Biodiversity and Life on Land

At Phönix primary school in Berlin Hellersdorf, a project week on the topic of "Protecting and preserving biodiversity on land" was carried out from 12 - 16 December 2022. A group of 3rd grade students dealt with a very important and urgent topic that many are still not sufficiently aware of: the loss of biodiversity on land.

With the help of an animal name quiz, the pupils were playfully introduced to the systematics of the animal classes. In further games, they could learn to understand the importance of an ecological balance. Fears and disgust were dispelled by the insects the educator had brought along (jungle nymphes, caterpillars, beetles), as everyone had the opportunity to observe them or hold them in their hands.

The focus was on the amphibian species native to the area around the school on the eastern outskirts of Berlin. In a special lesson, the children learned to distinguish, count and imitate amphibian calls. This resulted in a great amphibian chorus that, with eyes closed, gave the impression of being in a protected area.

Another highlight was the excursion to the Lichtenberg environmental office with a lecture by a staff member who was especially committed to native bats in the area. Finally, the children became active and creative themselves: In the last two days of the project week, they wrote and composed their own amphibian song. They also created animals out of plastic waste, photographed them and used them to design digital comics on the topic.