The winning entry
Don’t let species go extinct, in this world we are all linked’.
The Green Schools committee had a meeting to discuss what exactly our Biodiversity code meant because we need to be able to explain to our classmates and our families what it is all about.
Rory said that ‘species’ means any kind of plant or animal. Examples of species we thought of were daffodil, tulip, fox, wolf, dog, ladybird, spider, etc.
Louie explained that ‘extinct‘ means wiped out. We tried to think of species that are under threat of extinction. Emma said Pandas, Julia said Ladybirds, Ed said Red Deer and Zac said Red Squirrels.
So what could be a threat to these species? A lot of the committee said that introduced species or non-native species were a threat because they were stronger and they ate the native’s species food or pushed them out of their habitats eg. Grey squirrels vs. red squirrels, Sika deer vs. Red deer.
Julia and Zac said that damage to a species habitat or home can be a threat. If you cut down trees or hedgerows you destroy their habitats and ecosystems.
We all agreed that pollution and litter were a big threat and we remembered the day we talked about Peanut the turtle. We also looked at how litter can end up in the sea and harm seals, whales, turtles and fish. But pollution and litter not only harms the plants and animals, it can destroy their habitats and ecosystems eg. pollution in lakes and rivers.
What other threats can you think of ?
So our next quest was to find out how we are all linked. Fiona explained all about food chains and food webs. She told us what would happen if for example bees became extinct and explained that losing bees would affect the flowers and crops. This would mean less food for the animals and less food for us. This was one example of how we are all linked together.
Can you think of any others?
Our next discussion will be to see what we can do to help conserve biodiversity at home & at school, in our home town and county, in our country and worldwide!