As part of their unit of inquiry on ecosystems, the Grade 5s have partnered with a number of areas of the university. Christopher Clarke from the Center for Desert Agriculture engaged with the group and chatted about his work in promoting the greening of Saudi Arabia. He also shared tips on identifying plants in the Kingdom. Vanessa Melino, a Research Scientist in BESE, chatted to the Grade 5s about the impact of agriculture on the ecosystem and the nitrogen cycle, and Andrew Temple, a PostDoc in the Red Sea Research Center, talked about energy transfer in marine ecosystems, and how human impacts (like fishing) can disrupt the ecosystems, if not done sustainably.
The Grade 5s also did a project about why mangroves are important to coastal ecosystems, which included working at the mangrove sites in KAUST.
Our partnerships with the university mean that learning can really be brought to life for our school students – they learn more about the research that is taking place at KAUST, and why it is important globally, and can make the connection between the knowledge they are gaining and its real-world application… truly classrooms without walls…
You can view some of the pictures from the Grade 5 activities here.