National Lotteries funded Programme: 2005 - 2007
Lottery funding was sourced by SANBI to sponsor Environmental Education (EE) programmes, to promote Biodiversity Education and Education for Sustainability. Kirstenbosch was selected as one of the National Botanical Gardens at which this Lottery-funded programme would take place. In addition to offering schools fully sponsored curriculum-linked visits to the garden, we have also offered the educators of those schools Teacher Professional Development workshops.
GARDEN-BASED PROGRAMMES:
At the Gold Fields Environmental Education Centre, learners on the Lottery-funded programme participate in three-hour activity-based, learner-centred programmes, which reflect the principles and outcomes of the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS). The programmes, which are listed below, focus on biodiversity or education for sustainability. These programmes are offered to learners of Grades 5-6 or Grades 8 - 10.
At Kirstenbosch, we achieved 120 Lottery-funded groups in 2005. 46 schools, with approximately 6555 learners from the previously disadvantaged areas of Cape Town , participated in this initiative. As we have a firm policy of inclusivity on our programme, four of the selected schools were Special Educational Needs schools. Meanwhile, our normal programme for non-Lottery groups continues to function.
LEARNING PROGRAMMES OFFERED TO LOTTERY-FUNDED GROUPS
| Themes |
Learning Programmes and Grades |
| Introduction to Kirstenbosch |
| B. Discovery of fynbos and forest through map orientation. |
5,6, |
| C. Discovery of diversity and adaptations of indigenous plants and an introduction to Kirstenbosch. |
8,9 |
D. A study of the biodiversity found in a wetland ecosystem and introduction to Kirstenbosch garden. |
8,9 |
|
| Ecology |
| C. Investigating a forest ecosystem, with a focus on energy transfers in nature. |
10 |
|
| Plant adaptation |
| A. Investigating plant adaptations with respect to climate and defence mechanisms. |
7 |
| B. Investigate how the external structure of leaves is adapted to limit transpiration. |
12 |
|
| Plants and People |
| D. Investigate sustainable methods of utilising plant resources, combined with a brief introduction to the Garden. |
8,9 |
| F. Understanding sustainable use of plant reources. |
10 |
| G. Investigating the sustainable use of plants, followed by an introduction to Kirstenbosch. |
10 |
|
| Biomes |
| A. Comparison of Forest,Fynbos and Succulent Karoo Biomes in Kirstenbosch. |
5,6 |
| B. Comparison of S African Forest, Fynbos and Succulent Karoo Biomes in Kirstenbosch, including the use of climate and biome maps. |
10 |
|
| Biodiversity |
| A. An in-depth investigation of the biodiversity found in the Western Cape |
5,6 |
|
|
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