The Iimbovane Outreach Project held a fun but educational training session for 22 learners during this year’s Standard Bank Mathematics and Science Week. The workshop entitled “Better, Best Biodiversity!” took place on the 30th March 2011.
What started off as a cold and rainy day ended on a very exciting note for the Grade 11 learners from Plumstead High School. To kick-start the programme, they were asked to collect ants from around campus, which in itself is an important form of active ant data collection. This icebreaker collection process set the pace for the rest of the programme as learners began noticing interesting differences in size and color of ants, all of which are useful aspects of ant identification.
After collection, it was back to the lab for a session on ant biology, biodiversity, and identification of the ant samples which they themselves had collected. Many learners were astonished at how markedly different ants are when viewed up close under the microscope and how important their role is in our ecosystem.
To round off the session, learners were briefed on study opportunities offered by the faculty of natural sciences at Stellenbosch University as well as possible career choices in the biological sciences sector.
Positive feedback from the learners confirmed that they had indeed had a very productive time with the Iimbovane team.