Preserving Biodiversity using the Example of the Grasshopper

Understanding and preserving biodiversity - this was the motto of the project week for the class at Andersen Primary School in Wedding. In order to better understand goal number 15 of the Agenda 2030 "Life on land", the children took a closer look at one very special creature: the grasshopper.

With short films, quizzes and a food chain activity, the pupils learnt all kinds of things about the importance of biodiversity, the sensitivity of ecosystems, the importance of systematics for the protection of different animal species and comparisons between networks elsewhere and here. In order to illustrate the fragility of an ecosystem, the pupils themselves slipped into the roles of various protagonists from their previously prepared food chain questionnaire and found out when an ecological balance collapses.

On an excursion in the neighbourhood of the school, the children were able to see up close the habitat of species worthy of protection. Over the course of the week, there were also many other opportunities to get to know insects and their importance for a functioning ecosystem at first hand: live grasshoppers to touch, draw and marvel at, grasshopper song examples followed by sound guessing quizzes and even fried grasshoppers to try. Using grasshoppers as an example, the children got to the bottom of so many important questions: Which species are native to the area, which are supported and which are endangered? Do grasshoppers actually harm agriculture or does agriculture harm grasshoppers? How do grasshoppers protect themselves and how can we protect them? Last but not least, fears and prejudices about the little multi-legged creatures were reduced.

After this project week, the pupils are real professionals when it comes to biodiversity: they have learnt how an ecosystem works, how fragile it is, why it is worth protecting, why biodiversity is so important and know all the endangered animal species in their environment. They recognise native grasshopper species such as the marsh grasshopper, warbler, mole cricket and field cricket based on their songs, habitat, eating habits and behaviour and can use their knowledge to help protect them.

Finally, of course, media results were also developed during this project week: Working in groups, the children composed a song, drew a comic and animated a stop-motion video, integrating all the knowledge they had gathered.