Preparing for the future
What are the challenges facing the future of food security?
As our climate continues to change, so will our access to water and our ability to manage resources. The intensity of natural disasters will have large-scale impacts on people and landscapes. The development and focus on local farming initiatives and reducing our reliance on global food chains may assist in increasing our resilience to natural and anthropogenic changes in the future.
Show students the bushfire artefact without identifying the object.
Students complete a see, think, wonder and write down two guesses of what the object is. Share ideas as a class, focusing on characteristics.
| See | Think | Wonder |
|---|---|---|
| What do you see? What are the key characteristics of this object? Record observations using different senses. | What do you think this object is? Why is that? What other options are there? | What questions does this object raise? What else do you need to know about it? |
Students write three questions which they need answered in order to identify the object.
Once identifying the object discuss the following questions in small groups.
- Where would this object have been found?
- What happened to this object?
- What was this object used for?
- What (direct/indirect) impact would the loss of this object have?
- Who may have owned this object?
- Why is this an important artefact to memorialise Black Saturday?
Show students the Black Saturday artwork made by Glenn Morgan and students from Healesville Primary School after the bushfires.
Students choose an art work and complete a see, think, wonder and share ideas as a class, focusing on thoughts and feelings:
| See | Think | Wonder |
|---|---|---|
| What do you see? What are the key characteristics of this artwork? Record observations using different senses. | What do you think this artwork is trying to convey? Why is that? What other options are there? | What questions does this artwork raise? What else do you need to know about it? |
Consider:
- How does colour impact emotions?
- What are the key impacts of the fire in the artwork? Direct/indirect impacts.
- Describe what you see in the fore, middle and background.
- How does this artwork show impacts to people and place?
- Research some images of the environmental impact of the fire and compare it to what is depicted in the painting.
- Debate as a class whether this fire has positive or negative impacts on the natural landscape? Did it cause or lead to landscape degradation?
- Discuss how animals may have been impacted by the fires? Consider ideas such as food chains/webs and invasive species.
- Why is this painting an important artefact for the Black Saturday bushfires?
In groups conduct some research for the research question: “Were the Black Saturday bushfires interconnected with drought”. Record at least 5 secondary pieces of data.
Write a long answer response to the following; “Water scarcity is strongly interconnected with the intensity of bushfires and all people must manage their water use as a result”. To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Consider how ‘sense of place’ impacts how you view a disaster such as the Black Saturday bushfires.
students from Healesville Primary School after the bushfires. Observe the Healesville PS artworks and stories.
- Read the stories connected to the artwork and discuss ‘sense of place’ and perceptions of place, before and after the fires.
- What are the key things that the children draw or discuss? Are there any common themes?
- How did the fires impact the short term and long term liveability of the places burnt?
Find interconnections between bushfires and food security on local, regional and national scales.
- How might our food security be at risk if more extreme weather events such as bushfires are predicted in the future? What implications will that have on the liveability of forested areas?
- Research the cost of items or assets such as houses, food or tourism before and after the Black Saturday fires. Consider how these economic shifts may have impacted local communities. Draw connections between these impacts and liveability.
- How might people begin to view the regions impacted by Black Saturday differently after the fires? What implications might that have for ‘sense of place’ and sense of community?
- How might urbanisation influence fire severity and vulnerability? Why do town planners need to consider fire danger in their planning? Research your local towns fire policy or plan.
Read: Climate change, sustainability and bushfire response (Museums Victoria)
- Describe how the museum plays a role in fire research and recovery.
- Explain why education is an important aspect of disaster recovery.
Often global warming is discussed on a global or national scale and there is a large emphasis put on governments and decision makers to be solely responsible for change. However, local scale and targeted projects that focus on building healthy, equitable, sustainable and resilient food systems can have significant impacts on people’s food security, building community connection and the environment’.
Read: Community Stories: Climate change and the environment program (Museums Victoria)
- Research how urban regions are able to contribute to food security without relying on outer agricultural regions (e.g. community gardens, urban food centres).
See:
- Discuss how local scale initiatives can make large impacts on people and the liveability of a place.
- Research some projects or groups that have begun in your local region to help work towards a sustainable and more liveable future.
- Brainstorm some ways your school could be more active in the fight against global warming including water use or revegetation.
Write the following question on the board and complete a think, pair, share:
‘Given our changing climate, what are some local scale strategies to help us improve the liveability of our place for future generations?’
Read:
- Kangaroo Grass (Urrbrae Wetland)
- Could native crop, kangaroo grass, become a regular ingredient in bread and help farmers regenerate land? (ABC News)
- Bakers rise to use of native grains as kangaroo grass hops into recipes (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Answer these questions:
- How can pre-colonial knowledge and techniques help inform future practices?
- Research some other native crops and food sources that may be successful in our warming climate.
- How might crops such as these help improve our ability to farm in a water scarce environment?
- Brainstorm some other world regions that are associated with dry climates. Research some native crops that may benefit these places in being more sustainable in their water use.
- Create a mind-map investigating how shifting to native crop species agriculture might reduce our overall impact on the land (consider land degradation, erosion, water use, salinity etc.)
Curriculum links activities 1-4: VCGGK119, VCGGK111, VCGGK114, VCGGK108, VCGGK110, VCGGC099, VCGGC101, VCGGC102
Cross curriculum links: VCSSU093, VCSSU100, VCSSU101, VCCCTQ034, VCCCTM040
