KU Chester Hill. The true demonstration of how
much the families like it is in their involvement
in our projects. Resources are brought in when
requested, they share our eggs and produce and
support our fundraising efforts to maintain and
develop our environments.
Do STEM and sustainability go together?
Absolutely! Most of our sustainability projects
have STEM considerations. It is about being aware
of these to extend and progress the children’s
learning. For example, we used a motion activated
camera during the day and at night. The camera
was set up in various areas of the environment as
part of our pest investigations, to discover what
the chickens do at night and on weekends and
who visits the chickens when we are not there.
We discovered that cats like to visit the chickens
on weekends and that a family of rats also like to
take the chickens food. One experience led to the
next. For example, once we discovered that it was
rats taking the food and not the chickens being
greedy, we needed to stop it from happening. We
researched and discovered a peddle powered food
dispenser. The chickens need to stand on a peddle
to release the lid and get the food. The chickens
weight activates the peddle to open the lid. The
rats were not heavy enough to do this which solved
our problem. However, the chickens didn’t know
how to use the food dispenser. Through trial and
error and perseverance it has been a learning
journey for the educators, children and chickens.
We also use time lapse to record the food we
harvest from the garden and cook to see the
changes that happen during the cooking process.
Time lapse has also been a great investigative
tool during the hatching of our chickens. A 2-hour
video can be reduced to 40 seconds to observe the
process.
Our water conservation project is ongoing. We
started with a rain water gauge and created
a graph to calculate water waste and when to
water the garden. We now have rainwater tanks
and watering systems which require mapping,
basic engineering plans and math calculations to
operate the water timer system and calculate the
rainfall.
We explored using a green screen that was made
from sheets of large cardboard gathered from
a bed delivery. The cardboard was painted lime
JANUARY 2019
green and propped so the children could stand
in front of it. The children created a drawing on
paper, stood in front of the green screen and
explained their drawing. A photo was taken of
the illustration to replace the green screen, so it
would look like the child was standing in front of
their large drawing. This could also be done using
photos of the chickens, creative creations, or even
bugs found in the garden. The green screen allows
children to tell the story of what they see.
What is your most unusual planter?
Almost anything can become a planter. We have
used empty milk bottles attached to a fence and
pallets, recycled tyres stacked up, old timber toy
storage boxes, hot or cold-water urns, old rattan
laundry baskets, recycled timber crates found on
the side of the road, large rocks used as borders
and filled with soil, and rimmed bark filled with soil.
Generally, if you can drill drainage holes in it and fill
it with soil, it can be turned into a planter. You need
to ensure anything you grow food in is non-toxic.
Natural pest control
We believe in not using chemicals or sprays on
the fruits, vegetables and herbs we grow. We
researched and discovered that ground coffee
is a natural deterrent for these creatures. Coffee
grounds are sprinkled over all gardens with a
thicker sprinkling around the base of the fruits and
vegetables. This has stopped our delicious food
being eaten by the pests. The coffee grounds are
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