Pretoria Botanical Garden Outdoor Excursion

About this tour

The Pretoria Botanical Garden school tour is one of Gauteng's best outdoor CAPS-aligned Life Sciences and Natural Sciences excursions, built for Grade R–10 learners. Spread over 76 hectares in the heart of Pretoria, the SANBI garden showcases South Africa's incredible plant diversity.

Learners walk themed sections — succulents, medicinal plants, indigenous forests, savanna and water-wise gardens — with curriculum-aligned activities on plant structure, biomes, pollinators, conservation and biodiversity. Open lawns, ponds and bird life make the day feel like an adventure as much as a lesson.

Educational Programmes by Grade:

GRADE R: A Sensory Introduction to the Season The lesson will introduce learners to their different five senses. Learners will interact with plants in the Garden, using their senses. They will also listen to stories, sing songs and do art activities related to senses.

GRADE 1: Sensory Exploration of the Garden and its Plants The five senses will be introduced through games. The learners will then learn the different parts of the plants and what do plants need to grow. Through simple map work, they will be able to plot plants and animals in the Garden.

GRADE 2: Animals that Live in Water This will be an introduction of words like Indigenous, Alien and Biodiversity. They will learn where does water come from and difference between sea waters and fresh waters, also discovering the biodiversity in these catchment areas. Look at plants and animals in the ponds and discuss their needs and concepts like camouflage and nocturnal. They will also look at life cycles of animals, particularly a frog.

GRADE 3: Recycling, Reuse and Reduce Learners will learn the different categories of waste. They will do activities of sorting out waste. They will also do a waste audit and identifying the value and threats of waste to our biodiversity.

All these programmes have been based on the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), linked well to the Life Skills, Language and Mathematics.

GRADE 4–5: Water Ecosystems This Natural Science linked programme deals with Living and Non-living things. The learners will deal with structure of plants and animals, their habitat and energy transfer. Learners will be exposed to the issue of water in South Africa: Water cycle, availability of water and pollution thereof. They will also know what a wetland is, study the living organisms and create water food chains.

GRADE 4–6: Ecology The lesson will focus on the Natural Science and Technology subject zooming into the Life & Living and Energy and Change. In the Social Science subjects it will deal with places where people live, map skills and history of life skills. It will also touch into the Home language and Mathematical skills.

As the Pretoria National Botanical Garden has natural grassland, the Ecology programme will deal with plant growth and its structure. The learners will be introduced to living and non-living factors in an ecosystem, hunt for living organisms and learn about energy transfer through the food chains and food webs.

GRADE 6: Wetland Ecosystems Through a wetland study, they will look at the organism and their role in water. They will also explore the concept of Photosynthesis. In comparison they will also visit the succulent and water-wise garden to explore the adaptations of water to different water conditions (availability).

GRADE 6–7: Indigenous Knowledge This is a Life Skills programme dealing with development of self and social responsibilities, including some physical education. It also touches on local history and development of medicine through time.

The learners will visit the Medicinal/Useful plants garden to learn about traditional plant uses. They will also visit the succulent's garden to deal with medicinal uses of this species. Myths about plants will be introduced and they will be expected to act them out.

Grade 7: Biodiversity – Reproduction and Classification This pure Natural Science programme deals with the different components of the biosphere: Lithosphere, Hydrosphere and Atmosphere. Learners will discuss the living needs of the biosphere to survive, and to carry out the 7 life processes. The classification of the 5 Kingdoms and the 4 groups of plants will be introduced. The programme will also deal with the difference between monocotyledons and dicotyledons, Pollination and seeds. In taking learners through the sustainability concepts, topics such as Interdependence and energy flow, including conservation of the biosphere and ecosystems will receive focus.

Wilrien School Tours handles the full educational excursion package: bus transport (if required) from your school, garden entry, professional guiding and teacher support — making it one of the most requested outdoor school tours in Gauteng.

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