23 Jun 2011

Plant Specimen Collection Workshop

The Science Department and the Science Club co-organized a pilot program on plant specimen preparation in late June this year. This workshop aimed at letting students identify and collect plant specimen outside school. By applying highly technological teaching pedagogies, students experienced biodiversity, appreciation of nature and environmental conservation in a practical manner. The program included three sessions:

 

1. 23 June: Specimen Preparation Pilot Course
   In the 2-hour training course, students acquired the concepts of plant classification, habitats, evolutionary history and the skills of identification, specimen collection and preparation. This equipped students well for plant specimen collection next week.
2. (B) 27 June: Specimen Collection Field Trip
   Under the guidance of teachers with issued Plant Collection Permit by Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, Mr. Au, our Principal, and a group of 30 students and teachers in total, collected plant specimen along the Cape Collinson Path in accordance the stated guidelines. Students browsed information online promptly with their provided iPads to foster mobile learning on plant identification. A stereomicroscope was used to facilitate students to identify detailed structure of the specimen collected. To ensure freshness of specimen preservation, students pressed their specimen instantly before further processing in the laboratory.
3. (C) 6 July: Specimen Preparation Follow-up Class
   After 10 days of pressing and drying, students can put their dried specimen on the paper for display in our School’s Herbarium. To students’ credit, their names will be placed together with the plant l information (including species, characteristics, date and place of collection).