On Friday the 17th March, the CLT education team visited Herschel Girls Preparatory to conduct a survival workshop as part of the Eco-club programme. The girls were introduced to the different adaptations and survival mechanisms that various plants and animals have to protect and defend themselves in nature. They were given a short and informative presentation about the various morphological and / or behavioural adaptations of different species. They learned about words such as camouflage, mimicry, stealth, signalling, agility, nocturniality, group-living, poison & venom, outwitting and many, many more. The presentation set the tone for the next activity which involved a match-up game and in groups the girls had to match a picture of a plant or an animal with their adaptation. We then ran through the answers and gave a lesson on each adaptation. The girls thoroughly enjoyed this exercise and it proved to be very interactive and informative.
We then all ventured outside with magnifying glasses to explore the school gardens, and see what we could find walking, crawling or flying about. We found a Guinee fowl feather, a Songololo, an Earwig, a Lady-bug, a Spider, and a Snail. We then discussed what each of these creatures' adaptation to survival might be. We were hoping to find a very special creature – a Cape Dwarf chameleon, and we looked hard but sadly we did not find one that day. The girls were encouraged to have a look in their gardens when they get home to see what they can find living there, and that they should think about what that creatures adaptation may be.
After the session we witnessed many of the girls beeming with excitement whilst telling their parents all about what they had learned.
It is important to remember that the never-ending beauty and magic of nature does not only exist in the game reserves, national parks and nature reserves. It exists in our schools, homes, gardens and all around us. We must just be continuously looking for and appreciating all that there is to see. We must never stop learning about and from nature, because it is so deep and so mesmerizing and so wonderful, we only need to open our eyes and ears to its wonder.
Thank you to Mrs Codd and Mrs Nel for their assistance that day and for their enthusiasm towards keeping the Eco-club going. They mentioned that they had also learned some new things that day, and it is without a doubt that with nature, we will always be learning.
Written by: Catherine Kühn
