Sessions for Summer Term 2012

A Plant’s Life (re-run due to popular demand)

A Plant’s life looks at how plants have adapted to the habitats in which they live. Pupils will:

• Explore The Palm House, Arid House and Insectivorous House.

• Find out what plants need in order to survive and how they make the most of any situation they grow in.

• Will guide themselves (with your adult supervision) around the outside collection looking for more adaptations in the Garden.

• The group will be divided into 2 groups for the activities. Helpers and teachers are asked to be prepared to support pupils and to participate in the activities as much as possible.

• Although there are no formal worksheets pupils are encouraged to make notes about and sketch plants that interest them as they explore. Materials and equipment are provided.

Learning Outcomes:

• Pupils to gain an understanding that plants are adapted to living in differing environmental conditions.

• Pupils identify the things that plants need in order to grow.

• Pupils to recognise the diversity of plant life around the World.

Key Stage 2, 1 hour 45 minutes

Rainforest Experience 

Rainforest Experience allows pupils to spend time in our tropical Glasshouses exploring ideas around rainforest habitats. Pupils will:

• Visit the Palm House and Lily House looking at plant adaptations and those with economic uses

• Look at how a rainforest is constructed and sketch plants from the different layers

• Consider why rainforests are important to us even thought they are far away

• Look at the diversity of plants that can be found in a rainforest environment

Learning outcomes:

• Pupils will see how plants grow in different ways and identify climbers, epiphytes and others

• Pupils will gain an appreciation of the variety of economic plants that originate from rainforests 

• Pupils will experience an authentic rainforest habitat and sketch plants from real rainforests around the world

Key Stage 2, 1 hour 45 minutes

Feed the World

Feed the World aims to introduce children to the idea of plants grown for food. Pupils will:

• Explore the Palm House, Arid House and Lily House, as well as outside, identifying a variety of food plants

• Look at the different habitats that food plants come from

• Identify the parts of plants we can eat

Learning outcomes:

• Pupils gain an understanding that food plants come from different habitats around the world

• Pupils will be able to identify different parts of plants that can be eaten

• Pupils will discover some of the foods that are grown outside the UK

Key Stage 1, 1 hour 15 minutes

Waste Free Lunch

The aim is to have lunch without creating any waste. Children are encouraged to bring a packed lunch that leaves nothing behind and to recycle, compost and reuse as many items in their packed lunches as possible, back at school or at home.

Key Stage 1 & 2 Add an extra 45 minutes to your visit.

Available throughout the year when booking an education visit.

How to book

All activities are FREE. Places are limited for all of our school programmes and are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Maximum size of group 35 pupils. The sessions offered are specially designed activities for your pupils. They do not include a general tour of the Garden. Please book extra time with us if you wish to explore the Garden after your session. Teachers who are interested in booking or finding out more about any of our programmes should contact:

Leah Whitcher
Primary & Families Education Officer
The University of Oxford Botanic Garden
Rose Lane
Oxford, OX1 4AZ

Telephone 01865 286690
Fax 01865 286693

Email lee.whitcher@obg.ox.ac.uk

University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Harcourt Arboretum Primary Teacher CPD days for 2011/12

Join us for our exciting new CPD programme designed to help you make the most of outdoor spaces for learning outside the classroom through the seasons.

Our action-packed, hands-on courses will leave you brimming with confidence and ideas for maximising use of your school grounds and local area.

Each day will include basic botany and ID skills, relevant risk assessment information for every habitat visited and practical information for greening school grounds and learning outside the classroom.

For further information on any of these courses, please contact Lynn Daley

To book, please download, print and fill in a pdf application form by clicking on the link below and return it to University of Oxford Botanic Garden, Rose Lane, Oxford, OX1 4AZ.

Spring - Spring out of the classroom.

Find out how to track plant growth in springandhow to plant your own wildlife garden in the school grounds. Get to grips with plant identification so you can stay one step ahead and plan outdoor sessions before flowers appear. Look at life cycles in context while learning top tips for maximising the use of woodland, grassland and pond habitats to teach a range of subjects.

Friday 16th March 2012
Harcourt Arboretum, NunehamCourtenay

Summer - In the Summertime.

Discover practical ideas for teaching parts of a flowers and pollination in the great outdoors. Explore the variation and adaptations in plants and their flowers. Look at life cycles in context. Learn plant and animal sampling techniques for a variety of habitats.

Friday 4th May 2012
Botanic Garden, Oxford

The University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Harcourt Arboretum’s Educational activities have been awarded the ‘Learning Outside the Classroom’ Quality Badge.

The Quality Badge is awarded to providers who have pledged to engage in an ongoing process to sustain high-quality learning outside the classroom and who have demonstrated that they meet six quality indicators. The provider:

To find out more about the Learning Outside the Classroom manifesto, go to www.lotc.org.uk

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