Plants and animals > Land-based environments

• Landholder education

Land-based environments

Through land-based environments students understand what is in their backyards, school grounds and local environment. 

These resources relate to land-based plants and animals.

• Looking at the big picture
  • Adelaide’s biodiversity
  • Terrestrial habitat

• Investigating
  • Ants
  • Birds
  • Butterflies
  • Fungi
  • Local native plants
  • Mammals
  • Natural things
  • Other animals
  • Weeds and pests

• Taking action
  • Attracting wildlife to your garden
  • Local native gardens
  • Nest boxes
  • Photo points
  • Revegetation and habitat restoration

If you can’t find the topic you are looking for look on the freshwater or coastal and marine environment pages.

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The big picture

The big picture looks at the basic principles of sustainability and understanding our environment, the interconnectedness of our ecosystems, local and global perspectives and the impact of human decisions. 

Adelaide’s biodiversity

Unit of work

• Look at us! A primary year’s investigation into Adelaide’s biodiversity: past, present and future

Terrestrial habitat

Units of work

• Biodiversity classroom resource Bloom Thinkers' Key
• Biodiversity teacher's notes
• Biodiversity unit plan and procedure – R and Year 1, Richmond Primary School
• Biodiversity unit plan – Years 3 and 4, Richmond Primary School
• Biodiversity unit plan – Years 5 and 6, Richmond Primary School
• Biological sciences classification of living things and food chains and food webs – Year 7, Morley Senior High School

Information pack

• Terrestrial habitat teacher information pack
• Nest boxes and hollow habitat assessment teacher information pack
• Life in our bioregions

Other

• Ecosystems outdoor game

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Investigating

Students undertake hands-on monitoring and research of an aspect of their local environment to deepen their understanding of environments and ecosystem health.

Ants

ID chart

• Native ants of the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges region

Information packs

• Ants - teacher information pack

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Birds

Units of work

• Looking at habitat diversity through birds – a learning sequence
• Bird species diversity project – Year 3 and above 

Information packs

• Nest boxes and hollow habitat assessment teacher information pack
• Bird tracks: understanding South Australian birds, their food and habitat teacher information pack
• Bird tracks: bird food and habitat table
• Bird tracks: find bird food observation sheet 1
• Bird tracks: find birds observation sheet 2 

ID charts

• Common urban birds
• Bushland birds of the Adelaide Hills
• Birds of the Barossa Valley
• Birds of the Fleurieu Peninsula
• Birds of a grey box woodland
• Birds of a mallee box woodland
• Birds of a manna gum woodland
• Birds of a stringy bark forest

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Butterflies

ID chart

• Butterflies of the Adelaide region
• Butterflies of the Adelaide region (A4 version)
• Online butterfly identification tool – Butterfly Conservation SA

Other

• Butterfly playing cards
  
• Find butterfly attracting plants for your area – Butterfly Conservation SA

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Fungi

ID chart

• Fungi of the Adelaide Hills

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Local native plants

Information pack

• Terrestrial habitat teacher information pack

ID charts

• Native plants of the Adelaide Plains
• Native orchids of the Adelaide Hills
• Grey box woodland: Tree layer – Ground layer – Shrub layer – Eucalypts
• Mallee box woodland: Tree layer – Shrub layer – Ground layer – Eucalypts
• Manna gum woodland: Tree layer – Ground layer – Shrub layer – Eucalypts
• Stringybark forest: Tree layer – Ground layer – Ground layer – spring – Shrub layer – Eucalypts
• Sand dune plants of the Onkaparinga

Other

• Creature feature digests: a complete list of published ‘Creature Feature’ articles - Volume 1 and Volume 2

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Mammals

Unit of work

• Bats unit with Australian Curriculum Science links – Gumeracha Primary School

Other

• Grey-headed Flying-fox fact sheet

Natural things

Information pack

• Natural things resource – early years

Other local native animals

Other

• Life in our bioregions
• Creature feature digests - Volume I and Volume II

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Weeds and pests

ID charts

• Bushland weeds of the upper Onkaparinga catchment
• Bushland weeds of the lower Onkaparinga catchment
• Weeds of disturbed areas in the upper Onkaparinga catchment
• Weeds of disturbed areas in the lower Onkaparinga catchment
• Watercourse weeds of the upper Onkaparinga catchment 
• Watercourse weeds of the lower Onkaparinga catchment 
• Environmental weeds of the Adelaide and the Mount Lofty Ranges

Other

• Pest animals of the Adelaide and the Mount Lofty Ranges
• Pest plants of the Adelaide and the Mount Lofty Ranges

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Taking action

Students apply their new understanding of the environment and human impacts, and act to preserve or restore the local environment. Taking action is about empowering students to share their skills and knowledge with the local community to effect change. 

Be inspired by how other early learning sites and schools are taking action for biodiversity by browsing case studies.

Attracting wildlife to your garden

Fact sheets and information packs

• Backyards for wildlife
• Bats in your backyard
• Butterflies – how to bring them back
• Lizards – create a home for them
• Sharing the garden with possums
• Butterfly Garden - taking action module

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Local native gardens

Information packs

• Creating a wildlife friendly garden booklet
• Adelaide gardens – a planting guide
• Coastal gardens – a planting guide

Fact sheets

• Landscape elements in your garden
• Native gardens – how to establish one
• Native plant nurseries list
• Raingardens – how to build one

Nest boxes

Information pack

• Nest boxes and hollow habitat assessment teacher information pack

Fact sheets

• Cats and wildlife – how you can protect both
• Birds – how to encourage them into your garden
• Nesting boxes – bird, bat and possum

Other

• Nest box plans for a range of Australian birds – Birds in Backyards

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Photo point monitoring

Fact sheet

• Photo point monitoring fact sheet

Revegetation and habitat restoration

Information pack

• Plant survival rates teacher information pack

Fact sheets

• How to plant native seedlings

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Related links

• Contact your local NRM Education team
• Schools monitoring