Seasonal Activities

These are just suggestions for activities based on an average year.  Conditions do change from year to year depending on the weather.  For current happenings check the ErinEarth website front page.  The Bush Garden Diary will give more detailed description of seasonal happenings.

These activities could be put on ‘Discovery Cards’ or they could be made into Mini Discovery Sheets that allow space for the student groups or individuals to explore.

Using a digital camera or making drawings might help to make this data collection valuable for follow-up activities.

Alternatively the nature of the following activities will give you an idea of what you might expect to find in the garden during your visit. Any kind of activities can be organised around these seasonal features.

February: 

• What is in flower? (Eremophila Summertime blue at back of house and Eremophila biserrata at front of house, grevillea superb,
  Look carefully inside flowers to see if you can find any insects. Why do you think they are there? Can you find insects on any other plants? What shape flowers do insects seem to like?
• What birds do you notice? (probably Wattle birds and parrots)
  Are they visiting any particular flowers? (flowers on the eremophila lawn at front of house)
  What shape are these flowers? Why do you think they are this shape??
• Can you spot any butterflies around the garden?
• Can you find any yellow paper daisies in the garden?
   Why do you think they are called paper daisies? 
• Where outside this garden can you also find these flowers?

March:

• If you look carefully you may find some fungi around the garden. Is fungus a plant?
• Can you spot any butterflies around the garden? If you have a digital camera you could take photos of them and then take them back to school to identify.

April: 

For the teacher: Before a visit in April - May or September - November, the topic of frogs might be explored as the frogs at ErinEarth are beginning to lay their frogspawn. Can you find any in the wetlands area?

• There are some interesting seed pods around the garden. Have a close look at them. If there are any lying under the plant collect some and share your collection with your class at discussion time.
• At this time of the year the chooks are looking rather scruffy. Why?
• Can you find any bees in the garden. What are they doing and where can you find them. Can you discover where these bees come from? Don’t go too close to their home!

May: 

• There are lots of insects in the garden at this time of the year. How many can you find? What is each of them doing?
• If you look carefully you may find some fungi around the garden. Is fungi a plant? 

June: 

• There are many different kinds of Grevillea in flower during this month and the wattles are beginning to flower.
• The students could look at the different kinds of leaves of the various different species of wattle.

July:  

• Can you find any plants that do not like the frost? How does the frost affect the plants? 

August:

 
Sept:  

• Frogs are busy again and tadpoles can be found in the wetlands area from  September through to November.

Oct - Nov:

• The grasses are in seed. The Wattle bushes all have a wonderful array of seed pods.
• The veggie garden has a wide range of vegetables.