Auckland Botanical Gardens Trip

Today we went to the Auckland Botanical Gardens as part of our inquiry learning about sustainability.  We spent some time with Suzie learning about forest ecosystems.  Then we explored the vegetable and herb gardens and spent some time in the Potter Garden for kids.  We learned lots, including some interesting new words to add to our vocabulary!

This is an acronym to help us remember why forests are so important:
Food
Oxygen
Recycle
Enjoyment - people like walking, tramping, cycling, riding their bikes
Shady habitats - for birds, plants, animals, invertebrates (insects)
Things to use - medicines, wood
Stop soil erosion

• Forests are important because the trees make oxygen for us to breathe and they take in carbon dioxide. 
• Water cycle - water evaporates to clouds, turns into rain, rain goes into soil and streams to give plants and trees water. 
• Dead leaves fall onto forest floor and break down (fungi and bacteria and invertebrates FBI) and make food for the trees. 
• Endangered trees and plants, there’s not many left, some can be used to make medicine. 
• Ecosystem - community working/existing together, dependent on each other - animals, plants, trees, birds, insects, water etc. 
• Trees drop the leaves that they don’t need, turns from green to yellow to brown to skeletons to soil (food for the forest). 
• Canopy is the top of the trees, ground is called the forest floor. 
• People cut down too many trees. 
• New Zealand used to be almost completely covered in native forest. 
• Trees cut down to make room for building and farms and also to get wood. 
• Photosynthesis - plants using sunlight and water to make their own food. 
• Bush was shady, dark, not much sunlight gets through the canopy, wet, lots of trees and plants and vines and tree roots and leaves, quite messy on the ground, stones and rocks, cool temperature, stream running through. 
• Bees - if there were no bees, there would be no food. 
• Meadow - lots of flowers to attract bees, bright and colourful. 
• Birds we saw - tui, fantail (piwakawaka) and a keruru. 
• Lots of cycles - things in a cycle depend on each other. 
• We need to plant more native plants and trees. 
• Tree roots absorb the soil and help hold the soil together. Stops erosion. 

Here are some photos from our trip. We walked a long way and we were all very tired at the end of the day!