education

7-10 Urban Dynamics

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Second Nature Education offers an amazing variety of educational and experiential programs to a variety of built environments in: Queensland and New South Wales; throughout Australia; and overseas.

All our programs are either tailored to support relevant units within the new curriculum, or as specifically requested by our clients.

What we provide

  • Award-winning educators/ facilitators
  • Itineraries and Flyers
  • Curriculum-based work-booklets
  • All relevant equipment (supplying up to 150x students per session)
  • Example assessment tasks
  • Pre/Post Excursion Activities (usually a PPP)
  • Risk Assessment (location specific)
  • Variety of field-work locations (where available)
  • Accommodation options (we provide quotes to utilise the most affordable and most appropriate accommodation to suit your needs)
  • Catering options (we provide quotes to utilise our own in-house catering service for every excursion (where available) and/or catering through a third-party provider

Secondary School (Yr 7-10) Programs

Our Secondary School programs have been developed for specific units of study within Geography and History. Each can however be tailored to a school’s needs. The programs are great fun and involve the exploration of a built environment (excursions), or an exciting interactive PPP with a guided exploration of school grounds (incursions). Students gain an appreciation for the community of animals that have adapted their needs and behaviours for urban areas. They also learn to evaluate decisions made during the planning of a city based on both efficiency and sustainability. Students are given a unique opportunity to learn more about the city in which they live, work and go to school! These programs are delivered by passionate facilitators with specialist knowledge on urban planning and sustainable development. The experiences can be delivered to complement the following units or modules:

Geography

  • Year 7 Place and Liveability
  • Year 8 Changing Nations (QLD/VIC) or Changing Places (NSW)
  • Year 9 Biomes and Food Security (QLD/VIC) or Sustainable Biomes (NSW)
  • Year 9 Geographies of Interconnections (QLD/VIC) or Interconnections (NSW)
  • Year 10 Environmental Change and Management
  • Year 10 Geographies of Human Wellbeing (QLD/VIC) or Human Wellbeing (NSW)

History

  • Year 7/8 Modern History
  • Year 9 Australia and Asia (QLD)
  • Year 9 Australia (NSW)
  • Year 9 The Making of the Modern World (VIC)

Cultural

  • Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia

Trip Overview

Australia is home to many innovative and sustainable cities, some of which are famous around the world (e.g. Sydney and Melbourne, etc.). On this adventure, you will learn about how the planning of a city should be conducive to living, employment and tourism whilst protecting the natural environment. You will also use a variety of fieldwork techniques to investigate a built environment. If you are seeking a different approach to your “Urban Dynamics” study, we can design a program that is suitable for you.

Highlights

  • Visiting a bustling city center!
  • Learning more about the place students live, work and go to school
  • Receiving an introduction on urban planning and design
  • Visiting state or national landmarks
  • Sketching
  • Map reading/comprehension
  • Biodiversity surveys
  • Equipment use (anemometers/barometers/thermometers etc.)
  • Identification using age-appropriate keys

More Information

Inclusions

Excursions

• Guided walk through a big city!
• Discussion of urban planning and design
• Plant or animal identification activity
• Field sketch of study site
• Presentation on sustainable infrastructure within the chosen city
• Field work (simple quadrat or transect studies)
• “Amazing Race” activity (optional)

Incursions

• An age-appropriate interactive PowerPoint presentation
• Guided exploration of school grounds
• Bird and plant identification activities
• Active “Planning Sustainable Cities” activity
• Quiz (with prizes!) to assess comprehension
Educational Outcomes
• Awareness and knowledge of built environments
• Knowledge of the diversity of organisms extant in built environments
• A basic understanding of how organisms living in a niche specific to built environments interact with each other and their surroundings
• Awareness of how humans have reshaped a natural environment to create a built environment
• Knowledge of environmental issues that have arisen as a result of built environments including habitat destruction, introduction of invasive species, habitat fragmentation and pollution
• Learning of sustainable practices that can be used in future urban planning to minimise these issues
• A feeling of connection and sense of stewardship towards Australia’s natural environment
• An understanding of the complex processes involved in managing our environment in a sustainable manner.
Itinerary

Below is an example itinerary for a 1-day “Built Environments” excursion. All excursion packages include the necessary work booklets and equipment.

08:00
Tour group pick- Second Nature have a fleet of vehicles available to cater for any number of passengers (within reason). We can provide transport to and from institutions and airports

08:45
Arrive at destination for Activity session 1 This activity involves an introduction to the chosen city. Students will be guided through a site description and field sketch, followed by a discussion of what design elements they can observe that make the city a “green” or sustainable one.

09:45
Morning tea

10:00
Activity Session 2 Students will be taken on a guided walk around the city, during which they will complete a biodiversity survey. They will use the classification guides provided to identify plants and animals common in the area and will watch closely for evidence of other wildlife. The guides will explain how these organisms have adapted their needs and behaviours to effectively co-exist with humans.

10:30
Activity Session 3 The students will continue their guided walk of the city, this time stopping at infrastructure implemented for sustainability in human economy and liveability and/or in the natural environment. There will be opportunities to speak with a range of professionals from the urban planning industry, including architects, horticulturalists, and workers from the transport sector.

11:30
Lunch at destination Great areas to take a break and feel the energy of the city!

12:30
Activity Session 4 Line transects and quadrat surveys are frequently utilised by field scientists to monitor how an area changes over time. During this activity, students will be divided into groups to assess an area using techniques explained by our guides. The activity will involve taking measurements of physical factors using supplied equipment and recording results in a data collection table. This is excellent hands on experience in the field!

13:30
Activity Session 5 Time for a bit of fun! During this activity, students embark on a quest around the city to answer the five questions provided by their guides just before the activity is to take place. The students will be supervised during this time.

14:30
Depart destination, back to institution or airport

15:15
Arrive back at institution or airport when required
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