Dear boys,

I hope you have found today's activity a meaningful one.

We can observe the various processes of Water Cycle through the construction of a bottle garden.
Your bottle garden is also an example of a self-sustaining ecosystem where biotic and abiotic factors are at play.

Some interesting events happened with some of you during today's activity.

For example, someone found an earthworm in the soil he brought! Of course, the earthworm ended up as part of his bottled garden. :)

We also had cases of pupils whose  plants were taller than their bottles! 
Oops...

But quick thinking  on their ends saved the day, they managed to trim parts of their plants and so eventually, the plants were able to fit into the containers.

We also had some of you  who were very enthusiastic and brought too many plants to class, way more than what your containers could hold.  I hope you would bring the extra plants home, replant them into normal pots, if not, build another bottled garden with your extra plants, gift them to your parents. :)

Some of you prepared containers that are opaque / translucent so this might affect your plants' ability to perform photosynthesis to some extent. By right, the containers that you brought from home should be transparent.

Some of you prepared containers but less the lids.
So your set-ups would not exactly be a closed, self-sustaining system and you would have to make it a point to water your plants at least once every 2-3 days.

Through this activity, you would have revisited your concepts learnt from the Water Cycle.

I hope to also see most of you developing a greater appreciation and care for the plants around us. :)

It is important to note that your bottle garden is "self-sustainable" and it is not necessary to water your plants on a regular basis. In fact, you may open the lid to water the plants lightly once every few months or so.

Leave your bottle gardens by the windows (away from direct sunlight) for these few weeks and you will continue to observe the various processes of the water cycle (e.g. condensation and precipitation) taking place within your own bottle. :)

Do not place your bottled garden under direct sunlight and do make an effort to remove any dead leaves regularly.
Do you know why?

Do let me know if your bottled garden has managed to survive through the June holidays and past your PSLE.

Let's see whose bottled garden can survive the longest!  ;)

Lastly, you may post any updates of your bottled garden in the link below:
https://padlet.com/mijiworkshop/mybottledgarden

Regards,
Mrs Ng

Bottled Garden Activity with 6-2

Bottled Garden Activity with 6-3