#615: OPAL

The OPAL resources are hosted by Imperial College.

I have several of these in physical format.

OPAL is the Open Air Laboratory.

Check them out

#289: National Education Nature Park - new resources

There are some new resources available on the National Education Nature Park website.

Over 1000 schools are now signed up to be part of the project, which includes a range of activities and resources for those who are signed up.

Exciting news! 🌟 1000 sites are on the #EducationNaturePark map! Each glowing dot represents a school, nursery, or college championing wildlife, connecting to nature and learning new skills. Want to join them? Get involved 👇 https://t.co/DqOYifM4OC

— NHM Learning (@NHM_Learn) April 18, 2024

Make sure you have added your school grounds to the campaign and signed up for the various updates.

British Science Week 2024 kicks off today and we're super excited to have a National #EducationNaturePark resource in the free activity packs! Download to join in 👇https://t.co/oTK0WOR6hr#BSW24

— NHM Learning (@NHM_Learn) March 8, 2024

#112: 'A Year in Farming' Calendar

A resource from the Countryside Classroom - a resource site which I have blogged about previously.

It goes through a typical Farming year and sets it out as a circular calendar. I've seen similar diagrams before in geography textbooks. A free account is needed to download the diagram and the related teacher notes.

Having identified the typical farming year, one activity would be to consider the possible changes that will be required in the coming decade(s) to account for changes to the natural order of things...

#96: Google Doodles with a Natural History theme

From time to time, Google changes its logo to a Google Doodle. These are linked with the centenary or some other celebration of the birth (or death) of a diverse range of individuals, including scientists, artists and others.

Some of these Doodles celebrate the work and life of people connected with Natural History and related disciplines: Charles Darwin's 200th Birthday for example.

I posted earlier about Eunice Newton Foote's doodle.

One interesting student task would be to do some appropriate research and produce a new Google Doodle, related to the work of a particular person, or charity or wildlife organisation, in the same style as the official ones.

A full archive can be viewed and searched here. There is a huge archive of creativity here where the artists and other creatives who worked on these Doodles share their thinking and early sketches and designs.

There are hundreds of these for inspiration.

Many of these Doodles will not have been by people in the UK as they are often used in a small range of geographical locations rather than in all countries, and many people use a search box in a browser now rather than actually visiting the Google website itself.

e.g Japan Mountain Day

The Wadden Sea

The world’s largest network of intertidal sand and mudflats, which spans the coastlines of the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. On this day in 2009, UNESCO designated the Wadden Sea a World Heritage Site in recognition of its unparalleled ecological and geological importance and the decades of effort dedicated to its preservation.

Created by storms during the 14th and 15th centuries, the Wadden Sea is a relatively young wetland environment that comprises one of the world’s last remaining undisturbed intertidal ecosystems. This magnificent stretch of sea and sand houses numerous plant and animal species, including the grey seal and harbor porpoise. Considered one of the most critical regions globally for migratory birds, it’s estimated that the wetlands are visited by over 10 million African-Eurasian birds annually and can harbor up to 6.1 million birds at once!

The Wadden Sea isn’t just a pristine habitat for wildlife—popular ways human visitors enjoy the scenery include exploring the mudflats at low tide or touring the barrier islands by boat. However, it's vital for tourists to respect the site’s essential role in maintaining global biodiversity. Current conservation efforts are grounded in a strategic partnership between UNESCO, environmental NGOs, the Wadden Sea Forum, and the governments of Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands so that future generations can enjoy this natural phenomenon.

What are your favourite Natural History related Google Doodles?

#36: Maria Sybilla Merian

Today, we know that insects have different stages of life. 

For instance, caterpillars turn into butterflies. 

In Maria Merian's time, people thought these two creatures were actually different insect species. 

Here's a video on her life and achievements made by the Royal Society. 

One would hope that there is appropriate representation of women and people from minority groups amongst the names of people that are included and named in the specification - we don't want it to be just old white men such as Darwin, von Humboldt and Linnaeus.

Maria was the first person to work out that these were actually the same insect in different stages of its life.

She was the subject of a Google Doodle which was shown in April 2013 on the occasion of her 366th birthday.

This is a rather lovely design. See the separate post on other Google Doodles on the blog, with a suggested activity linked to the proposed curriculum which is a creative task.

The Google Doodle archive can be viewed here. There is some wonderful work here.

Here's a Linnean Society video as well:

#14: New learning resource for Milton Keynes schools

I set up a Google Alert for the term 'GCSE Natural History' when I started this blog. This post follows the arrival of a Google Alert.

This report talks about the creation of a new teaching resource for schools in Milton Keynes which is apparently based around the new GCSE Natural History (even though nobody knows what might be in the final specification).

"The resources will provide a range of information and ideas to inspire lessons and homework to support the new natural history GCSE syllabus" and "co-authored by teachers from Shenley Brook End School, and cover topics like tree identification, balancing lakes, map reading, pollinators and even forest bathing – the popular mindfulness activity."

They have been produced by The Parks Trust in Milton Keynes' Outdoor Learning Team in association with the teachers.

They are attractive materials and can be seen here. They are relevant for other topics, although they would be of particular value for schools in the immediate area of course.

#3: GCSE Natural History Pinterest board

As always with projects, I have started a new Pinterest board and will be saving relevant images to it as they emerge in my social media scrolling and time spent researching.

Pinterest is a good way of storing images which appear in your online browsing. A button can be added to your web browser's toolbar, so that hovering over any image gives the option to add the image to a Pinterest board of your choosing. These boards can be made collaborative as well.

These can then be used in lesson planning and dropped into documents nearer the time. 

Update November 2023

Now up over 130 images on the board.