Interdependence

“The way in which two or more living things depend on each other to grow and remain healthy”. (Sustainable Development, Module resource, 2018).

In the past people understood that we relied on the environment and the resources it gave us and therefore they respected what was around them. However, as times have moved on and progressed so has the level of interdependence advanced into the areas economic, social and environmental interdependence. For example, simple buying and selling at the local market has escalated into a global market and trading products and resources around the world. The different cultures and countries can share their values and what they know through television and movies but also on a larger scale countries and places in need can reach out and gain help to build their cultures.

   

Relying and depending on each other to survive works to a certain extent but the main problem that is facing humanity is the rate at which our population is increasing. At the moment we only make enough food to replace what we use but how do we solve the problem of not having enough food. The increase in food prices is leading to poverty, add on the shortage of water and energy and this could lead to increased poverty, civic unrest and international conflict. As the demand for supply increases we need to find solutions before the problem becomes worse such as local solutions to local challenges in terms of farming, waste less food and distribute it better so everyone has supplies. There are also the possible solutions having a pro active government to help support local food systems which are a critical line of defence against hunger. (Fraser, E. 2012)

While looking into the topic of interdependence we focused on the area of the environmental impact of interdependence and local food systems. It’s clear that all species have a job and purpose in the ecosystem of life and we got the chance to see this first hand by visiting two types of dairy farms. The first farm was an organic farmer and local seller, producing milk on a smaller scale but enough to make a living and be an asset to the interconnected system. The methods they used were more relaxed and allowed the cows to roam free in the fields and live naturally.

 

The second farm we visited was producing milk on a much bigger scale and therefore selling and distributing to bigger corporations. The methods they were using were those more suited for a bigger amount of produce such as using a clock like structure to separate the cows who were in different stages of life and moved them around the stages as they made their way through life. For example, the cows were split up into those who were pregnant, those who had just given birth, those who were actively producing milk and those who had just been born. The staff used different machines to clean the pends, put out food for the cows and the cows were milked when they choose. There were stations set up in certain pends of the cows producing milk and they were given the freedom to decided when they got milked.

 

 

During this topic I was able to build upon some basic knowledge I already had on the key concepts of interdependence such as food supply and security, plant and animal breeding, social behaviour and biodiversity. Even though I had previous knowledge of this topic I also gained new skills and developed my knowledge and understanding. After discussing this topic with the staff at the farms and my peers and lecturers in class I now feel more socially responsible in terms of being a part of the ecosystem. We play a huge role in the day to day running of the world, what we produce, sell, trade and buy all influence our interdependence. Another skill I’ve developed further is my motivation, this is a skill that will not only help me on a personal level but also on a professional level. Being more aware of what’s going on around me has made me realise that we control a lot of what goes on and we can change many things for the better. Our ancestors got us here and it’s our job to make sure the future is seen.

There are many activities we can do and resources we can use with the children to help them understand how we reply on other things to keep us alive, showing them how food chains work and the processes that we go through to get the food we need but also about other parts of our environment like the soil and other non-living things around us.

• The world beneath our feet connecting soils and curriculum, available at http://moodle1819.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/278431/mod_resource/content/1/Soil%20world.beneath_June_16.web.pdf
• What Is A Food Chain? The Dr. Binocs Show, Educational Videos For Kids, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuO4WB4SwCg
• Food Chain game, available at http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/science/pdfs/food_chain_game.pdf

 

 

Reference List:

Sustainable Development (2018) Interdependence. [Module Resource] Available at: Interdependence module on moodle. (Accessed 24^th October 2018.)

Fraser, E. (2012) Feeding Nine Billion Video 1: Introducing Solutions to the Global Food Crisis by Dr. Evan Fraser, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raSHAqV8K9c (Accessed: 24th October 2018).

Climate Change

Our climate is continually changing.

This is a fact our society and the rest of the world cannot deny. However, the argument that comes with the discussion of climate change is; is it natural or is it due to our presence and the actions we take? During this topic this question was asked and discussed in create detail between myself and my peers. This is a great way to get people to share their views and opinions about what is happening to our planet. Through research we have measured our weather and how it changes, how the plates move, analysed what has come before use and are constantly discovering new creatures and locations.

Having legislation and policies in place to help our environment (Scottish Government, 2009) and creating opportunities to discuss our changing climate within the government helps benefit our current problems by finding solutions to them and making sure the rest of us follow along means we are benefiting our planet for us and future generations. We need these policies in place as our actions have consequences and they take on a domino effect, climate change affects; air quality, forestry, biodiversity, water, temperature and desertification.

Before starting this topic, I had only a basic level of knowledge about our weather and climate and how they change. However, by doing this topic my knowledge about the basics has improved and I feel more confident talking about the changes and effects, problems and possible solutions of climate change now that I have more of a background in it. Getting the opportunity to speak to my peers and discuss different aspects of climate change such as the consequences of it and how they effect each other; allowed us to share what we know, develop what we already knew and learn new information that we didn’t know.

During the workshops we got the chance to carry out different activities that allowed us to experience what it would be like for the child in the classroom. This was useful because we got to see this topic through the children’s eyes and how they would feel during the activities. By using the Curriculum for Excellence: People, Place and Environment we can be share that we are giving the children every opportunity to learn about what is going on around them and be creative during lessons (Education Scotland, 2017). By doing these activities it also gave us the chance to think of how we as teachers could use these in a classroom and keep the children engaged and included by using the different resources. Some of these resources include videos, worksheets and fact files aimed at children so they can learn about climate change:

• Climate Change Areas Poster, available at http://moodle1819.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/45228/mod_resource/content/1/Climate%20And%20Climate%20Change%20Poster.pdf
• Climate and Climate Change Booklet, available at http://moodle1819.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/45227/mod_resource/content/1/Climate%20And%20Climate%20Change%20Activity%20Booklet.pdf

By giving us the opportunity to participate in a combination of lectures, workshops and independent materials, it allowed me to expand my knowledge by accessing resources and materials I might not have found myself. The combination of these three informative outlets allowed me to develop my critical thinking as the debate between natural causes or un-natural causes makes us as a society think about our actions and the consequences they could be having on our planet and our climate. It’s also helped me become more culturally aware as this is not just a problem for our society or country, the effects of climate change and global warming are affecting places and people all around the world. On a more professional level this topic has developed my collaborative working skills as during activates we had to work together and communicate as a team which is very important for working in a environment with children and other professionals.

The main points I learned from this topic are that there seems to be two very obvious sides as to whether climate change is natural or if we are the cause. However, there is a side that believes in both, due to changes in the climate that have happened previously they believe that the process is natural but also that the things we are doing on a daily basis could be speeding up or even increasing the effects of climate change. “We can’t predict the future, but we can know the present” (Sustainable Development, Module resource, 2018), it’s up to our generation to work together and find ways of protecting the world we are destroying do that the generations to come have a future.

 

Reference List:

Sustainable Development (2018) Climate Change. [Module Resource] Available at: Climate change module on moodle. (Accessed 10^th October 2018.)

Education Scotland (2017) Social Studies, Available at: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/documents/social%20studiesbenchmarkspdf.pdf (Accessed: 10th October 2018).

Scottish Governent (2009) Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2009/12/contents (Accessed: 10th October 2018).