Schools Page
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We want schools to be involved in our biodiversity project and we will continue to develop a range of schools resources which will be uploaded on this page. Scroll down for more....Here's a great resource for learning about birds:
http://www.laganvalleylearning.co.uk/archive/Birds/activities/Find%20your%20flock.pdf You can extend the activity by getting the students to act out different bird behaviour i.e. flying, gliding, perching, pecking, and flocking together. What is Biodiversity? Biodiversity is short for biological diversity—the variety of living things on Earth from the tiniest bugs to the biggest whales in the sea. Some scientists think that there are about 13 million different species, but others think that it’s closer to 30 million but so far, only 1.5 million species have been identified. Species live in ecosystems or habitats. An ecosystem is an area where all the plants and animals depend on each other, the weather, the ground, the water, the whole environment to survive. If one species is lost, the whole ecosystem becomes a little weaker. Within a species (genetic diversity) you might see many different colours and shapes. Different colours of apples or different songs and behaviours of birds. Biodiversity is important because: • Many plants and animals depend on each other to survive. Lots of plants need insects to help them to pollinate and reproduce. For example, pollen from flowers sticks to the body of a bee. When the bee moves to the next flower, it carries the pollen with it. Flowers need the insects to do this for them because they cant do it themselves. • It is important to have lots of different crops and animals. If a disease attacked one species and wiped it out, there would still be others left to help the ecosystem survive. • Some species are needed to clean up our planet by helping dead plants and animals to decompose into the ground e.g. worms. • Many plant species are important for medicine. Threatening one species or habitat has knock-on effects on many others. More downloads - Classroom Resources - to get you started!
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