Background

Plants and animals have adaptations to help them survive in an environment. The Ecolinc stormwater wetland and grassland features an array of native plants and animals that have a range of features and adaptations to survive seasonal changes, human impact and predation.

This program is conducted at Ecolinc and Serendip Sanctuary, Lara. Your bus will need to arrive at Serendip Sanctuary at 9.30am. Your bus will transport students back to Ecolinc, and the program will conclude at 2.30pm from Bacchus Marsh.

Maximum number of students for this program is 50 per day.

Learning Intentions

In this program students will:

• Define the term ecosystem and adaptation
• Research and compare animal adaptations in a wetland and grassland.

Activities

At Serendip Sanctuary, students will participate in a tour of the wetland, grassland and grassy woodland. Students will identify the animals and their structural features and adaptations. At Ecolinc students will undertake 2 x 1 hour workshops, which focus on exploring the adaptations of wetland and grassland animals and designing an animal for a particular environment.  The day is outlined below:

Victorian Curriculum

• Living things have structural features and adaptations that help them to survive in their environment (VCSSU074 [1])
• The growth and survival of living things are affected by the physical conditions of their environment (VCSSU075 [2])

Achievement Standard:

• Students can identify structural adaptations that help living things survive in a wetland and other environments.
• Students can recognize that living things are affected by the physical conditions in a wetland.