Science Summer 1, week 5 Aquamarine 1, 2, 3

Learning Focus: . To learn about some famous naturalists.

By the end of this session, you will have:

 A better understanding of what naturalists and animal behaviourists do.

 Had a go at being a naturalist.

 Created a poster showcasing the life and achievements of one of these scientists.

Recap: Last week we looked at bird and mammal lifecycles. Have you spotted any young animals or birds on your daily exercise?

An animal behaviourist makes a scientific Key Facts and Vocabulary study of everything an animal does (from amoebae to gorillas!), so they observe very carefully. A natural scientist, or naturalist, studies natural history, i.e. the study of plants and animals by observation rather than by experimentation.

Observation: closely watch and monitor Conservation: the protection of plants, something animal and natural areas, especially from the damaging Endangered : animals or plants that effects of human activity. may soon not exist because there are very few now alive Activity one: Have a go at being a naturalist. There are different ways you could do this. You could have a go in your local park, your garden, out of a window or from the video link below: just sit and observe nature. Make sure you are sitting comfortably and remain still and quiet. What can you see, what can you hear, and what can you smell? Quietly write notes about things you spot – make sure you move slowly as you write so as to not disturb any wildlife. Hopefully over 10-15 minutes you will see or hear birds and mini-beasts . Remember not everything you hear will be natural – vehicles on nearby roads or planes in the sky don’t count! You have now been a natural scientist. Click on the picture below to see last year’s Springwatch, where you can observe some British wildlife. (This year Springwatch will be back from 26th May)

Can you name any scientists who are naturalists or animal behaviourists? You may have seen some of them presenting natural history shows on television. You will find some on the next page. Charles Darwin Chris Packham

Steve Backshall

George McGavin Jane Goodall

David Attenborough Alfred Russel Wallace The type of behaviour or processes of animals and plants that these scientists might study are: feeding, sleeping, finding/building shelter, interacting with other members of their species or with other animals, reacting to stimuli, playing, fighting, learning skills, mating or reproducing, excreting, etc.

Some of you will be familiar with David Attenborough and have seen him presenting one of his natural history programmes .These programmes introduce people who are not scientists to many interesting and wonderful aspects of animal and plant life. People can see things happening or visit places virtually which they are unlikely to see or visit themselves. The programmes take a long time to make – the naturalists and film crew have to be very patient and can spend long hours waiting to capture a particular behaviour on film; they are filmed in often quite extreme conditions or difficult to access places; some of the plants and animals are rare or timid (in the case of animals) or the behaviour only happens at night (so sometimes infra-red cameras are used).

Video links Here are some programmes David Attenborough has made, all of which are available on the BBC iPlayer: Planet Earth, Life on Earth, Blue Planet, Blue Planet II, Frozen Planet and Africa. To see him closer to home try this video of Richmond Park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMGKSwqryso https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/science/nature/david-attenborough-facts/ Activity two Research and make notes on one of the naturalists on the following sheets, or pick one of your own. There are some suggested websites below and you will find attached some fact sheets for Jane Goodall and David Attenborough which you could use. What can you find out about their life? How did they become a naturalist? Do they have a specialism? How are they involved in conservation?

Useful websites: Steve Backshall: http://www.chrispackham.co.uk/ http://www.stevebackshall.com/ Steve Irwin: http://www.crocodilehunter.com.au/crocodile_hunter/about_steve_terri/ George McGavin: http://speakingofscience.juliegould.net/science-communication/speaking-to-dr-

Activity Three Once you have found out about a naturalist, create a poster to highlight to someone, who doesn’t know anything about them, what this person has achieved. You could use mostly pictures like this example, or you could use mostly words. Just remember to make it eye-catching and include what you think are the most important details. There is some extra information on the following pages to help you, or you can research someone new! Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall is an expert on primates, particularly well-known for her work with chimpanzees. Listen to her talking about her life in the links below. She started working with just a notebook and binoculars – observing carefully.

Web links http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/jane-goodall-retrospective https://www.janegoodall.org.uk/jane-goodall