Bush School Update:

Whaea Nicole is passionate about nature and learning in real-world environments.

Here is her summary of what children have covered when they spend an hour-and-a-half block in the bush with her this term.

Our first lesson is about seeds, what a seed does and what it needs. We talk about how a plant grows from a seed and how it knows what to turn into. We look at how a seed knows which way is up and how photosynthesis works.  We then choose a seed (vege, flower or tree), and we all get a turn to plant one in a small pot. I water them daily so the kids can check on their progress.

Our second lesson is "What is living in our school bush?"

We tried to name all the living things in the bush and then see if we could find any of them. We took leaf litter samples and magnifying glasses and discovered a world of little critters we could not see with our eyes alone.

Back in the class, we learn the basic bush life cycle: A tree grows, loses its leaves, and they fall to the ground; then, the tiny creatures eat the fallen leaves and poop out nutritious soil, which feeds the trees. The trees grow strong and house the birds; the birds eat seeds from trees and plants and poop them out onto the ground, and another tree grows. We get to talk about what was found and why those tiny creatures (Invertebrates) are important to all living creatures, including us. It also highlights the "If it's living, leave it alone" rule I have in the bush.

Finally, some classes looked into basic composting and what is needed to create a successful compost. Some middle school classes collected scraps from their lunchboxes and emptied these containers into the compost bin throughout the term.

We also get time to relax and play in the bush, which the kids really love.

PS from Nic:

Nic found three, possibly four, Pūriri moth larve burrows in our Pūriri tree. She will check the others to see if we have any more, but this is a super cool find. Luckily, the tree is sectioned off because it's right next to the Kākābeak we found a couple of years ago, so it should be free from touching fingers.

Here is some general info if you are interested, and Nic will also talk about it when she has the children.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C5%ABriri_moth

She will ask Natasha and Bronwyn for more information on how we can help protect their habitat. Here are two pictures -

The second picture shows an active tunnel where the larve is living, and the first picture is a discarded tunnel, possibly recent, as the web is dislodged, but some of it is still there.

Room 6 Students Leaning In The Bush: