De Beers Impact Report - December 2020

MAMOYAHABO PRIMARY SCHOOL

Hello, we are Mamoyahabo Primary School. Our school is situated in Blouberg, Limpopo Province. The area is very dry with little rainfall. Our water supply is very limited and unreliable. We have many orphans and child-headed families. Most parents are not

ECO-CODE 1. We protect our biodiversity which pollinates our crops. 2. We prevent pollution that can harm our underground water.

working or have low paying jobs. Our schoolyard has several dongas caused by soil erosion. Goats find ways to enter the school and eat our trees. THEME: BIODIVERSITY & NATURE 2018

THEME: SCHOOLGROUNDS 2019

ACTION Conduct a Biodiversity Audit and compile a species list of our schoolgrounds MATHS LESSON – DATA HANDLING: GRADE 6, TERM 4 (5 Nov 2018) Scientific Method to find the highest biodiversity area in our schoolgrounds:

ACTION:

-- soluble substances such as soaps, Protecting our underground water Natural Sciences & Technology Lesson for Gr 6 Term 2: Matter & Materials - Mixtures & water resources Water pollution • in the environment, many things mix or dissolve in water • water can be polluted by -- insoluble substances, such as oil, plastics, tyres, tins, glass, toilet waste fertilizers, insecticides, acids and other poisons -- living germs from toilet waste causing water- borne illnesses such as diarrhoea Water pollution : visit a specific wetland - write a brief report on the importance of wetlands including: habitats and biodiversity, water quality or Importance of wetlands - writing about the impact of loss of wetlands for biodiversity and water quality. Experiment: We built a model catchment by reusing a 2-litre plastic bottle filled with stones, smaller stones and finally sand. A rock represented a mountain where the rain fell, which filtered down in between the stones. The syringe and tube represented the borehole pump. We could see how the clear rainwater was drawn from underground. When we added food colouring, which represented pollution, on top of the soil and it rained, the pollution ended in the underground water and the river.

1. Ask a question – What do we want to find out? Which habitat type has the highest biodiversity? We compared the natural bush and the schoolgrounds. 2. Research , observe, read, find out (Resource: Enviro Facts 39: Biodiversity) – What is biodiversity? Why is it important? What are the requirements for high biodiversity? When will we find the most biodiversity, before or after rain? Why? 4. Plan how you will test your hypothesis – Materials needed? ID sheets, clipboard and markers. Divide the learners into two groups to investigate two types of habitats. Working in groups of two each with an id sheet. Allocate time. 3. Hypothesis / prediction – Which habitat will have the highest biodiversity? We predicted the natural area will have the highest biodiversity.

7. Draw conclusions / Report – Was your hypothesis correct or incorrect? Yes, we found more types of animals and plants in the wild area. Why? We found food and shelter in the natural area for animals and greater variety of plants. 6. Organise your data – table, graph, etc. 5. Do your investigation & record your data - Circle the animals & plants observed on the ID sheet.

Conclusion : Pollution on land and rivers end up in underground water as it is dissolved in rainwater and filters into the soil. This can contaminate our borehole water that we use for drinking and cooking.

Curriculum links: Natural Sciences – biodiversity; habitats; decomposers; ecosystems; food webs/chains. Geography: climate change effect on biodiversity; Life Skills – animals that help us.