Biology teacher, Henry Johnson, runs Aquarium Builders, one of the many Thursday Lunchtime Activities on offer to Senior School pupils to try out as part of our co-curricular programme. Following a career in conservation, Henry moved into teaching to bring his passion for nature into the classroom.
Why did you decide to set up Aquarium Builders?
I’ve been teaching at Highgate for two years and in my previous school I ran a club called Plants, People and the Planet (PPP), where pupils got involved in gardening, aquariums and terrariums. When I started here, I ran the Reptile Society as we have some rescue snakes in the Biology Department, but there wasn’t much scope to make it practical for the pupils.
We had some old tanks here in the labs that needed re-furbishing and with expert advice from my colleagues, Ms Milligan and Mr Lamb, I started Aquarium Builders at the beginning of this school year.
Where did your love of nature come from?
From the age of 8 or 9 we had a pond in our family garden, and I used to catch grasshoppers and feed them to the frogs. I also enjoyed fishing with my friend for sticklebacks and tadpoles, and loved fossil hunting near to where I grew up in Gloucestershire and on holidays in Charmouth.
This led me to take A Levels in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths at Sixth Form. I was also an art scholar but Art and Biology clashed on the timetable options, so my fate was sealed as a Biology teacher!
What are your interests and specialisms in the natural world?
I studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge and specialised in plant sciences and ecology, with published research on tropical ecology and on the rare Duke of Burgundy butterfly. I then completed a Masters in Ecology at Imperial College London, specifically assessing the feasibility of creating urban wildflower meadows.
This led me to spend three years restoring a traditional orchard in Gloucestershire with funding from the National Trust. My first conservation role was coordinating a wildlife project in the UK running the Hedgehog Street campaign with 40,000 volunteers, as well as setting up the BIG Hedgehog Map and the European hedgehog research group. Subsequently, I decided to re-train as a teacher and have been working in schools for the last seven years.
My previous work experience has really benefitted my teaching practice as I can reference real life case studies in the classroom and show pupils the different types of careers that are available in natural sciences.
How do co-curricular clubs help pupils connect with what they are learning in the classroom?
Firstly, co-curricular activities are meant to be fun and practical with an element of learning. Thursday Lunchtime Activities (TLA) are compulsory for pupils in Year 7 and 8 who can sign up for a wide range of clubs at the start of each term.
Aquarium Builders is intentionally hands-on with touch points from the curriculum, from Key Stage 3 through to A Level. Each week is dedicated to a different process, whether that’s learning about sustainability; issues with invasive species, such as pondweed that can be problematic if released into the wild; or dealing with native species to understand aquatic ecology or the nitrogen cycle by setting up pumps and filters in the tanks.
From a personal development perspective, it’s good for pupils to invest themselves in a project that takes time and effort, and perhaps doesn’t have a predictable trajectory. There’s the practical experience of handling water, glass and electronics in a safe way and dealing with animals responsibly. Thinking about supply chains and conservation also helps to link their learning to environmental sustainability.
The social element is equally important, collaborating in teams for a common goal and being creative designing the aquascape in the tank is all part of the experience. At the end of the project, each group will present what they’ve achieved so they can be confident talking about what they’ve learnt along the way.
What are pupils going to be doing in Aquarium Builders?
Pupils work in small groups and each week they’ll be doing something different to complete the aquarium tank in around 10 sessions. Most importantly, all of the members who attend have signed up to a code of conduct, which includes a focus on sustainability, being an inclusive club, being responsible for their own actions, and being aware that the tanks could fail as part of the journey.
Pupils Alex and Nori, volunteered to be Safety and Standards Officers, so they’re in charge of monitoring welfare of the animals and clean up. Olivia in Year 8 is Club Secretary and she’s helping to document the tanks with a photo timeline we’ll display in the classroom so we can see the journey and discuss what went well or could be improved. Year 13 Biology student, Andreas is the Chair and helps oversee the group and is a font of knowledge.
It’s been really encouraging to see how well the pupils have engaged with the club and that they’ve enjoyed the process. Each term, a different group of pupils can start the club as we’ll re-set the tanks at the end of the 10-12 week period and then begin the process again, making sure we recycle materials and the animals.
What types of fish are being used and how are they kept safe?
We have British native species like sticklebacks and minnows which I’ve caught from a river in Gloucestershire. This is more sustainable than buying them online for a range of reasons. They have to eat living food so we’ve set up a water flea colony to make sure we are looking after them properly.
What co-curricular activities would you like to run in the future?
I think there’s great potential for linking the classroom to the school grounds and we’d like to progress the idea of building a pond outside. We’re really fortunate to be in this part of North London that still has a lot of embedded green space, with opportunities to enhance and connect to the local environment.
From my experience of citizen science outside of teaching, where we ask the public to collect wildlife data, I think it would be great if we could do that with the pupils. I’d also like to get more information from our parents about what they’re doing in their own gardens to help promote wildlife-friendly activities to them. It would be great to do something with terrariums again as they’re microcosms for learning about biology and they’re easier for pupils to take home to continue their interest outside of school.
Find out more about our Senior School co-curricular activities here
