Post No. 8 – A not-so-secret garden.

How did it feel to rush down the slippery trail of the Makiling Botanical Garden?

The Makiling Botanical Garden (MBG), or the Makiling Botanic Garden according to this site, is a large tract of tropical forest where endemic and exotic floras are found.

Despite the short time we spent in exploring this site, I’m sure that you were able to spot several species of plants that you may have never seen before.

• What did you expect to learn from the MBG?
• What did you learn from the MBG?
• Details about the organism/s you saw in this site.

And since this is the last site that we visited during our field trip, here are additional guide questions that you have to reflect on in this second to the last post:

• How did it feel right after you went home from the field trip?
• Were your expectations met?
• What was the greatest lesson you’ve learned from this experience?
• Complete this statement: I/We will never forget this learning experience because…

Deadline of Posting: March 11, 2011 (Friday)

Evaluation Assignments:

• Lauan Group 1 will comment on Almaciga Group 4
• Lauan Group 2 will comment on Almaciga Group 1
• Lauan Group 3 will comment on Almaciga Group 2
• Lauan Group 4 will comment on Almaciga Group 3
• Almaciga Group 1 will comment on Lauan Group 4
• Almaciga Group 2 will comment on Lauan Group 1
• Almaciga Group 3 will comment on Lauan Group 2
• Almaciga Group 4 will comment on Lauan Group 3

Deadline of Evaluating: March 15, 2011 (Tuesday)

Post No. 7 – Rice all you can!

“One grain of rice equals one bead of sweat.”

–That is how we, Filipinos, value rice as the most staple food in our dinner tables.

Sinangag, suman, biko, kutsinta, bibingka, puto, palitaw, sapin-sapin, champorado, pinipig, paella, rice noodles, unlimited rice, and bottomless rice – no matter how you call it, rice will incessantly be a part of the Filipino diet!

At the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), scientists sees to it that rice farmers in rice-growing countries would be able to grow more rice of good quality, in an environmentally sustainable way.

Being the largest non-profit independent agricultural research center in Asia, IRRI aims to find sustainable ways to improve the well being of rice farmers and consumers, while at the same time ensuring environmental sustainability through collaborative research, partnerships, and the strengthening of national agricultural research and extension systems.

• What did you expect to learn from IRRI?
• What did you learn from IRRI?
• Details about the organism/s you saw in IRRI.

Deadline of Posting: March 11, 2011 (Friday)

Evaluation Assignments:

• Lauan Group 1 will comment on Almaciga Group 3
• Lauan Group 2 will comment on Almaciga Group 4
• Lauan Group 3 will comment on Almaciga Group 1
• Lauan Group 4 will comment on Almaciga Group 2
• Almaciga Group 1 will comment on Lauan Group 3
• Almaciga Group 2 will comment on Lauan Group 4
• Almaciga Group 3 will comment on Lauan Group 1
• Almaciga Group 4 will comment on Lauan Group 2

Deadline of Evaluating: March 15, 2011 (Tuesday)

Post No. 6 – Lunch at the Museum.

I bet you’ve been singing in your heads, “rain, rain go away, come again another day” while we were parked outside the Botanical Garden.

What a fun way to have lunch, ayt?!

Add to it the Ecodama game no. 3 inside the jam-packed bus!

How romantic, isn't it?! Hahahahaha!

Well anyway, let’s celebrate life here at the Museum of Natural History while we walk thru its halls as it showcase the country’s teeming biodiversity!

• What did you expect to learn from the Museum of Natural History?
• What did you learn from the Museum of Natural History?

Do not forget to discuss in this post the organisms that you've met at the Museum. And again, refer to Post No. 4 for the details you have to include about the said organisms.

Deadline of Posting: March 11, 2011 (Friday)

Evaluation Assignments:

• Lauan Group 1 will comment on Almaciga Group 2
• Lauan Group 2 will comment on Almaciga Group 3
• Lauan Group 3 will comment on Almaciga Group 4
• Lauan Group 4 will comment on Almaciga Group 1
• Almaciga Group 1 will comment on Lauan Group 2
• Almaciga Group 2 will comment on Lauan Group 3
• Almaciga Group 3 will comment on Lauan Group 4
• Almaciga Group 4 will comment on Lauan Group 1

Deadline of Evaluating: March 15, 2011 (Tuesday)

Post No. 5 – Plant Power.

Ready for site number two?

This time we have to talk about our second pit stop – the Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB).

• What did you expect to learn from the IPB?
• What did you learn from the IPB?

Remember, you have to discuss in this post the organisms that you met at the IPB. Refer to Post No. 4 for the details you have to include about the organisms you’ve met here.

Deadline of Posting: March 11, 2011 (Friday)

Evaluation Assignments:

• Lauan Group 1 will comment on Almaciga Group 1
• Lauan Group 2 will comment on Almaciga Group 2
• Lauan Group 3 will comment on Almaciga Group 3
• Lauan Group 4 will comment on Almaciga Group 4
• Almaciga Group 1 will comment on Lauan Group 1
• Almaciga Group 2 will comment on Lauan Group 2
• Almaciga Group 3 will comment on Lauan Group 3
• Almaciga Group 4 will comment on Lauan Group 4

Deadline of Evaluating: March 15, 2011 (Tuesday)

Post No. 4 – Finally. The Field Trip.

Finally, now you have the chance to talk about the field trip! In the subsequent posts, you will be discussing about your field trip to UPLB and we will allocate one site for each post.

So, gear up and use these guide questions for your Post No. 4:

• Why did you have a field trip?
• Why did you join the field trip?
• What did you expect from it?
• How did it feel before the actual field trip?

Now, let’s talk about the first site – the Dairy Training and Research Institute (DTRI).

• What did you expect to learn from the DTRI?
• What did you learn from the DTRI?

image source

In this post, you have to discuss already the organisms that you met in this site. Here are the details that you should include about the organism:

1. Name of organism

• Common name
• Scientific name
• Taxonomic classification

2. Characteristics

• What’s interesting about this organism?
• Why did you choose it?

3. Ecological relationship

• Ecological role (e.g. producer, consumer, decomposer, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, scavenger, etc.)
• Ecological relationship/s with other organism/s
• Describe the ecological relationship/s

4. Picture/sketch of the organism

Deadline of Posting: March 3, 2011 (Thursday)

Evaluation Assignments:

• Lauan Group 1 will comment on Lauan Group 4
• Lauan Group 2 will comment on Lauan Group 1
• Lauan Group 3 will comment on Lauan Group 2
• Lauan Group 4 will comment on Lauan Group 3
• Almaciga Group 1 will comment on Almaciga Group 4
• Almaciga Group 2 will comment on Almaciga Group 1
• Almaciga Group 3 will comment on Almaciga Group 2
• Almaciga Group 4 will comment on Almaciga Group 3

Deadline of Evaluating: March 6, 2011 (Sunday)

The Blogging Project

As a response to the global call of declaring 2011 as the International Year of Forests, The Learning Tree Child Growth Center celebrated its Science and Math Fair week with the theme:

At the same time, this is the school’s Shout Out in taking an active role of being responsive to global environmental issues.

The Blogging Project is an out spurt of two quarters of discussing biodiversity inside the four corners of a sixth grade classroom.

As a culminating activity, the class headed to the University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna last February 4, 2011 to have a first-hand experience of the country’s insurmountable biodiversity.

To boot, as an assessment of the student’s learning, this CEO (Creative Expansive Output) was given to them as a challenge to effectively express what they have learned in the class through a collaborative online science journal or otherwise known as a blog.

Welcome to the blogging project! And join us as we unravel the world of Philippine biodiversity!