Executive Director of AUSMEPA, Mr. Michael Julian said today how pleased he was to announce the release of the latest free educational resource about investigating rockpools, which is available to schools from the AUSMEPA website http://www.ausmepa.org.au/other.asp?pageId=33 Mr. Julian acknowledged the excellent financial support of AUSMEPA’s sponsors and ship members; he said without this support we would not be able to provide marine educational resources free of charge to schools and the community. To see a list of sponsors, please see http://www.ausmepa.org.au/australian-marine-environment-protection-association-corporate-sponsors.asp
Rockpools are one of nature’s most magical and exciting places to explore. Every person should get at least one chance to seek out the secrets of this beautiful compact world of plants and creatures. Students can use this website to find out more about the secrets of the fascinating rockpool creatures and seaweeds. The curriculum materials will help teachers and their students design one of the best possible learning experiences.
The question always asked by children is ‘how do plants and animals survive in a rockpool’? Employing a student’s innate curiosity about the unusual we invite teachers to use discovery of intertidal wildlife to begin an exploration of science, ecological, environmental and conservation topics.
Research topic areas for enquiry based education include pages on an assortment of seemingly alien invertebrate and vertebrate animal types from some of the simplest up to some of the smartest. Rockpools are rich in animal foods too, like the lovely seaweeds and seagrasses brought to light in this unit.
Studded with wonderful original photos of rockpool inhabitants the webpages also feature photos of students deep in discovery of that unique place where the air the land and the sea meet.
One of the key inclusions in this unit and of special interest to teachers will be the use of
Safety is a foundation topic and essential when considering a school excursion. To assist teachers in considering an excursion we have included links to some of the wonderful Marine Discovery and Environmental Education Centres around Australia
Another key inclusion in this unit and of special interest to teachers will be the use of the National Curriculum within the teachers’ notes. AUSMEPA understands the accountability and reporting requirements for teachers and provision of this asset has been high on the list of teacher requests.
The new education resource builds on the already established units of work on other marine education topics; marine pests carried in ships’ ballast water and hull fouling, climate change and its affect on coral bleaching, stormwater pollution, ships and ports and the marine environment and leadership in coastal conservation; all available here
These FREE marine educational programs are provided by AUSMEPA to meet the objective of making all users of the marine environment more aware of the importance of protecting the marine environment for future generations.
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