Why are native gardens so important? They provide a natural habitat for animals in the area and usually require less water than other types of garden and are easier to maintain. In this learning sequence you'll be exploring these questions:

• What does it mean to be ‘water wise’?
• How do plants adapt to suit an area? What plants are native to this area? What animals do they attract?
• How can I care for my local environment?
• How can I plan and create a native garden which is water wise and allows for natural animal food chains to exist?

Getting Started

How can we save water? 

• Reduce the amount of water used
• Use water that falls from the sky
• Recycle water through natural means, and improve the quality of discharge from the site

You will use the information in the ‘getting started’ section to plan and create a poster about water use and saving water.

Learning about the topic: Work in your book or on paper to plan the information you will include on your poster. Start by brainstorming a minimum of 5 ways you already know about how to save water. Add to your list as you work through the task. Include answers to all questions as you go along. You will select the most important information for your poster at the end.

Melbourne Water

Look at this Melbourne Water link.

Answer these questions:

• How full are Melbourne’s water stores currently?
• How much rain has fallen in the last month? The last three months?
• Click on the ‘weekly report’. How does the percentage of water in storage compare to this time last year?
• Add this information to your brainstorm.
• Make a prediction – what percentage of water will be in the storage's in one month? Check back in a month to find out if you were right!

Our Water

Melbourne Water

What can we do to save water?

Explore the Our Water site. See if you can create a list of ten top tips for saving water from the site. These fact sheets might help: ‘Sustain your garden’ and ‘Great ideas to save water’. 

*Teacher tip – download and print the documents for an ‘offline’ task.

How much water does it take to water a garden? Work through the 'watering the garden' learning object and worksheet in pairs.

How will you water your garden – bucket, sprinkler or hose? What difference does it make? Experiment with different options. Now it’s time to do some Maths! Use the information in the learning object to help you. What is the most economical approach to watering your garden and how much water does this use? Add this to your brainstorm.

Related to the watering task, see this Maths sheet (Word - 41Kb)

Water matters: Watering the garden (LO ID L1798) Teacher link to Digilearn (requires login).

Plan and create your poster

Now it’s time to make some decisions. You can’t include everything on your poster – it would be way too cluttered!

To help you get organised, print and complete the Planning document (Word - 60Kb). To check you’re on track, view the Poster assessment (Word - 39Kb).  Plan and create your poster!

Teachers: Create your own Assessment rubric using Rubistar.

Digging Deeper

Alien life form

Plants adapt to suit all sorts of environments, including deserts!

Choose different environments and then select plants with the right leaves, roots and seeds to survive in that environment!

Select one environment. Create three different plants to locate in that environment. Complete the simulation to find out how they survive. Make sure you include at least one well adapted plant.

Draw a picture showing each of the three plants in the environment. Label each plant to show how the leaves, roots and seeds are / are not well adapted for that environment. Include a heading.

Alien life form (LO ID L29) Teacher link to Digilearn (requires login).

Old Bernies pond

Old Bernie is not happy about the state of his pond! In this challenge, you will have the opportunity to add and remove things from the pond. Once you’ve made 7 positive choices, you’ll receive a certificate! Print it off and stick in your book.

Complete the Fishbone diagram (Word - 38Kb). Choose 4 or more items – eg carp and include the positive and negative impacts of adding / removing these.

Old Bernie's Pond (LO ID L27) Teacher link to Digilearn (requires login).

Park design

How well do you know your fractions? Use your knowledge to help design a park. Work with a partner and record your answers in your usual Maths book. You will also use a grid format when you design your own garden.

Design your own park (LO ID L121) Teacher link to Digilearn (requires login).

Going Further

Now it’s time to put together a proposal for your own native garden – at school! You will need to work in a team of 3 or 4 to create a plan. If yours is chosen by the class you can then write a letter to the Principal and/ or School Council asking permission to go ahead and plant your garden!

First, your class will need to find a suitable space in the school for a native garden. Measure it! What are the length, width and area? What shape is it? How much sun does the area get?

Now it’s time to learn more about plants and animals that are native to your area. As you find plants you think might be suitable, add them to this table. You will need a mix of ground cover, shrubs, flowering plants and trees/ larger bushes. Use these resources to help:

Australian Plant Society. Select your local area.

Parks Victoria - Primary section. Includes plant and animal fact files

Then each person in your group should interview at least one expert for their opinion. Use this sheet: Plants for the Garden (Word - 53Kb)

From here you will decide as a class which plants will be most suitable for your garden.

• Teacher tip – you may wish to use the Intel Visual Ranking Tool as a whole class activity to help decide which plants to use.
• Otherwise use a voting or selection method of your choice.
• An excursion to a local plant nursery or visit from an avid gardener would be highly beneficial at this point.

Now plan your garden. You should use A3 or A2 paper with grid lines and work together. You will need to include 10+ plants. Add labels to the plants explaining why each has been chosen. Will there be paths?

You will need to present your plan to the class in a presentation. Explain why your ideas will work best. For each presentation fill in the Evaluation form (Word - 55Kb). Collate the results to find the winning bid!

Taking Action

Write a letter to your Principal and / or School Council asking permission to plant your Native Garden in the site suggested. Be persuasive!

This may be completed as a class activity or by the winning group. If a group task, other groups may commence work on one of the extension activities.

Then plant your garden! Photograph the journey and create a PhotoStory or PowerPoint to share with others. Celebrate by inviting parents and other guests for a guided tour and share your presentation.

Teachers see PhotoStory (free).

Extension Activities

Select one of the following tasks….

1. Produce a Guide to Native Species pamphlet for people in your area, including tips on how to obtain and grow the plants.
2. Tourism: Visit us: tourist information website (LO ID L5996). Create a brochure or poster that informs local residents about where they can see plant species native to your area, and why their preservation is important. Include a description of 4-5 plants, and any planting programs or organizations they can join e.g. "Friends of…"
3. Wildscape is all about attracting native animals to your school ground – perfect! You will select your area, then the animals you’d like to attract … next you’ll make some choices about suitable plants. You then click and drag plants into a suitable location. Good luck. This site can be slow to use depending on your internet connection. Give it a try!

VELS

Native Garden addresses VELS standards at Level 4. Download the VELS document (Word - 40Kb)

For suggestions about classroom implementation view Teacher tips (Word - 31Kb)

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