Living Landscapes: Chittering Valley School Excursion Worksheet for 12-Year-Olds

Instructions

Welcome, explorer! This worksheet is your guide to deepening your understanding of the Chittering Valley based on your excursion. Complete the activities and answer the 30 quiz questions spread throughout. Use your observations from the trip, your imagination, and what you have learned to explore the theme of "Living Landscapes: Exploring Nature, Sustainability, and Community."

English: The Writer's Eye

Use words to capture the feeling and detail of the landscape.

Activity: Environmental Poetry

Write a haiku about the Chittering Valley. A haiku is a Japanese poetic form that consists of three phrases with a syllable structure of 5, 7, 5. Focus on a single moment or image.

Line 1: (5 syllables)
Line 2: (7 syllables)
Line 3: (5 syllables)

Quiz Questions:

1. When a writer gives human qualities to an object or animal, what is this literary device called?
2. What is the main purpose of descriptive writing?

Activity: Journaling

Think back to your time in the valley. In a few sentences, describe the smell of the bush after the morning dew. Try to use at least two similes (a comparison using 'like' or 'as'). Example: The air smelled as fresh as cut grass.

Math: Nature's Numbers

Mathematics is hidden everywhere in the natural world, from the geometry of a flower to the data we can collect.

Quiz Questions:

3. Imagine you measured the width of 4 different gumnuts in millimetres. The measurements were: 14mm, 16mm, 15mm, and 17mm. What is the average (mean) width?
4. The fractal patterns on a fern leaf are an example of which mathematical concept often found in nature?
5. If a trail you walked was 3.5 kilometres long, how many metres is that?
6. What geometric shape forms the cells of a beehive?

Science: Ecology & Systems

Explore the connections between living organisms and their environment.

Activity: Food Chain Sketch

Draw a simple food chain that you might find in the Chittering Valley. Start with a producer (like a plant) and include at least two consumers (herbivore and carnivore). Label each part of your chain.

Quiz Questions:

7. What is the term for the variety of all living things—plants, animals, fungi, and micro-organisms—in a particular area?
8. In a food chain, what is the role of an organism that eats only plants?
9. Why is soil testing important for sustainable agriculture?
10. What does the term 'sustainability' mean in an environmental context?

History & HASS: Stories of the Land

The land tells stories of the past and present, of nature and people.

Quiz Questions:

11. The Chittering Valley is on the traditional lands of the Noongar people. Why is it important to acknowledge and understand the Indigenous history of a place?
12. Before it was known for its farms and orchards, what was a primary industry in the hills region near Chittering in the 19th century (e.g., logging, mining)?
13. How can farming, a type of land use, shape the community and economy of a rural area like Chittering?
14. What is one way 'community' and 'sustainability' are connected in the Chittering Valley?

Social Studies: People and Place

This is about how humans interact with their environment and each other.

Quiz Questions:

15. 'Land use' refers to how people manage and modify the natural environment. Name two different types of land use you observed or learned about in the Chittering Valley.
16. How can tourism in a natural area like Chittering both help and harm the local environment?

Art: Natural Aesthetics

Use your creativity to interpret the beauty of the natural world.

Activity: Landscape Sketching

From memory, do a quick, 5-minute sketch of the valley's landscape. Don't worry about perfection; focus on capturing the main shapes and the feeling of the place—the rolling hills, the tall trees, or a winding creek.

Quiz Questions:

17. In art, what does 'texture' refer to?
18. Creating a small sculpture from found natural objects like twigs, leaves, and stones is an example of what kind of art?

TECHNOLOGIES: Modern Exploration

Technology can be a powerful tool for understanding and protecting the natural world.

Activity: Nature Mapping

Design a simple map icon for 'Protected Flora Area' and another for 'Bird Watching Hide'.

Quiz Questions:

19. Besides identifying birds, how can using an app like Merlin Bird ID contribute to science?
20. What is one example of technology used in sustainable farming to conserve water?
21. What does GPS stand for?

HEALTH & Physical Education: Well-being in the Wild

Connecting with nature is good for both the body and the mind.

Activity: Mindfulness in Nature

Take 30 seconds to close your eyes and recall your excursion. Focus on one positive feeling you had while you were in nature. Notice how remembering that feeling affects you now. This is a simple mindfulness practice.

Quiz Questions:

22. What is one major safety rule to follow when bushwalking?
23. What is one mental health benefit of spending time in nature?
24. What are two essential items of clothing or gear for a bushwalk in Western Australia?
25. The principle of 'Leave No Trace' means taking all your rubbish with you. What is another action that follows this principle?

Music: The Sound of the Landscape

The environment is full of sounds that create a unique natural orchestra.

Quiz Questions:

26. What is a 'soundscape'?
27. Listen to the world around you right now. Can you identify one sound that has a steady rhythm or pattern? Describe it.

Foreign Language: Noongar Words

The Chittering Valley is on Noongar Boodja (country). Learning some words helps us connect to the world's oldest living culture.

Word Bank:

• Boodja: Country, land, earth
• Karda: Goanna (a type of lizard)
• Djiti Djiti: Willy Wagtail (a type of bird)
• Bilya: River or waterway

Quiz Questions:

28. What is the English meaning of the Noongar word 'Karda'?
29. Which of the words in the word bank means 'country' or 'land'?
30. If you were mapping a local river on your excursion, what Noongar word could you use to label it?

Answer Key

1. Personification.
2. To create a vivid, clear picture of a person, place, or thing in the reader's mind using sensory details.
3. 15.5mm. (14+16+15+17 = 62. 62 ÷ 4 = 15.5)
4. Geometry (or more specifically, fractal geometry).
5. 3,500 metres. (3.5 x 1000)
6. Hexagon.
7. Biodiversity.
8. A primary consumer or herbivore.
9. It helps farmers understand the nutrient levels and pH of the soil, so they only add the fertilisers that are needed, reducing chemical runoff and waste.
10. Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
11. (Answers will vary) A good answer will mention respecting the traditional owners, understanding the long history of the land, or learning about traditional land management practices.
12. Timber-getting / logging. (Mining for minerals like bauxite was also significant in the wider Darling Scarp).
13. (Answers will vary) A good answer will mention that it provides jobs, produces food for the region, and creates a unique cultural identity for the town.
14. (Answers will vary) A sample answer: The community works together on sustainable practices (like Landcare) to protect the natural environment that supports them all.
15. Any two of the following: Agriculture (orchards, grazing), conservation (national parks), residential (towns), recreation (walking trails), viticulture (vineyards).
16. Help: It can bring money and jobs to the local community. Harm: It can lead to overcrowding, soil erosion on trails, and rubbish being left behind if not managed well.
17. The way a surface feels or looks like it would feel (e.g., rough, smooth, bumpy).
18. Land art or nature sculpture.
19. By collecting data (e.g., location, time, species) that scientists can use for research on bird populations and migration. This is called 'citizen science'.
20. Drip irrigation or soil moisture sensors.
21. Global Positioning System.
22. (Any one of these) Stick to the marked trail, walk with a buddy or group, carry enough water, tell someone your plans.
23. (Any one of these) Reduces stress, improves mood, increases focus, promotes relaxation.
24. (Any two of these) Sturdy closed-in shoes, a hat, sunscreen, raincoat (depending on weather).
25. (Any one of these) Sticking to paths to avoid damaging plants, observing wildlife from a distance, leaving natural objects as you find them.
26. The combination of all the sounds, both natural and human-made, within a particular environment.
27. (Answers will vary) Examples: the ticking of a clock, a dripping tap, the pattern of a bird call.
28. Goanna.
29. Boodja.
30. Bilya.