Interdependence refers to the reliance of different organisms and species on each other for their survival. It impacts the world environmentally, socially, and economically. The food web is an example of interdependence as humans, for example, eat fish which eat smaller fish which eat insects and plants in the ocean. A concerning impact of this is the fact that humans have been and are continuing to pollute the ocean. By doing so we are injecting chemicals into the waters which are taken in by plants in the sea and then eaten by fish. These chemicals then move up the food chain and into our own bodies, causing damage to our health and the health of the ocean’s many species. This made me consider the impact of every day human activities such as using certain shampoos and soaps which contain micro-plastics and allowing them to flush from the shower into the ocean and contaminate it. After learning about this I have become more considerate of the consequences every day activities such as this may have on interdependence in the wider world. Over fishing and hunting are also causing problems within interdependence by disrupting biodiversity. We researched interdependence within the oceans more carefully and created an infographic under this Padlet: https://padlet.com/louise_mckie/pybl2vzwsv0b
From researching the Living Blue Planet Report 2015, I developed my research skills and my critical literacy skills as I read through the text and had to pick out the important pieces of information and make sense of the bits that I didn’t understand using the pictures and surrounding information. From making this infographic I developed my ICT skills as I had never used this website or created an infographic before.
In a primary school class I would focus on relating interdependence to the children at first in order to make it relevant to them. By working on simple activities such as making models of different animals and plants out of clay and then using these models to create our own class 3D food web example, the learners would hopefully develop a good understanding of how all living things rely on each other for survival and to grow and develop. (I can explore examples of food chains and show an appreciation of how animals and plants depend on each other for food. SCN 1-02a) Making connections in this way would be a good way to develop critical thinking skills as the children are being forced to consider where the animals and plants will appear on the food web and why. This would be a good topic to cover if the children had previously studied mini-beasts as they would have knowledge of them and their predators to help them develop their understanding. I also like the idea of using the models and/or photographs of objects and sorting them into categories of living and non-living things prior to this activity as it would help learners to develop their understanding of what it means to be ‘living’. (I can distinguish between living and non living things. I can sort living things into groups and explain my decisions. SCN 1-01a)
As well as considering the human impact on interdependence, we considered endangered species and how different species meet the demands of their environment through social arrangements. I developed my knowledge of this, considering hierarchies, cooperative hunting, and defence. To develop an understanding of these social behaviours in the classroom I could relate it to a history lesson of how humans organised their environment to ensure the food and resources were equally spread out in the past. They could also do a research task which will require them to research different endangered species by using the charity websites which support them. This would develop critical literacy skills as they have to determine whether their sources are biased or not and also have to pick out the important information from texts.
Visiting two different types of farms – one small farm which sells its milk privately and one large commercial farm – taught me that farmers rely heavily on the economic factors of interdependence to maintain their careers. Recently, due to the world’s poor economic state, a false prediction was made that countries such as China would be demanding more milk from the UK. However, this was not the case and it lead to the UK producing too much milk to sell. This lead to the price of milk being driven down drastically and many farmers were forced out of business. The price is slowly rising although it is still not at a high enough level for many farmers to continue with their work. The smaller farm which we visited uses more traditional methods and, living on a farm myself, I related more to these methods. The large commercial farm uses high tech robots to milk the herd of around 200 cows and produces vast volumes of milk daily. Although the cows are kept indoors all year round and are all artificially inseminated by female sex sperm cells. Comparing the two farms developed the skill of comparison and listening to two arguments and coming to my own conclusion. This would be a useful activity for children in schools as it raises the important issues of animal welfare, GM crops, and so called ‘factory farming’. There were convincing arguments on both sides and I felt that although it is nice to see cows running around outdoors, the increase of rain in Scotland means that keeping the cows outdoors in the mucky cold is not always the most efficient or kindest way to treat them. This helped me to develop a more well rounded knowledge and understanding of the different methods within the farming industry and I think that it would do the same for children. It would also help them to develop skills of observing and justifying their answers. A follow up activity for a trip such as this may be getting learners to write a persuasive piece of writing about the method of farming they agree with and why.
