Interdependence is the way in which two or more living things depend on each other to grow and remain healthy, this may be economic, social or environmental.

As part of this theme I visited Strandhead Farm, Tarbolton. The farm is the most advanced dairy farm in the whole of Europe, I was really interested to see how the farmer was involved and what his role was in the farm as a large part of the work is done by machinery. We spent a large amount of asking questions and I was eager to learn that the cows  can be a minimum of two times to a maximum six times a day, they are milked for 310 days out of the year and the rest of the time is a rest period during the time where it is crucial for the cow to be in the best condition for calving. The cows are kept inside 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and the shed which the live in is automatically kept at an appropriate temperature which creates a suitable condition for the animals and then they are fed and milked as required. From this visit I can understand why it is important for the farmer to run the farm the way he does, it is cost effective for him and allows him to make a living by doing this he is ensuring that the cows have a humane and enjoyable life and this allows them to produce a good quality milk for humans to consume.

The soil association also visited during the teaching I learnt that one quarter of the earths biodiversity is found within the soil and this supports the worlds food chain which is turn will influence our resources which we use as humans, 95% of our food relies on healthy soils. Soils also store a large amount of carbon (50%) and helps to combat climate change. As well as soil being an important part of food, it also filters the water that we drink. Soil is made up of minerals (45%), water (25%), air (25%) and organic matter (5%) and is formed through time, climate, topography, parent material and living organisms.

Oceans was another part of this theme which I considered during a group task to create an infographic. Earth relies on healthy oceans as this is where 50% of our oxygen is created, a quarter of our carbon emissions are absorbed and 3 million people rely on fish as a source of animal protein. Human activities such as fishing are having a large impact on the oceans due to their fragile ecosystem. Abrasion has caused corals to die and they are expected to be extinct by 2050, this is a problem as the corals provide refuge for fish and other types of marine life. 

 Before visiting the farm, I had previously been on and experienced a number of different farms, but this experience was totally different. I found it really interesting and enlightening and could see how this was an effective way for the farmer to run his business. I feel that it is a crucial for children to learn where the food and drink that they consume comes from and for this reason I will ensure that my future teaching practice includes this and hopefully will be accompanied by a trip to the farm! I was also able to see how farmers businesses are struggling and this will ensure that in my lifestyle I will buy British produce where it is possible. 

I did not previously know that oceans or soils played a role in creating oxygen and absorbing carbon emissions and I feel that this was an important thing to learn as it will influence how I teach certain topics within the classroom.

Soil is crucial to the environment as well as humans and I had not previously considered how influential it was in our lives. Now that I understand that it filters water, supports food growth and stores carbon emissions I can see how important it is that we care for our countryside as well as insure that we have soil within our surroundings. This could be influential in my practice as I can ensure that I support the environment and educate children on this matter by having soil in and around the school.

 To further my knowledge I would like to look at the number of farms in the UK, how much they are producing and what is being consumed. This will allow me to see how much of our food is being imported and I would like to think that this could be reduced and help to help us create a sustainable environment within the UK.

I feel that I need to further develop my knowledge on soils, to do so I will look through the PowerPoint by the Soil Association and research some of the other groups that were mentioned throughout. I will also take time to look at the video that was included within the presentation.

References

WWF (2016) Oceans [online] Available: http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/our_global_goals/oceans/ [Accessed: 23 October 2016]

Jones, S. (2016) Soil Association Scotlland [online] Available: file:///C:/Users/Heather/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/IE/QLMZ9YDW/Uni%20W%20of%20Scotland%20-%20Soils%20Presentation%20[731833].pdf [Accessed: 25 October 2015]