On Tuesday, 4 April, Savremena’s year 11 students visited the Public Aquarium and Tropicarium. In this unusual and unique oasis in Belgrade, the students encountered organisms which they only learnt about in biology lessons.

Nice weather enables new biology adventure

For a few hours, instead of performing their everyday activities, Savremena’s students spent time with small mammals, reptiles and fish from various biomes: the Amazon rainforest, the Red Sea and African lakes Malawi and Tanganyika, as well as the well-known inhabitants of the Sava lake and the Sava and the Danube rivers. By observing local and exotic species, they got an insight into the diversity and richness of local and tropical waters, forests, rainforests, deserts and cold seas.

The diverse nature of ecosystems, as well as attractive and unusual water and dry settings amazed the students. However, the most exciting moment which everyone discussed after the visit, was watching piranhas eat raw meat. Affable staff answered numerous questions from curious students who enriched their knowledge with detailed and interesting explanations.

The students, who brought fish feed as a gift, thanked their hosts for their hospitality and promised to return to this Belgrade oasis.

Savremena’s students as reporters

The students prepared feature stories in order to record their experience, revise their biology skills, and enhance the way they express themselves in both Serbian and English.

Each group received a photo of an animal or plant species they were to find in the tropicarium. After a successful quest, they asked the professional staff about these species, after which they wrote a short feature story which summarised the knowledge they gained, as well as the impressions on the parts of the oasis that amazed them the most.

Here you can see a selected feature story.

Practical environmental lessons at eco-school

Savremena is a part of the large Eco-Schools international project, launched by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), aimed at encouraging people to participate in preserving the environment through education.

These visits enable Savremena’s students to develop awareness about the importance of preserving biodiversity and natural habitats. Through an innovative approach and regular campaigns, they learn about the need to protect the environment and actively participate in creating a healthy future for our planet.