Contents: activities recommended for various education levels
No / Topic / Type of activity / Grades 4 - 9 / FET level (Gr 10-12) / Agricultural College / UniversityLife Science / Agricultural Science / Farm worker
1 / Pollination terms and definitions / Mix ‘n match / √ / √ / √ / √* / √*
2 / Plants and their pollinators / Field trip observations or research project / √ / √ / √
3 / Plant and pollinator diagram / Labelling / √ / √ / √ / √* / √*
4a / Know the parts of the plants that we eat / Examine food and create bar graph / √ / √ / √ / √ / √* / √*
4b / Food-crop/plant-pollinator table / Complete the table – observations / √ / √ / √
4c / Food-crop/plant-pollinator table (advanced) / Complete the table – observations, research / √ / √
5 / Importance of pollinators and pollination / Group/class discussion / √** / √ / √ / √ / √ / √
6a / Threats to pollinators / Group/class discussion / √** / √ / √ / √ / √ / √
6b / Threats to pollinators – what can we do? / Group/class discussion / √** / √ / √ / √ / √ / √
7 / Pollination as an ecosystem service / Discussion, reading lists, essay assignments / √ / √
8 / Honeybee forage / Group/individual assignments or essays / √ / √
9 / Field studies / Ideas for field studies / √ / √ / √ / √ / √
* These activities could be useful for college/university level, but may need to be modified to be slightly harder.
** These activities would need modification for use at the lower grades.
Materials produced for the Global Pollination Project & Honeybee Forage Project South Africa, implemented by SANBI.
Activity 1
Terms and definitions
Anther / The pollen-bearing part at the upper end of the stamen of a flower.Cross-pollination / The transfer of pollen from an anther of the flower of one plant to a stigma of the flower of another plant.
Note: college/university level educators might want to discuss the types of cross-pollination.
Fertilisation or fertilization / The process in which a male cell fuses with a female cell.
Filament / A stalk that supports the anther.
Nectar / Sugar-rich liquid produced by plants and consumed by pollinators.
Ovary / The organ that bears the ovules of a flower.
Ovule / The female reproductive structure that develops into a seed in a seed-bearing plant.
Pistil or carpel / The ovary, style and stigma.
Pollen / The fine powder-like material consisting of pollen grains that contain the male gametes (sperm cells), which is produced by the anthers of seed plants.
Pollen tube / The slender tube formed by the pollen grain that penetrates an ovule and releases the male gametes.
Pollenizer or polleniser / A plant that provides pollen.
Pollination / Transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma of a plant.
Pollinator / A vector (usually animal) that carries pollen from one flower to another.
Self-pollination / Fertilisation by transfer of pollen from the anthers of a flower to the stigma of the same flower (autogamy) or to the stigma of another flower on the same plant (geitonogamy).
Stamen / The male reproductive organ of a flower (consisting of a filament and a pollen-bearing anther at its tip).
Stigma / The sticky part of the pistil made to catch pollen.
Style / The slender part of a pistil, situated between the ovary and stigma.
Note to educators: this activity could be used in several mixes ‘n match ways or it could be combined with Activity 3, so that learners can visually see the parts of the flower.
Activity 2
Plants and their pollinators
Find plants that would be suitable for these pollinators. Sketch the flower form and complete the table with its various features that attract or reward the pollinators.
POLLINATOR / SKETCH OF THE FLOWER IT VISITS / SHAPEe.g. cup, tubular, flat / COLOUR
e.g. yellow, pink, white / FRAGRANCE
e.g. none, floral, pungent / REWARD
e.g. nectar, pollen, oil
Bee
Sunbird
Beetle
Bee fly
Fly
Hawk moth
Butterfly
Wind
Activity 2
Plants and their pollinators – ANSWERS & NOTES
Background for educators
Pollination is an excellent example of interactions between plants and animals where both parties benefit. Plants cannot move and therefore they need external vectors to a) transport pollen to stigmas, and b) disperse seeds. Animals are important vectors for both of these tasks, although wind can also play a role in pollination of some plants. Insects are the most important pollinating animals, but birds, bats and rodents are also pollinators of some plants. The benefit for the insect is the food they obtain from the plant–either nectar (a carbohydrate/sugar source) or pollen (a protein source). Cross-pollination depends on insects visiting flowers of the same species in sequence. To help ensure that this happens, the plants have various characteristics that help pollinators locate the right flowers, including the colour, size, shape and scent of the flowers, as well as the food reward.
This activity is intended to illustrate how some pollinators specialise in particular flower characteristics.
Example answer Note to educators: these are examples only, students may find others.
POLLINATOR / SKETCH OF THE FLOWER IT VISITS / SHAPEe.g. cup, tubular, flat / COLOUR
e.g. red, orange, pink / FRAGRANCE
e.g. none, floral, pungent / REWARD
e.g. nectar, pollen, oil
Carpenter bee / Podalyria calyptrata / Cup, flat / Pink, purple, white, yellow / Fragrant smell / Nectar, pollen
Sunbird /
Erica versicolor / Tubular / Red, pink / Fragrance not important to most birds / Nectar
Beetle / Protea repens / Flat, bowl
Big flowers / Yellow, red / Yeasty / Nectar, pollen
Bee fly /
Erica daphniflora / Bell-shaped, tubular / Pink, yellow, orange / Light scent / Nectar
Fly /
Orbea variegata / Cup, flat / Colour not important / Smelly flowers / Nectar, pollen
Hawk moth /
Jasmin / Tubular flowers, usually at night / White, pale flowers / Nice fragrance / Nectar
Butterfly /
Erica fastigiata / Tubular / Red, pink / No fragrance / Nectar
Wind / Cape thatch restios / Tubular / up straight / Brown/dull / none / No reward
Original created by: Goldfields Education Centre (SANBI).
Some line sketches from the Botanical Society of South Africa Environmental Education Poster Series.
Materials produced for the Global Pollination Project & Honeybee Forage Project South Africa, implemented by SANBI.
Activity 3
Plant and pollinator diagram
1. Label the parts of the plants indicated by lines and brackets.
2. Draw lines to illustrate the following, showing the path the bee would take (if the bee is needed):
a. Self-pollination (label this line “self-pollination”).
b. Cross-pollination (label this line “cross-pollination”).
Activity 3
Plant and pollinator diagram – ANSWERS & NOTES
Notes to educators: this activity is taken directly out of many text books where the parts of the flower are explained and labelled. However, we have taken the activity one step further by asking learners to physically illustrate both self-pollination and cross-pollination. These terms may be explained verbally or in writing as definitions exist in text books, but it is through drawing lines to show path of the pollen and the bee (if necessary) that learners may gain a deeper understanding of these terms.
Self-pollination is a form of pollination that can occur when a flower has both stamen and a pistil, and the pollen and ovules are both ripe at the same time. The cultivar or species is self-fertile and the stamens and the sticky stigma of the pistil contact each other in order to accomplish pollination. Sometimes a vector or pollinator can facilitate self-pollination—the bee first visits the anther and then the stigma of the same flower. Self-pollination does not result in an exchange of genetic material and therefore any offspring will have the same genetic material as the parent plant. However, self-pollination can be advantageous in some circumstances, allowing plants to produce offspring in areas where pollinator populations are variable. The diagram below shows self-pollination very clearly with the blue arrow illustrating the transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma of the same flower. However, it would not be wrong if a learner incorporated the bee in this process as well (as long as it is the same flower), as it is possible for self-pollination to require a pollinator as a vector.
Cross-pollination is the transfer of pollen from the anthers of one flower to the stigma of different flower on another plant (of the same species). This facilitates an exchange of genetic material and causes off-spring to contain genetic material from both parent plants. The lines below show the bee visiting the anther of one flower and then the stigma of the other flower.
Materials produced for the Global Pollination Project & Honeybee Forage Project South Africa, implemented by SANBI.
Activity 4a
The parts of the plant that we eat
1. Examine the food you have been given for lunch.
2. Write down everything that your meal consisted of, e.g.: 1 apple, 2 slices of bread, 2 slices of cheese, 3 slices of tomato, 1 carton orange juice.
3. Separate out the items of food that come from plants, try to determine what part of the plant your food came from, and fill in the table below.
Remember: there may be food items where only part of the item comes from plants—record those as well. An example is a sweet: remember that sweets contain sugar, which comes from sugar cane, which is a good example of a stem!
Flower / Fruit / Leaves / Roots / Seeds / StemAdd more rows if you need to.
Optional extra tasks:
4. Draw a bar graph to determine which part of the plant you have the most of in your lunch box. Use different colours to colour in the columns.
5. How different would your bar graph look if you examine your food during supper instead of lunch? Explain.
Activity 4a
The parts of the plant that we eat – ANSWERS & NOTES
Notes to educators: This activity could be used over lunch (for the lower grades) or over several days where all meals could be monitored (for higher grades). Tasks 4 and 5 are optional.
EXAMPLE ANSWERS
Flower / Fruit / Leaves / Roots / Seeds / StemCauliflower / Apple / Onion (also stem) / Nuts / Onion (also leaves)
Broccoli (also a stem) / Apricot / Spinach / Carrot / Bread (wheat) / Broccoli (also a flower)
Banana / Tea (some teas use stem too) / Sweet potato / Biscuits (wheat, grains) / Biscuit (sugar!)
Orange / Cabbage / Radish / Rice / Sugar
Grape / Lettuce / Samp / Potatoes (modified underground stem)
Pumpkin / Beetroot (also root) / Beetroot (also leaves) / Maize meal / Chips/crisps (potato: see above)
Tomato / Brussels sprouts / Popcorn / Asparagus
Peppers / Parsley / Nik Naks (corn!) / Celery
Cucumber / Oats
Butternut / Cornflakes
Peach / Peanut butter
Watermelon / Baked beans
Papaya / Peas
Avocado / Chocolate (cacao seed!) / Chocolate (sugar is stem)
Date
Tangerine
Mango
* And most other foods we call “fruit”
EXAMPLE BAR GRAPH
Flower / Fruit / Leaves / Roots / Seeds / StemPeanut butter
Nuts
Cucumber / Biscuits (lemon creams)
Banana / Corn chips / Biscuits (icing)
Orange juice / Simba chips / Bread / Chocolate
Apple / Lettuce / Carrot muffin / Muffin / Sweets
EXAMPLE EXPLANATION OF HOW DIFFERENT THE BAR GRAPH WOULD LOOK
The food one will eat during supper will have less bread and more vegetables like carrots (root), cabbage (leaves), broccoli (flower), potatoes (swollen stem), and rice (seeds) spiced with herbs and meat. The bar graph would likely have less seeds and more of the other parts of the plant.
Materials produced for the Global Pollination Project & Honeybee Forage Project South Africa, implemented by SANBI.
Activity 4b
Food, crops, pollinators table
1. Examine the food you have been given for lunch.
2. Note everything that your meal consisted of, e.g.: 1 apple, 2 slices of bread, 2 slices of cheese, 3 slices of tomato, 1 carton orange juice.
3. Separate out the items of food that come from plants and list them in the table below.
4. List the crop or plant that the food item comes from as well as the part of the plant (root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit or seed) that the food is. Remember: there may be food items where only part of the item comes from plants—record those as well. An example is a sweet: remember that sweets contain sugar, which comes from sugar cane, which is a good example of a stem!
5. Determine whether a pollinator is needed for the food item to grow and research which pollinator(s) are valuable for that crop.