The purpose of Eco Club is for its student members to develop an appreciation for, and understanding of, the living world around them.
A particular emphasis has been placed on Woodlands’ own natural environment, namely the wetland. The Club spends much time within and around our wetland – a magnificent and pristine resource on our very doorstep – exploring plants, birds, and insects which can be found living there, with students learning about their life cycles, observing spoors and telltale signs of the resident mammal, bird and fish life, as well as developing a sense of seasonal change. This is where the Club members enjoy getting a bit wet and muddy! While rummaging through the wetland the students learn about the different types of vegetation, such as sedges and grasses, as well as invasive species. A continuous process, which has almost become automatic with the Eco Club members, is the picking up of litter which occasionally reaches us from further upstream.
In groups, the Eco Club participants make rubbings of leaves and bark, using the wetland for arts and crafts, and develop their own wetland board game. Much fun can be had whiling away a rainy afternoon playing one other’s games.
Yearly themes have been developed through the interests of the Club members. The students develop their knowledge of South African butterflies when they make their own butterfly using old pantyhose, wire and a liberal splash of paint, and discover the Monarch butterfly and its hidden talents. Our Eco Club members were immensely proud of the butterflies which they displayed at the Afro-Pop Cultural Evening. Club members also undertake activities to enhance their own natural environments at home, through designing and using recycled materials to construct a variety of bird feeders as well as nurture their very own vegetable gardens established during Club activities.
Water quality testing has been a highlight of the Eco Club, imparting a keen understanding of how the built environment can affect a delicate and balanced natural ecosystem.
