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In Western Australian science, the name Bradshaw is synonymous with honey possum research in Western Australia’s scenic Scott National Park. While Emeritus Professor Don Bradshaw and Honorary Research Associate Felicity Bradshaw are semi-retired, their joint research is now turning local school students into ‘bush scientists’.

As part of the Scientist and Mathematicians-in-Schools national initiative, Felicity Bradshaw says that, after a career spent doing what she loved, it is her responsibility to ‘give back’ to the community. And she’s doing so in a way that benefits students and the environment.

“As environmental biologists, Don and I had the privilege of studying the honey possum for 20 years and we’ve learnt so much about this State’s unique natural environment,” says the Honorary Research Associate in the School of Animal Biology.

“Our research reflects how vital it is to preserve our natural environment for creatures like the honey possum, and, as a Scientist-in-Schools, I am taking that message to children, so we nurture a new generation of conservationists.

“To me, the State’s remnant bushland is an incomparable outdoor classroom where children can learn how our ecosystem works. And if there’s no natural bush nearby, the program works well in a semi-natural corner of the school yard.”

With this in mind, and with the help of Associate Professor Christine Howitt, in the Graduate School of Education, Felicity developed an environmental science pilot program for the primary school science curriculum. Be a Bush Scientist has now been endorsed by the WA Department of Education and is up-and-running in several schools.

Developed with primary school teachers and published by UWA’s Centre for Learning Technology’s science enrichment initiative (SPICE), the program is written for the Year 4 national curriculum in Biological Sciences, but is effective from Year 1 and there are plans to adapt it to Years 5 and 6. A specially-tailored version is being considered for the north-west region where, with support from Shell, SPICE is already taking science into local schools.

The Centre’s Associate Professor Jan Dook says that SPICE has been thrilled to work with Felicity to bring her knowledge and expertise to schools in Western Australia. “Not only does Bush Science address key Australian curricula, it provides practical opportunities for students as well as bringing UWA science to life. A winner on all levels,” she says.

Little wonder Be a Bush Scientist is embraced by students who get to investigate nearby natural bush, or a swathe of semi-natural bush in their school-yard. Using the fundamentals of science, they investigate different sites, measuring, analysing and recording in their notebooks. They also set pit-traps to catch invertebrates and note the predominant plants, considering the links between fauna and flora.

The major thrust of the program is the re-creation of the bush in the classroom. Trees are drawn, litter is collected, analysed and placed under appropriate trees. Invertebrates and birds spotted in the bush are identified, drawn and added.

“Children study pollination and the production of food energy by plants,” explains Felicity. “They have the information to make connections between every element in their ‘bush’ (or ecosystem) represented as an ‘ecogram’ – and they do exactly that with coloured tape. The climax is de-constructing their ecogram. The children remove the pollinators and, step-wise, they see the impact. By removing each item in turn, their ecogram cascades into a blank wall.

“I designed the program to be very hands-on, and to go beyond the static activities of watching tadpoles grow legs or a plant germinating on a window sill,” says Felicity.

“I want the children to learn their science in the bush, appreciating the interconnected elements of an ecosystem.”

Felicity wrote the extended program with Woodland Primary School’s Year 1 teacher Jenny Russell and the two took the first students through it together. A delighted Jenny Russell later described this experience to Scientistsin- Schools as “probably the easiest, most productive collaborative partnership I’ve been lucky enough to be part of in the classroom setting”.

“Having Felicity’s understanding and knowledge of the biological sciences combined with my understanding of comprehension levels made us an amazing team,” reported Jenny. “She was able to help my students understand concepts normally considered to be beyond them. The program we developed is expanding the science program we have in our schools – the depth that all curriculum bodies want to see happening in the primary education sector. I feel very, very blessed to have been linked up with this amazing scientist.”

Certainly a ringing endorsement for a program that is giving back in many different ways and could be destined to enrich science education across the State. To date 11 schools are involved in the program.

The author of many scientific papers, Felicity Bradshaw’s first venture in sharing her knowledge with the wider public was writing/illustrating A Tale of Two Honey Possums , published in 2008 (honeypossum.com.au). Be a Bush Scientist is available at spice.wa.edu.au

Photo: Felicity Bradshaw with the bush scientists of Ardross Primary School (Photo Paul Ricketts, Centre for Learning Technology)