Plants are living things that are often overlooked or simply taken for granted, but in fact they are remarkable organisms with many amazing features that help them thrive all over the world. Nearly all land plants are literally rooted to the spot for their entire lives, so they can’t run away or otherwise defend themselves from predators and all the other things that their environment throws at them. Nevertheless, they are clearly excellent at surviving, and we explore the fascinating ways they do so.

Join one of Ecolinc’s presenters to explore the amazing ways that plants adapt and thrive in their environment.

Plants have no muscles and nervous system, so are unable to move or respond to any attack on their parts. They face a number of threats to their survival, including weather and climate, soil type, bushfires and other natural disasters, and herbivorous predators. And like all living things, they need to grow and reproduce, dispersing their offspring in a fashion that enables them to have the best chance of surviving themselves.

No, but students will need to pick any leaf from their garden just before the class, and have a piece of scrap A4 paper, scissors and a paperclip or adhesive tape on-hand.

In this program students will:

• Become aware of the challenges plants face in their environment.
• Learn about the adaptation that plants have to survive these challenges.

In this video conference students will:

• Explore the features of plants, the challenges they face and how their features help them to surviveh.
• Construct a paper helicopter to illustrate a particular method of seed dispersal.

Science: Science Understanding

• Plants and animals have external features that perform different functions to enable their survival; in plants these features include roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruit, bulbs, trunks and branches while different features in animals enable them to move, breathe, eat and respond to their environment (VC2S2U03)