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Humpback whales: what the data reveals

The lesson follows an inquiry process where students use the dataset to answer relevant questions about the whale population. They consider what other data they would need in order to effectively examine the impact on humpback whales of sonar activity and noise from development.

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Ibis Invasion

This ABC In Depth feature article describes research on Australian white ibis - or 'tip turkeys' as many call them. They are regarded as a nuisance in cities, especially in the spring breeding season. But scientists fear they may become extinct as more pressure is put on the wetlands that are their native and adopted environments. ...

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Indigenous Science: shell middens and fish traps

This is an article about Aboriginal shell middens along the Queensland coast and the information they provide about Aboriginal food collection practices. Written by Kudjala/Kalkadoon Elder from Queensland Letitia Murgha and intended mainly for teachers, it describes how shell middens were created over thousands of years ...

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Interdependence

Students use this resource consisting of eight slides with diagrams, written explanation and voice-over to understand what is a community and how different organisms within a community depend on each other for their survival. There is a two-question quiz and a summary slide.

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Investigate: cane toads

This unit of work is designed to help students understand cane toads and their threat to the Australian environment and agricultural production. Why some animals are to be protected and others need to be eradicated. The resource includes a teacher guide, student learning journal and a PowerPoint presentation.

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Investigating Australian approaches to producing fish, seafood and meat

This is a unit of work about the Australian fish, seafood and meat industries. It has a particular focus on farming practices, processing methods and how food is brought to customers. The resource explores: where meat, seafood and fish come from; past, present and future farming and production systems; and a range of related ...

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Investigating key Australian fibre production practices in the cotton, timber and wool sectors

This is a unit of work about how cotton, timber and wool are produced, processed and brought to customers in Australia. It explores: where cotton, timber and wool comes from; past, present and future production systems; and a range of other related topics including land management, water management, waste management, revegetation, ...

Interactive

Is there a salty fresh fruit?

All of us have tasted fresh fruits: sweet oranges, bitter gourds, sour plums. But is there a salty fresh fruit? In exploring the answer to this question, you will learn about fruit structure, their role and evolution.

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Keeping up with carbon

What is the carbon cycle and how does it affect climate? Find out in this fascinating clip from NASA, produced to celebrate Earth Science Week 2009.

Interactive

Kitchen gardens – sustainability action process (Years 7–10)

This resource guides students through an extended school-based or local investigation focussed on kitchen gardens using the five-step sustainability action process. The resource supports the investigation of a real-world issue or problem. Students develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate and ...

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Kooaaa! It's a kookaburra

This ABC In Depth feature article describes how kookaburra chicks fight for survival in the family nest in springtime.

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Ladybirds

This program encourages people to observe and identify ladybirds in their own backyard. There is the potential to discover a new species or identify an introduced and harmful member of this group of insects.

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Landforms from space

This is an online resource containing satellite images of nine distinctive landforms across Australia. The images, taken from the Landsat satellite series, are of the landforms: Roper River, NT; Lake Eyre, SA; Gulf Country, Qld; Channel Country, Qld; Cairns, Qld; Liverpool Plains, NSW; Snowy Mountains, NSW; Gippsland, Vic; ...

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Landline: Feeding soils to grow hungry crops

How do today's farmers improve their crop yields? One school of thought is to go high-tech and use agricultural technologies designed to improve efficiencies and yields. See the role that soil condition plays in gaining those high yields.

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Landline: Feeding the hungry in Timor-Leste

It is often hard for a developing country to grow enough food to feed its population. In this clip you'll see the challenges encountered by the growing nation of Timor-Leste (East Timor). Listen to an AusAID organiser and the East Timorese president describe the importance of food, and the heartbreak of a hungry nation.

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Landline: Food shortage: Please, Sir, can I have some more?

Are we headed for food shortages in the future? Many scientists say that food production is becoming a critical issue and that Australia has a part to play in securing food for the world's future. As you watch this clip from 2013, find out how past strategies dealt with the food security issue, and learn about our plans ...

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Landline: Improving crop production in Timor-Leste

Explore the challenges to basic survival that farmers in the agricultural regions of Timor-Leste (East Timor) face. Discover how the 'Seeds of Life' program works to improve the selection and planting of successful crops that have higher yields. See how these first steps are helping to address rural poverty in the nation.

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Landline: Spinifex research

What does spinifex grass contain that might prove useful in modern buildings? Watch this clip and discover how Aboriginal knowledge, combined with Western science, is unlocking the potential of spinifex. Find out about this natural resource and how it could become a new, sustainable material for the building industry.

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Lateline: City bound

China is experiencing rapid urbanisation. Rural workers are on the move, searching for new opportunities in China's largest cities. This process is fuelling China's economic growth and improving the wellbeing of its citizens. But is the rate of change too fast? Are there pitfalls on the road to prosperity?

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Locks, Weirs and Dams

This lesson sequence examines structures that are used by water resource managers in the Murray-Darling Basin including dams, locks, weirs, barrages, fishways, channels and levee banks and explores the positive and negative effects of river regulation. It includes a teacher PowerPoint presentation, separate teacher notes ...