This term in Stage 4 we have been learning about ecosystems.
Inspired by the 56 year-old ecosystem in the bottle below, this term each student has the opportunity to make their own mini ecosystem which they can take home and which could last a lifetime.
80 Year-Old Man Hasn’t Watered This Sealed Bottle Garden Since 1972 – And It’s Still Alive
There is a lot to be learned from one little glass jar with some plants in it.
Much as every person is a microcosm, so is the jar.
In it, we see the water, nutrient and gas cycles all in action. We see the cycle of life and death, struggle, competition, altruism and tenacity.
It demonstrates not only the physical attributes that a dynamic system in nature enacts – but can serve to reflect on our own dynamic lives.
With a little time spent in reflection, and a few choice prompts, our kids will have an opportunity to keep and learn from their microcosm in a bottle over their whole lives.
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