Environmental Change and Management

Students will learn about the ecology of protected, remnant environments and how the Garden is effectively managing environmental change to enhance sustainability.

Through abiotic and biotic testing, vegetation surveys, and a mapping exercise, students will analyse the effect of interactions between people, places and environments.

• Annotate a site map as they explore remanent environments, recording important natural and human features of the environment.
• Use a variety of field tests and use their data to conduct an ecosystem health assessment.  
• Learn about environmental management strategies in practise at the Botanic Gardens and use real data to create their own urban plans for the region.
• At the Australian Botanic Gardens, students will study the endangered biome, the Cumberland Plain Woodland.
• At the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, students will study the remnant cool temperate Blue Mountains Rainforest. 

• Investigate remnant and protected environments.  
• Explore how human impacts have resulted in some of these environments listing as critically endangered.  
• Investigate sustainability strategies to minimise environmental impacts on the remaining woodland/rainforest.  
• Connect geographical information by using appropriate and relevant geographical tools for inquiry.

Focused Syllabus Outcomes

Geography

• Analyses the effect of interactions and connections between people, places and environments (GE5-3) 
• Assesses management strategies for places and environments for their sustainability (GE5-5)
• Acquires and processes geographical information by selecting and using appropriate and relevant geographical tools for inquiry (GE5-7)