School of Ants is a great environmental education initiative for Australian citizens, immersing them in the natural world to learn about ants in your immediate vicinity. So much of our understanding about our world is based on ecosystems and places far from our urban spaces, but right underneath your feet are wonderfully complex assemblages of little things that run the world. Ants play important roles as waste and pest managers, soil engineers and nutrient recyclers in our cities and towns. Get to know the species that are helping you.
Engaging in and contributing to the science, collecting data and tracking ants, Australian citizens and school students can help answer big ecological questions we all we as their own burning questions, and broaden their world to insects, the most abundant creatures in the world, and those we could not live without.
Our Code of Conduct tackles the ethics of using invertebrates in research and education. It is a topic not often brought up in schools or every day life for that matter!
If you’re a participant in the School of Ants project, you might find yourself with questions about collecting methods. Please read our Code of Conduct, which aims to provide guidelines to participants, but also briefly explain why killing some worker ants for research might be OK. We also direct you to further information about using animals in research if you would like to know more.
We welcome your feedback on any ethical issues you have about collecting insects for citizen science projects. Please email us at catchme@schoolofants.net.au
Download the Code Of ConductA letter from us to you – congratulations on becoming a citizen scientist!
Download Resources NowBase 3 lessons around a School of Ants collection. Here’s some ideas on how you might do it
Download Resources NowA myrmecological crossword
Download Resources NowfANTastic ANT words
Download Resources NowFind ANT Words
Download Resources NowNeed some inspiration for starting an ANT story? Try these..
Download Resources NowHere’s half an ant! Choose your symmetry for the other half!
Download Resources NowUse this to do your School of Ants collection
Download Resources NowChallenging ANT puzzle by Rob Eastaway (UK)
Download Resources NowGroup your ANTS by morphospecies using this simple table
Download Resources NowKing Phillip Came Over For Good Spaghetti. Easy acronym to remember classification hierarchy, with example using Australian Meat Ants.
Download Resources Now