Natural Born Enemies

Copying nature to manage a weed.

Student Activities

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1. As a class brainstorm ideas about introduced species as pests and as helpers (e.g. biological control agents).Record the ideas for later use.

2. 1. As a class discuss your main transport routes and how they help you in your daily lives. Brainstorm what would happen if these routes became blocked for any length of time.

   2. Discuss how you might travel in your daily life if you had no roads. Are there any examples that you know of in Australia?

   3. Locate Papua New Guinea in your atlas and identify the main rivers including the Sepik. Discuss the idea that these rivers are main transport systems to many thousands of people.

3. Read the case study

   1. In pairs, list the main uses of rivers in Papua New Guinea. How do the rivers meet people's daily needs. Compare this with your daily needs and list the main differences.

   2. Divide a sheet of A4 paper into four sections. In two sections draw activities that happen on the waterways in PNG and alongside each draw how you carry out this activity. Pin it up on a display board and discuss the different ideas.

   3. In pairs, list the main impacts of water hyacinth on the rivers of PNG. Draw the flower with its name in a centre circle and on each of the 6 petals write an impact. Join all the flowers together and block a window. What are the effects on your classroom?

   4. You live in a village along the Sepik River. Write a letter to a friend in Australia telling them of a death of a neighbour due to water hyacinth. Share your letter with a classmate.

   5. In a small group list the main ways that the weed can be controlled and what is good and bad about each one? Rank them in order of best to worst. Compare your group's ranking with those of other groups.

   6. You are a newspaper reporter. Write a short report that tells how two countries are working together to solve the weed problem.

   7. In pairs, design and make a poster that warns people about the dangers of water hyacinth. Make it bright and use a simple slogan to catch people's eye. Display these and, as a class, discuss their merits.

   8. In pairs, name two natural enemies in your own home, school or local environment (e.g. caterpillars eat plants, moths eat wool) With your partner go into the schoolyard and try to identify three more. Do these natural enemies also have natural enemies? Draw a cartoon strip that shows a series of natural enemies.

   9. In a small group, identify five introduced plants in your own neighbourhood. List where they came from and why they have been grown. Check with your local council or park ranger to find out if any introduced plants are a problem and how they are controlled.

   10. In pairs, design and make a simple brochure that tells people about an introduced plant and its possible impact on the environment.

   11. As a class reflect on what you have learned from this unit of work. List the new ways it has made you think and feel about yourself, other people and the environment.

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