Although young children in Early childhood education (ECE) in Australia are often involved in learning in outdoor natural environments, research on their knowledge and attitudes towards plants is limited. Botanical literacies in young children involve developing knowledge and curiosity about plants, formulating questions about plants, and…

Environmental education across the early years has become increasingly important in Australia since the implementation of the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum. These documents promote a connection to nature for young children as well as environmental responsibility. In Western Australia, large areas of natural…

The monitoring of pH changes due to dissolved carbon dioxide from algal balls offers a way for students to acquire good understanding of the processes of photosynthesis and respiration. Here, 54 high school participants were enlisted to conduct the experiment physically and with an Augmented Reality (AR) tool developed. A survey conducted after…

Plants are often overlooked in favour of animals when teaching about living things. Focusing on familiar animals that share human characteristics helps young children learn about similar features. Examining plants for their differences, though, helps foster wonder. In the author's experience, children find it intriguing that plants need…

In this article, we describe our students-as-partners process for bringing undergraduate and academic staff together to develop a mobile application (app) -- CampusFlora -- for use across our campuses. Our project at the University of Sydney, Australia, was conceived as a way to improve the botanical literacy of biology students by engaging…

Student interest in botany and enrolment in plant sciences courses tends to be low compared to that in other biological disciplines. One potential way of increasing student interest in botany is to focus on course material designed to raise student enthusiasm and satisfaction. Here, we introduce and evaluate virtual microscopy in botany teaching.…

Understanding flower structure is important from many perspectives such as keying out plants, understanding fruit structure, investigating pollinator biology and in plant breeding. Probably the most complicated parts of a flower are the female components (the gynoecium). Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, it is not possible for much of the…

Supermarket Botany is a frequently-used teaching resource or strategy. It draws on a student's existing familiarity with plant-based foods to explore plant structure and life cycles. One of its strongest points is that it is adaptable to many age levels--from lower primary school to university and general interest groups. We have designed a unique…

Massive extinctions of animals and the arrival of the first humans in ancient Australia--which occurred 45,000 to 55,000 years ago--may be linked. Researchers at the Carnegie Institution, University of Colorado, Australian National University, and Bates College believe that massive fires set by the first humans may have altered the ecosystem of…

Summarizes the interrelationships of soil, topography, climate, organisms, and time in the Sydney (Australia) Basin, with particular reference to the effects of human intervention. (AL)

Describes the vegetation and animals to be found in the Sturt Gorge area of South Australia. (JR)

Discusses the use of native Australian plants in 8th and 9th grade Biology classes. (SL)

Describes the method used at Macquarie University, Australia, for implementing the home experiment approach in first-year biology. The sequences of activities for experiments in plant growth are included; and assignment sheets are appended. (CS)

Designed for intermediate grade students, this 4-week unit contains 11 lessons on Australian culture and geography. Topics covered are: the map, history, geography, climate, economy, people, education, religion, recreation, government, cities, transportation, communication, wildlife, and plantlife. Each lesson includes text and questions on the…