Bursting with new programs for your students.

October 21, 2014October 21, 2014 by stevenbody, posted in Aboriginal, Camps, Ecology, Education, Environment, Science, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 5

Brewongle staff have been busy preparing a range of new incursions, excursions, camps and teacher professional learning – check out the links below to book for this term or next year.

Incursions:

Stage 2 & 3 Creative Arts and Science. Two programs involving art, technology and the environment. We come to your school, provide all the equipment, expertise and activities. Linked to the new syllabuses for the Australian Curriculum.

Excursions to Brewongle EEC:

Stage 4 & 5 Science. Two innovative programs that will engage your students in authentic citizen science and real life ecology programs. All designed around the new syllabus for the Australian Curriculum.

Climatewatch Citizen Science is a first hand investigation into how local plant and animal species are responding to climate change. Use technology and contribute data to a national citizen science project!

Adventure Conservation Day Program or 3 day Camp is a partnership with NSW National Parks & Wildlife, Landcare and local bush regeneration contractors. Students will kayak the Hawkesbury River and discover first hand how to manage our waterways.

Aboriginal Education Teacher Professional Learning

Thursday 13th November 2014

Venue – University of Western Sydney Discovery Centre, Richmond Campus.

‘Place, People, Pedagogy’: A Story for all Learners aims to build teacher cultural competencies to incorporate the new learning cross- curriculum priority Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures into teaching and learning.

Earth and Environmental Science with Stella Maris College

December 4, 2013 by stevenbody, posted in Camps, Ecology, Science, Uncategorized

Geology has never held that much interest for me in the past, but my nerdy brain fires up with interest when geology can be related to the living things on our planet. The year 12 students of Stella Maris College Manly who visited us for a two day camp program discovered some interesting relationships between our local soils, geology, vegetation and wildlife.

Being boffin earth and environmental scientists we conducted a soil profile using augers, identified local plant species, did a habitat assessment and tested soil parameters like pH, salinity, temperature, texture and type. Students discovered a highly altered riverbank setting with mostly introduced European trees, mown grass and deep alluvial topsoils. As we sampled further up the ridge we discovered shallower soils, a forest dominated by grey myrtle trees and much better habitat parameters. At the ridge top, soils were deeper and had some clay content with a new mix of grey gums, she oaks and stringybarks.

We were keen to monitor wikdlife too – so what is a good way to check up on local wildlife? Using our pool pole nest box cameras of course! Extend a pole up a tree with a Go Pro camera on the end – have an iPad at the bottom and voila! contents of box or nest can be viewed from the ground. A photobombing wonga pidgeon and a curious wallaby were the hightlights of our remoted cameras set up overnight. Check out the footage below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbrNVvShqa0

Day two was spent in our fabulous outdoor classroom on the Hawkesbury River. UWS Hawkesbury Campus has had a partnership with Brewongle for many years to engage students in the ecology of the Hawkesbury River. With the use of speed boats from UWS and some pretty fancy testing equipment students put the river through its paces. They found a large diversity of algal species after some sweep netting in our fashionable waders as well as some reasonable healthy physical and chemical parameters. View the slide show below online.

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Camping with James Erskine PS part two!

September 18, 2013 by stevenbody, posted in Camps, Education, Environment

We just enjoyed another camp with the fine students from JEPS. Thanks to all students, staff and parents from this lovely school for all your contributions over the two days. Enjoy the following gallery of photos! Click on the link to view them online.

Some links that may be useful as follow up on some of our lessons:

Dharug Dalang for Dharug language – http://www.dharug.dalang.com.au/Dharug/filedownload/FrontPage.html

First Footprints – and excellent documentary and website on Aboriginal Australia – http://www.abc.net.au/tv/firstfootprints/

Birds in Backyards to learn more about the nesting grey shrike thrushes – http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Colluricincla-harmonica

The University of Western Sydney Solar car team – https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/UWSSolarCar?hc_location=stream

and the world solar car challenge they are entering in – http://www.worldsolarchallenge.org/

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James Erskine Public School Camp

September 16, 2013 by stevenbody, posted in Camps, Education, Environment, Science

Hello campers! We had a top bunch from James Erskine visit us last week, with some more arriving tomorrow. The students exhibited their teamwork and problem solving skills on day one as well as building some speedy solar and bottle rocket cars. Enjoy the gallery of photos and video.