and which would/would not work and why? Which are the best?

**Food Webs**

**WALT**: Identify the connections between the different organisms in an ecosystem based on diet and habitat needs.

Click on the following link to explore the concept of food webs.

@http://www.gould.edu.au/foodwebs/kids_web.htm


 * Materials:** Food Web Cards

Hand out Food Web Cards which all components of Betty’s ecosystem. Read the cards quietly for 5 minutes to learn about your component.

Make a circle with one person being the sun in the centre of the circle.

Ask students, one at a time to read out where they sleep/live and way they eat (e.g. Kangaroo eats Tussock Grass).

The ‘sun’ gives one end of the string to one of the components (e.g. Kangaroo) and takes the other end to the other connected component (e.g. Tussock Grass) and asks them to hold onto the string.

Student that is then holding the Tussock Grass card identifies another component which it needs for survival.

Have the sun roll out the string and hand it to that other component.

Continue with that thread until there is no-one new to pass it to.

Explain to the students that they are now connected in Betty’s food web. Ask them what would happen if one component was damaged. For example, the Red Gum is cut down. Ask the Red Gum to sit down, and then everyone who is attached to the Red Gum is also to sit down.

Repeat this with a range of impacts such as: - A decrease in water quality - Loss of tussock grass - Pesticides kill the invertebrates - Koalas eat all of the Yellow Boxes

Discuss the importance that each component plays in the survival of all others within the ecosystem.

** Extinction? **

Discuss what happens when a species becomes extinct – that the last animal or plant dies, so there are no more left in the ecosystem at all. Sometimes there are none left on the entire planet. When a species has lots of threats and problems, like the Barking Owls, we get very worried that they will become extinct. Why should we be worried?

Using a set of scales to represent the ecosystem remove one component to represent how an ecosystem can become unbalanced if one component is removed. Discuss what might happen if Barking Owls become extinct?

Have the class write on a piece of paper:


 * If Barking Owls became extinct: **

Work with the person beside you to think of three things that would happen and write them underneath. Think about the food web activity to give you clues about what and who would be affected if there were no more Barking Owls. Also think about how you (as people) would feel about Barking Owls disappearing.

Match responses up in a competition style as below.

Refine the responses by combining the two until as a class we finally reach one response.

Design a bumper sticker using using this response to highlight the importance of preserving the Barking Owls.