FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD Teacher’s Guide Primary

Education @ Adelaide Botanic Garden 

A note on Sustainability:

All life forms, including human life, are connected through the ecosystems on which they depend for their wellbeing. Plants are critical to human sustainability because they make our food. Humans do not make food they only modify it and then use it.

Global human population is predicted to reach 9 billion by 2050. During 2011 and 2012 global food production diminished. The ability of our farmers and scientists to produce enough food is critical for our survival. They are being further challenged by factors such as,

• Diminishing usable water supplies. • Diminishing amounts of arable land • Climate change • Producing enough food without destroying the

ecosystems that support all life.

This will be a major and continuing challenge for future generations.

Bookings

All visits to the Botanic Gardens should be booked as part of risk management.

Self-Managed Excursions

Booking online: http://www.botanic.sa.edu.au/index.php/book-online Booking by email: dehbgschools@sa.gov.au booking form here Booking by phone: 08 8222 9311

Education Manager discussions and bookings

ph: 08 8222 9344 or email: Michael.yeo2@sa.gov.au

Guidelines when in the Garden

Students must be supervised at all times while in the Garden. Before starting your walk please remind your group that:

• Gardens are peaceful places for people to relax and enjoy. • Walking slowly and talking quietly ensures everybody and everything will enjoy the gardens. • Plants are fragile, touch them gently. • Flowers, leaves, bark, seeds etc. growing on plants or lying on the ground are there for all to

enjoy. When you have finished with plant material found on the ground always return it to the garden.

• Keeping to paths and not walking on beds or borders avoids damage to plants. Risk Management

• Water: The garden has a number of open water bodies and requires close supervision by

teachers and supervising adults. • Student ratio: Adult to student ratio is recommended at 1:10, for early years and junior

primary lower is better. • Weather: Excursions at the Adelaide Botanic Garden are outdoors so sun protection is

required, insect repellent at certain times of the year is recommended. Light showers are not an issue in the gardens and at time enhances the experience. There are a number of sheltered areas throughout the garden and raincoats are preferred to umbrellas.

• Washing: After working in the wetland or handling plant material hands should be thoroughly washed particularly before eating.

• Toilets: There are 5 groups of public toilets across the Garden as indicated on the maps. Copyright: ©2015 The State of South Australia, Department for Education and Child Development and the Botanic Gardens of South Australia. This publication is protected by copyright. It may be reproduced by South Australian teachers for use with their students.

Contents

• Purpose and key idea of the trail • Australian Curriculum Connections • Before the excursion • After the excursion • Map • Acknowledgements • Teacher background information

Purpose and key idea of the trail

Target year levels: Primary

Key ideas:

• The connection between people, food, culture and the plants that create them. • The influence on Australian Culture of migrants and their food. • The plant groups that make our food and where they originate. • The cycle of plants grown for food and their climate. • Sustainability, water use and food security.

Students will investigate:

A range of live plants grown for food in Australia and across the world including the tropics.

Students are encouraged to observe, analyse, inquire, record, hypothesize and connect knowledge they already have with new learnings.

TfEL: Provide an authentic context in which to engage learners and build their understanding whilst using a range of learning modes.

Time:

Allow about 1 hour for this session.

Australian Curriculum Connections

General capabilities

• Literacy • Critical and creative thinking • Personal and social capability

Cross-curriculum priorities

Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia: Asian Plant use and origins are used in the trail. Sustainability: The use of water and land resources for agriculture are covered. The idea of biodiversity is also introduced. Year 4 Geography: How does the environment support the lives of people and other living things. Science: Science involves exploring and observing the world using the senses (ACSHE013) People use science in their daily lives, including when caring for their environment and living things (ACSHE022) Living things have life cycles and depend on each other. Participate in different types of guided investigations to explore and answer questions, such as manipulating materials, testing ideas, and accessing information sources (ACSIS025) Year 5 Geography: Exploring local and more distant places Science: Living things grow, change and have offspring similar to themselves (ACSSU030) Earth’s resources, including water, are used in a variety of ways (ACSSU032) People use science in their daily lives, including when caring for their environment and living things (ACSHE035) Compare observations with those of others (ACSIS041) History: The role of cultural groups in shaping the state. Health: Food and Nutrition Year 6 Geography: Exploring local and more distant places. Science: Science involves exploring and observing the world using the senses (ACSHE013) People use science in their daily lives, including when caring for their environment and living things (ACSHE022) Participate in different types of guided investigations to explore and answer questions, such as manipulating materials, testing ideas, and accessing information sources (ACSIS025) Health: Food and Nutrition Year 7 Geography: Exploring local and more distant places and The influence of people on the characteristics of places. History: The contribution of groups to Australian Society Science: Living things grow, change and have offspring similar to themselves (ACSSU030) Earth’s resources, including water, are used in a variety of ways (ACSSU032) People use science in their daily lives, including when caring for their environment and living things (ACSHE035) Health: Food and Nutrition

Before the excursion

It would be quite useful if students had access to tablet to take photos during the excursion.

Discussions:

What are the advantages of growing your own food at home.

What that might look like for each student. Some may have a large backyard some a courtyard or even a balcony space.

What things students might grow at home. Likes and dislikes, what will grow in our climate, the space available etc.

Vocab introduction:

Primary Meaning

climate The weather conditions in a place over a year.

tropics The warm wet climate area around the equator. The region between 23 degrees North and 23 degrees south latitudes.

citrus A group or family of plants that have common features

sustainability Being able to do something again and again without adding more things all the time.

Cereal crops Crops are plants grown by farmers to make food. Cereals are one of those groups.

Food groups Classifying foods that are from the same plant species or have predominantly the same composition eg starch.

Civilization Movement of people from nomadic survival existence to larger groups of people, usually in fixed locations where people provide various services for each other and pool their resources to develop culture, science education, industry and government

Ecosystems Interconnected systems of biodiversity that relies on each other for survival

After the excursion

Activities:

• Establish a wicking vegies garden in plastic crates in the classroom. • Plan and establish growing something at home.

Encourage students to bring their family back again at a different time of the year.

Map

Teacher background information

This section provides teachers with background information on each plant or station. Some suggested student responses are included; they are by no means exhaustive. The student section is full of activities that are designed to encourage students to observe record, discuss and use the information they collect. Some enrichment information is provided in text boxes and there is more information and research on the plant groups on the website www.botanic.sa.edu.au

Finding the plants:

The plants on this trail may be found by referring to the map and by looking for the plant nameplate. The plants may be visited in any order. There is also a photo match of the plant to ensure you are in the right place. Notes on finding the plants are in RED

The following colours are used in this guide.

How to find the plants – Red

Background information for teachers – Black

Student activities, as per their booklets purple

Teacher background informationTeacher background information

1. Grapes and Olives Grapes are next to the wine centre inside the fence off Hackney Road. Olives a bit further on are just outside the fence. Both fruits start forming in October. Along with language and music, food is one of the most obvious parts of various cultures. In South Australia much of the food that we eat can be traced back to the cultures that have come here to live. Early German and Italian migrations to South Australia have shaped our diets and our farms. Grapes as fruit and wine were probably first cultivated in the region of the Caspian sea, then moved quickly to the Mediterranean. Olives come from the Mediterranean. The Adelaide climate is a Mediterranean one so both grapes and olives grow well here and form a significant part of our economy.

Farmers have changed the way that grapes grow naturally. Look at the vines and list (or photograph) three things that farmers have done to improve the grape harvest.

1. ____________________________________ 2. ____________________________ 3. _______________________________

Is the olive a part of your families diet or a traditional part of your food culture? YES / NO

What is another traditional food or recipe that your family enjoys? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

2. VEGIES - Kitchen garden

The Kitchen garden is behind the Goodman Building which is the 3 story Victorian Red and Yellow brick building off Hackney Road. It has been set up for early years students and funded by DECD. It is a good place to see what is growing in season at the time you visit.

If there is a class in session in the garden please observe from the path near the Herbarium on the Northern side.

Suggested activity: Ask students to walk around the garden and identify 3 vegetables or food plants that they have eaten or recognise. They may photograph them with a tablet or list the names. Then as a group have a closer look and ask them to find one new to them.

Look through the garden and list (or photograph) three vegetable or food plants that you recognise.

1. _____________________________ 2. _______________________________ 3. _______________________________

Now find one that is new to you. _____________________________________

Consider the advantages and disadvantages of growing food in your school or home. Discuss the proposition with your group.

Learning discussion starters:

• Home gardens save energy and resources because of reduced transport costs.

• Food freshness and control over what pesticides and chemicals are used in growing them.

• Concept of seasonal vegetables

3. SPICES - bicentennial conservatory – Ginger and Classification Garden - Cinnamon

GINGER As you enter the Bicentennial Conservatory by the southern entrance, on the left hand side before walking up the ramp is the Ginger plant. This is a native Australian Ginger.

Spices add flavour to our food. Usually spices are a part of the plant other than the leaf. Eg, root, seed, bark or fruit. Students will have tried ginger in some form, ginger bread, ginger ale, or a curry. Spices were at one stage in history extremely expensive and hard to obtain in Europe. Some like pepper, cinnamon and cloves were at times more expensive than gold by weight. They were the primary motivation for many of the navigators who

explored the world from 1450 to 1690.

Learning discussion starters:

• What spices does your family use at home? Check out the spice rack tonight.

• What is your favourite? Which part of the plant is it?

• Ginger is also used for medicinal purposes such as motion sickness.

There is also a Spice Trail on the website www.botanic.sa.edu.au which is designed for year 4 history. You may wish to do this in conjunction with the food trail.

Ginger is a great flavoured spice but where on the plant does it come from? (Circle one)

The leaf / The seed / The root / The stem.

What is your favourite spice at home? ________________________________________________

4. CINNAMON Cinnamon is in the Classification garden and is a tree which is light in structure and about 5 metres high. It is on a T junction of the paths. Check the map

Cinnamon, originates in Sri Lanka and was taken by the Dutch East India Company to Batavia in the 17th century. The Dutch having suppressed the population, cleared native forest and forced the locals to work on plantations growing among other things Cinnamon. This was then taken back to Europe and sold at a great profit. In 50 years the DEIC became the richest company in the world.

Discuss with other students why the price of spice might have been so high several hundred years ago and suggest some reasons. Where on the plant does the cinnamon come from? (Circle one)

The leaf / The seed / The root / The bark

5. SUBTROPICALS - bananas and sugar (Classification Garden)

In the western end of the class Garden. As you approach the tall stand of Bananas students may begin to see clumps of green bananas hanging from the top of the leaves. The sugar cane is growing just behind the bananas (west).

Sugar Cane Story

Sugar is used to sweeten a large range of foods we eat. It comes from sugar cane, a giant grass native to New Guinea but today it is grown widely around the world including tropical regions of coastal Queensland. The growing period is 12-18 months and the sugar content in the pith of the stem is highest just before flowering, this is when harvesting occurs. This involves pressing out the cane juice. This is the biggest crop in the world but not all is used as a food.

Bananas

Also originated in New Guinea and the fifth biggest crop in the world. Bananas are categorized as a herb and the part you can see is not a tree but a leaf. Each leaf stem only ever has 1 bunch of bananas so farmers cut the stems off at ground level after reaping them. New stems shoot up from the rhizome under the ground. You will be able to spot some. Both bananas and sugar require a high level of water to grow, hence they are grown in the tropics. It raises the issue of water and what we grow in SA (because we also grow mainly grasses) and why?

Learning discussion starters:

• Climate, farming Queensland, nearest neighbours New Guinea.

• Forest clearing to grow food and the impact of mono culturing the ecosystem

• What are the down sides of sugar consumption?

Bananas and sugar grow best in warm wet climate with lots of sunlight. Where might they grow best in Australia? _______________________________________________

A lot of tropical rainforest around the world has been cleared to make space to grow crops like sugar, bananas and pineapples. What are some of the implications of this clearing? _________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

Have you ever found a big seed in a banana? YES / NO

If they don’t have seeds how do we get new plants? _____________________________________

Sugarcane is a grass like wheat however it does not have a grainy head like wheat where the plants energy is stored. Where do you think sugarcane stores its energy and why do you think it stores energy? Where? _____________________________________

Why? ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Do you think that sugar or bananas would be good crops to grow in South Australia.? Explain. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. HERBS - garden of economic botany

The economic garden is a large circle divided into quarters with a fountain in the middle. As you enter from the north on the right hand side there is a large clump of Mint (spearmint). Oregano is next to the mint and as you walk south through the garden there are herbs on both sides.

Mint is classified as a herb. There are 12 types in this garden. Ask students to pinch one leaf off the mint then crush it and smell it. They could try this with the oregano, thyme etc. (check for bees) Herbs are used for their flavours, smells and also their medicinal properties. They mainly originate from temperate parts of Europe and Africa. Mint is used to make mint sauce or jelly to eat with lamb, added to fruit salads, in chewing gum and mouth freshener, tooth paste and for making a delicious tea. Mint likes to be in part sun or shade but does not like to dry out. It is also prone to spreading so it

is best grown in a pot and watered regularly. Interesting fact: rats and mice do not like the smell of mint. Rub mint on a cold light globe, when it is turned on and heats up it repels flies.

Learning discussion starters:

• A herb garden can be very small and are easy to grow. Could be in pots and near the kitchen.

• Herbs and health. What are Oregano and Rosemary used for medicinally?

Pinch one small leaf off the mint and crush it and smell it. Where have you smelled that smell before? _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Herbs are used for their flavours and aromas. What is one that your family uses at home?

Do you use herbs for anything other than food? If so explain to your group and record the use here. _________________________________________________________________________________________

 

7. CITRUS - Around the economic garden

Walking on from the mint around the outside of the garden circle are a number of espaliered fruit trees. Several of them are citrus. A blood orange, kaffir lime and tangelo. Inside the garden there are also examples of kumquats and lemons within the circle.

Lemon Story

Originated in Asia and bred by their farmers for thousands of years, the fruit of the lemon is used in both savoury and sweet dishes and drinks. Examples include preserved lemons used in Northern African cuisine, Lemon cheesecake and in salad dressings. Lemons are produced on a small evergreen tree that is easily grown in Adelaide. It can be grown in a pot or out in the garden in a sunny, warm position. It likes rich soil and regular water and fertiliser.

Lemons are one of the citrus family which also includes oranges and mandarins. In SA they are mainly farmed in along the River Murray and are irrigated. Citrus love the sunny weather with regular watering. Learning discussion starters:

• Asian plants and their influence.

• Irrigation and water use along the Murray.

• Families of plants (the beginning of classification).

• Use of citrus in managing scurvy by navigators and explorers like Captain Cook

Lemons are in the citrus family and were first farmed in Asia. What is your favourite one of the citrus

family? (circle one). Grapefruit / Orange / Tangelo / Mandarine / Kumquat

Citrus is grown in SA quite a lot, particularly in the Riverland. What are some advantages and

disadvantages of growing them along the Murray River?

Advantages. ____________________________________________________________________________________

Disadvantages _________________________________________________________________________________

 

8. STONE FRUIT West of the Economic Garden alongside the bitumen path just near the workshed area there is a line of espaliered stone fruits. The Satsuma plum is here.  Behind this line of trees is a small mound at the back of the Workshed area which has peach, nectarine etc. 

1. Plums (Prunus salicina ‘Satsuma’)

Prunes are dried plums. They are thought to have originated in western Asia around the fifth centuryBC. Today there are several species and hundreds of varieties which are cultivated around the world for their fruit, which may be consumed fresh or dried. A distinction is made between plums and prunes with a prune essentially being a plum that is dried whole without fermenting. Plums can be used dried, or made into jelly, jam, juice, liquor and cordials and are also used in baking and for confectionary. Stone fruit has been a significant part of the agricultural economy in SA, both in the Adelaide Hills and the Riverland. Our climate is perfect with limited frost, a Mediterranean climate and a long warm ripening season. But the climate is changing and many stone fruits such as Cherries require a certain number of hours over winter before fruit will set. A small change in our winter temperature could wipe out the industry in this region.

Discussion Opportunities

• Climate change • Irrigation and the types. (ie overhead watering or drippers) • Drying fruit as a sustainable preservative technique.

Many stone fruits are dried. What are some reasons of doing this? ______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

In the past a lot of the stone fruits orchards were irrigated and water by sprinklers. Now farmers tend to use drippers. What could be some reasons for doing this? __________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. NUTS - Black Walnut

On the south eastern corner of the economic garden is a very large old tree with a small path leading into it. This is a black walnut. There are always walnuts on the ground around it. Early in the year look for green apple sized fruits. Later in the year they are black in colour (see photo).

Walnuts have the highest level of omega 3 oil of any plant so they not only look like a brain but they are good for brains too. Ask students about other members of the nut family (remember peanuts are a pea and grow underground). Nuts are a very healthy source of good protein and oils. Perhaps they might know of the only native Australian Nut that is grown commercially, the Macadamia. There are five of these trees in the gardens so they grow well in Adelaide.

South Australia has lots of Almonds because they all grow well in a Mediterranean climate as that is where they first originated. Adelaide has this climate also. Almonds are closely related to the peach. One has a developed fruit and the other a developed nut.

Make a list of other edible nuts that you know. When you get back to school research where they originated.

1. _____________________

2. _______________________

3. _______________________

4. ________________________

A small handful of nuts each day is a very healthy thing to eat. What’s your favourite nut? _______________________________________________

 

10. TROPICALS - Amazon Waterlily Pavilion

The Amazon Waterlily Pavilion is the modern glass house building beside the Museum building. Inside you will find, Pineapple, on the SE corner inside the Pavilion. Coffee, behind the pineapple. Cacao (chocolate) NE corner small plant about 1 meter high and well signed. Vanilla, outside the central pavilion on the North side in the middle, it is a climbing orchid.

Pineapples, vanilla and cacao all come from the Americas. Like tomatoes, potatoes and capsicum they are a great part of modern food options. Coffee on the other hand originated in Ethiopia in North Africa. Coffee is the second most valuable traded commodity in the world (second to petrol). 4 Billion cups a day in Asia alone. Vanilla was at one stage worth more than gold by weight. It is difficult to grow because it usually needs to be hand pollinated.

Learning discussion starters:

• Things immigrate with people and culture including food and plants.

• Pollinating plants.

• Climate and plant needs.

• Vanilla beans which have been dried may also be located in the Museum

Before the Spaniard Hernando Cortez' arrived in Mexico in the 1500s, the Aztecs had been flavouring their beverages with a sweet-smelling extract made from the fermented pods of the climbing vanilla orchid. The royal drink xocolatl (phonetic: zoc-o-latil), was a mixture of cocoa beans, vanilla and honey. Vanilla was introduced into Europe and soon became popular. The Spaniards called it vainilla, or vanilla, meaning ‘little pod’. Madagascar and Indonesia are the major producers.

It takes 3 years for the vanilla plant to flower. A small bee found only in Mexico pollinates the delicate flower. Elsewhere hand pollination is required. The pods are picked after 9 months. At this stage they have no flavour until they are dried in the sun and fermented in sweatboxes at night to bring out the volatile oil vanillin. Curing and drying takes up to 4 to 5 months. The pod is then treated with alcohol and water to make vanilla extract. This work takes time and is labour intensive. No wonder vanilla is one of the world’s most expensive spices.

Australia grows only the higher quality Arabica coffees used in the specialty or roast and ground market. The first coffee cultivated in Australia was planted in 1832 at Kangaroo Point in Brisbane. The major production regions in Australia are the tropical tablelands of far north Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales, which collectively comprises 80% of Australia's total production of almost 2m tonnes.

The Amazon Waterlily Pavilion is a tropical environment. Make out you are a weather reporter and

describe the weather inside the glasshouse to a friend. If you have a tablet record your description.

Do you think these plants would be a good crop to grow in South Australia would be in SA? YES/NO

Why?______________________________________________________________________________________________

What are some foods that vanilla is added to? _______________________________________________

Why do you think Vanilla is so expensive? Discuss it with you group and record your ideas.

 

11. CEREALS - Museum of economic botany

The museum is open 10am to 4pm Wed to Sun.

The Wheat display is on the Northern side near the exit. (Ask the attendant if unsure.) Wheat is a cereal crop. Lots of farmers grow big crops of wheat in South Australia.

The Wheat Story

In 2010-11, Australia produced 27.9 million tonnes of wheat. Wheat does not need to be irrigated. Wheat is one of the grass family of plants and its grain provides us with protein and energy. Wheat along with rice and maize, make up 2 out of every 3 pieces of food eaten all over the world. So grain crops are very important in our diet. Civilization:

Wheat is a grass that is thought to be responsible for the development of civilisation. About 10 thousand years ago, after the last ice age, it cross pollinated several times and formed a very large seed head. This meant that people could grow enough to live in one place and didn’t have to travel to find food (nomadic). It also meant that farmers could grow food for other people who became artists and scientists etc.

Learning discussion starters:

• Water use and irrigation

• Food groups and the grass family. (Rice and corn are both grasses and together with wheat make up 2/3s of the world calories.)

• Importance of grains – wheat, rice and maize

• Plants make our food by using turning sunlight to convert water, air and nutrients into plants (our food).

What foods do you eat come from wheat? _______________________________________________________

Wheat is one of the grass family of plants. Lots of farmers grow big crops of wheat in South

Australia. How do you think that wheat is watered? _________________________________________________

(HINT with a bucket, hoses, or sprinklers or rain)

 

12. DIGGERS Garden Shop As you walk out of the Museum onto the Schomburgk Pavillion the Diggers Shop is directly in front on the right. The Diggers shop is here and there is always a wonderful array of food plants available for sale. You may wish to look through them with students just to capture the concept of what plants are coming into season. There is a huge variety of “Heirloom Seeds inside the shop, (please talk to staff before taking large groups inside). On the shelves outside there are always some interesting plants for sale. Many come from places like the Andes in South America or there could be a wasabi from Africa or a persimmon tree from Japan. It is a great opportunity to introduce students to exotic fruits and foods that they may have not tried or heard of before. And of course there is always the magical tomato. (Tomatoes are grown in the Economic garden in the spring and summer.)  Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum) Tomatoes originated in South America and they have been grown in Europe for hundreds of years and are now extensively grown around the world. The tomato is an annual plant, usually a sprawling plant in the Solanceae, or nightshade family. They are typically cultivated for the purpose of fruit for human consumption. The tomato is recognised worldwide for its savoury flavour and distinctive red colour. Thousands of varieties of tomatoes exist however. The most commonly cultivated varieties include classic, cherry and cocktail, plum and baby plum, beef and vine or truss. Tomatoes can be cultivated under cover in greenhouses or outside in orchards and can be consumed fresh, canned or used to produce sauces, juices, pastes or powder. The seed also yields 24% oil which is used in salad oil, margarines and soap. Discussion Opportunities

• What is the importance of Heirloom seeds? • If you buy a tomato from a big hardware and collect the seed off the crop the seeds will

probably not germinate the next year. Why? • Biodiversity.

Find one food plant that you have not heard of before on the racks outside the Diggers Shop. ____________________________________________