Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes	Part A: Sketching natural environments
15 minutes	Part B: Discussing the importance of natural environments
25 minutes	Part C: Independently investigate how to protect particular environments
05 minutes	Reflection

Part A: Sketching natural environments

Step 1.

Grab your sketchbooks and your charcoal, and head outside. Walk around the natural spaces of your school and observe, including the land beyond the fence.

As you go, discuss:

What is the main type of vegetation? Is it forest, desert, grasslands, or bush?
Look more closely at some of the flora that is present. Do students know the names of the trees and flowers? Is the flora native to Australia, or introduced?
If you do have some native flora, see if students can identify any similarities between the species. Are the flowers the same shape? Are the leaves the same colour? Is the bark similar? How would you describe the bark?
Are there any birds or other animals visiting these trees? What do you think makes them appealing to local fauna? For example, bird-attracting vegetation might provide food or shelter. Lizards like to hide under leaf litter. Insects such as moths camouflage themselves against trees.

Step 2.

Find somewhere to sit, either on the oval or in a courtyard, where you can connect with nature. Avoid man-made spaces such as a basketball court.

Ask students to take five deep breaths to connect themselves with the natural space. Feel the earth beneath their feet. Listen to the sounds of the animals.

Step 3.

Ask students to focus on sketching a single tree or flower. Try to focus on the textures. Take note of how dense the canopy is.

Alternatively, instruct students to hold their sketchbook up in front of them, almost like a photograph, and try to capture everything in the scene behind the rectangle of paper. Of course, they can lower the paper to check what’s behind.

Part B: Discussing the importance of natural environments

Step 1.

Best to head back inside for this discussion.

Step 2.

Explain that natural spaces fulfil an incredible amount of really important roles, many of which we might take for granted.

Can students think of how natural spaces help:

The earth? Plants produce oxygen, roots protect topsoil from erosion, the earth retains rainfall for use by plants.
Animals? Fallen trees and leaf litter provide habitats and safe cover for animals. Plants provide food.
Humans? Trees provide shade for people and also cool down urban environments, plants produce food and medicine, we use wood and fibres from plants in our production. Nature also makes places appear more aesthetically pleasing. Finally, people can have a real emotional or spiritual connection with nature. It’s quite good for our health to be out amongst nature and breathing fresh air.

Step 3.

Students might like to share stories of a natural space they feel a deep connection to, such as sitting on their verandah and watching the birds in the garden.

You could also ask students to reflect on some of the most awe-inspiring natural spaces they’ve had the pleasure of visiting. They might have gone on a hike through a rainforest to a waterfall, or seen the vast plains of the Simpson Desert.

Impress upon students the importance of protecting and maintaining these natural spaces.

Step 4.

Now show students this image.

This is one example of how bushfires can radically change our natural environment.

Ask students to compare this to their sketches. Notice the black trunks of the trees, the lack of textured bark, the lack of ground cover, and the totally missing canopies of leaves.

Step 5.

Ask students to reflect on how a bushfire might disrupt everything you identified in Step 2. Not only would animals be deeply affected, but the positive emotional and spiritual connection humans have with the area would be radically altered after a bushfire.

Step 6.

However, it’s important to note that fires aren’t just ‘bad’.

Explain that fire plays an important role in environmental ecology.

It is needed to trigger natural processes, such as stimulating seed germination and bringing benefits to biodiversity.
When a fire burns through bushland, it clears thick undergrowth and opens up the canopy so sunlight can reach the forest floor, encouraging the germination and regrowth of native vegetation.
Fires can also free these plants from competition with invasive weeds, and eliminate disease or droves of insects that may have been causing damage to the old growth.
Research shows bushfires help provide nutrients that native vegetation specifically needs to rejuvenate and seed.
In many cases, certain plant species that have gone dormant can be rejuvenated following a fire event.
The remnants of burnt trees, with hollowed-out logs, can also offer attractive habitats for birds and mammals seeking shelter and nesting. Fallen burnt trees provide new homes for smaller animals, especially reptiles.
Burnt trees that are still standing can be havens for insects that feed birds and small mammals.

As you can see in the image in Step 4, the bush regenerates after a bushfire event.

Part C: Independently investigate how to protect particular environments

Step 1.

Watch the Three things I know about fire management video | The Drum, ABC News (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ_En7x8tzU)

Step 2.

Independently, students choose an element of their local environment that they noticed during their sketching or a part of the bush in general to investigate further.

Students will create a piece of media to promote awareness in their school and the wider community about the importance of being knowledgeable about the local landscape and taking action to protect this landscape.

For example, students might like to investigate:

The banksia: How it responds to fire, the benefits it provides to local bird species, and how to care for it in terms of how much water and additional care it needs in order to thrive
Stringybark trees: How they’ve developed to cope with fire, what benefits they provide to the environment after a bushfire event, and how to best care for them
Burnt or hollowed out trees: Why we shouldn’t clear them after a bushfire event.

Check out this resource as a great place to start your research or for inspiration.

Step 3.

Students then prepare a report on this aspect of the landscape, explaining its importance and value to the broader ecology (the earth, animals, and humans) and why and how humans can work to care for it.

Students can also include a personal reflection on, or connection to, their research. For example, they might appreciate the beauty a flowering banksia brings to the environment and the joyful feeling it creates in them.

Step 4.

Students can present their reports in a number of ways, such as a video or spoken presentation. However, we’d encourage students to present their work as a poster featuring their sketches from Part A.

Reflection

Students display their presentations on their desks.

Students move around the room and reflect on each others’ presentations.

Coming together again as a group, ask students to highlight a particular report or fact from their peers that they thought was a standout or that they didn’t know before this lesson.

Teacher reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn’t work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Resilient Australia - How Do Bushfires Impact the Landscape?

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