Circular School Eco Club

Today's session was all about creating a project from what we observed during the field trip last week. We learnt some important words that would help with the process. Next, we learned how to create experiments from the questions we want answers to though the change - measure - same method:  Change- Which factor do you want to find out more about? Change that factor with periodically. Eg., if you want to know the effect of salt on mangroves, change the amount of salt in your experiment. Measure- Measure any changes in the system you want to observe every time you change this factor. Eg., in the same example mentioned above, measure changes in leaf size/ stem width, etc. Same- Ensure that all other factors in the experiment - temperature, approximate size/ age of plant, etc. are the same throughout. Now all we have to do is choose one of the questions we want answered: - Does heat affect mangroves? - How does salt concentration affect mangrove plants?  - Are mangroves negative...

For session 2 of 'The Mangrove Life' with Pikiji Learning, Australia and The Pomegranate Workshop, we were to conduct a field trip to a mangrove. Because of its proximity to the school, we chose Batim, which is only a short bus ride away. When we did our recce of the place, we didn't expect to be as amazed as we were by the sheer beauty of the landscape  We got ready on Tuesday evening with our pens, books, water bottles, observation charts and phone cameras. 13 students, Vishal, Elijah and I reached the spot at 4pm, a wonderfully pleasant time to be at any mangrove. We began with a short introduction and explanation of the khazan farming system and sluice gates by Vishal. After this, we explored the vast expanse that is the Batim mangroves, and looked out for anything we found interesting. Some interesting finds by the students: Mangrove holly, telescope snail shells at various stages of disrepair and a large crab pincer, all observed by Mohammad from class 9 A crab, obser...

We had the brilliant opportunity to do a 5 session programme with Pikiji Learning, Australia* and The Pomegranate Workshop*.  The programme is called 'The Mangrove Life' and is based around mangrove ecosystems and the indigenous knowledge around them. We felt the programme was ideal for a state like Goa, which is so rich in mangroves but is also struggling to keep them alive.  The programme is especially awesome in a school like FAHS, where we have lots of students living in very close association with mangroves - many of them even participate in fishing! The first session of the programme was conducted on Saturday via Zoom. While our internet connection was pretty bad, we still learnt a lot about the biotic, abiotic, and physical factors, etc. that contribute to creating an ecosystem.  There were a total of 22 attendees, from the 5th - 9th. Our next session will be a field trip to a nearby mangrove!  A few pics of our site: * Pikiji Learning is a First Nations Commu...