Blog Articles

Helping Kids Re-Connect to Country | NACC

By Emily Mason posted 05-01-2023
A media release from Priscilla Papertalk - Aboriginal Custodianship Program Coordinator at NACC: Helping Kids Re-Connect to Country This month our team has been developing and supporting an emerging Chapman River Project with Waggrakine Primary School and Bluff Point Primary School. Recently, Anouska Barnes from Waggrakine Primary School had her class of Year 5 students complete a trial to walk to Chapman River and undertake some activities that will reconnect them back onto Country. This initiative was enabled by Chapman River Friends Coordinator Virginie Carbonatto. This extremely passionate and active community group raises awareness about the ...

New planting, watering & plant care program for kids aged 2-5 | Landcare Resource Centre at Teralba

By Emily Mason posted 14-12-2022
Tiny thumbs are turning green across Lake Macquarie as a program introducing children to gardening and sustainability takes root. Council’s Lake Macquarie Family Day Care has teamed up with the Landcare Resource Centre at Teralba to rotate groups of children aged 2-5 through basic skills like planting, watering and plant care. Landcare Coordinator Jason Harvey said participants were also learning about native plants and their importance as habitat and food sources for local wildlife. “This program gives kids at a very early age the chance to interact with the natural environment,” he said. “They’re caring for their garden and having those learning ...

New Karla the Koala book launched - Karla Discovers the Great Barrier Reef | Noosa District Landcare

By Emily Mason posted 16-11-2022
‘Karla the Koala’ launches third book with a splash Officially launched by Mayor Clare Stewart, ‘Karla Discovers The Great Barrier Reef’ is the third book in the Karla picture book series. Written by local icon Elizabeth ‘Fizzi’ Reynolds, and illustrated by her lifelong friend and artist Lili, the books have proved to be hugely popular, selling out as soon as the hit the stores. Three years ago Fizzi and Lili began creating the Karla books to showcase the region and to raise money for koala conservation and habitat preservation for these much loved Australian animals, who have recently been declared an endangered species. To date more than 5000 books ...

Turning trash into treasure with The Today Show! ♻️

By Emily Mason posted 04-11-2022
Who loves turning trash into treasure? We do! And thanks to the students and staff of Lindfield East Public School we got to turn plastic bottles into vertical gardens together with Today Show weather presenter Tim Davies to inspire others to do the same ahead of National Recycling Week (7-13 Nov). ♻️ Visit the Junior Landcare Learning Centre at www.juniorlandcare.org.au for lots more waste management and recycling activities and ideas to try at home or in the classroom. 🌱 Developed to support hands-on learning about the environment and how to protect it, the Learning Centre activities help to build knowledge and deeper ...

Whose Country: exploring First Nations peoples languages map (NEW Junior Landcare Learning Activity)

By Toby Davidson posted 17-10-2022
Landcare Australia together with First Nations educator, Wiradjuri man Adam Shipp, have developed 10 new First Nations learning activities for the Junior Landcare program - the new learning activities will assist educators in the classroom when teaching First Nations perspectives. One of the new activities, " Whose Country: exploring First Nations peoples languages map (7-13yrs) " introduces children to a First Nations peoples languages map and builds an understanding and appreciation of the language and culture of local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Adam Shipp a Wiradjuri man shares the following, “Language is a part of everything ...

Have your students apply for the ABC Trailblazers Program!

By Emily Mason posted 30-09-2022
Applications are now open for the ABC’s Trailblazers program in 2023! The ABC is looking for Trailblazers aged 18-to-28 who are doing inspiring things in their regional town. Does anyone spring to mind? Have them apply! Applications close on October 20th, giving you three weeks to refine a perfect application! Read more by clicking on this link. #JuniorLandcareEducatorHub

Interactive ‘Ecosystems’ Quilt To Inspire Hands-On Learning

By Nessie posted 22-07-2022
Published by Landcare Australia: From kindy to year 6 students, Vanessa Anderson’s ‘ecosystems’ quilt is inspiring endless conversations and hands-on learning about the local environment – with the Local Landcare Coordinator (Wentworth) now planning to use the quilts as an ongoing activity for Junior Landcare groups. Eager to make something interactive for 'Sunray Warriors', an annual event held near Mildura for primary schools, Vanessa approached a friend to make her a basic quilt. Next, she added sticky Velcro dots so that children could add a variety of laminated critters to where they thought they might ‘live’ on the quilt. “As we live on two rivers ...

Professional Development Junior Landcare Webinar

By Sam3277 posted 18-11-2021
With Spring Springing in the temperate parts of Australia it’s time to celebrate the season! Pollinator Week 2021 is 13-21 November. On October 19 educators joined Sam Harrison, a Labcoat Learning Educator and Landcare Facilitator, in a professional development webinar. They delved into the wonderful world of plant pollination and learned how it takes place - some of it was very supprising! There were even live bees and butterflies on display! Discover the pollinator activities in the Junior Landcare Learning Centre . This webinar was an opportunity for educators to help Landcare Australia understand what content they would like to see on the Junior Landcare ...

Growing Pizzas and Chips (the meal of champions).

By Sam3277 posted 18-11-2021
A common theme expressed by educators is that children often experience a disconnect between the food they eat and its origins. Food production is very important to us here at Junior Landcare and to help children understand the origins of their food, we have developed two new ‘Grow Your Own’ learning activities, which have just been uploaded in the Learning Centre . First, we developed a ‘Create Your Own Chips’ activity sequence (because what kid doesn’t like chips!?!). This series of activities is designed to help children to understand the growing, manufacturing, and marketing processes involved in putting food on the shelf. The sequence is composed ...

Professional Development Junior Landcare Webinar

By Sam3277 posted 18-11-2021
With Spring Springing in the temperate parts of Australia it’s time to celebrate the season! Pollinator Week 2021 is 13-21 November. On October 19 educators joined Sam Harrison, a Labcoat Learning Educator and Landcare Facilitator, in a professional development webinar. They delved into the wonderful world of plant pollination and learned how it takes place - some of it was very supprising! There were even live bees and butterflies on display! Discover the pollinator activities in the Junior Landcare Learning Centre . This webinar was an opportunity for educators to help Landcare Australia understand what content they would like to see on the Junior Landcare ...

Multimodal learning, cross-curricular priorities

By Sam3277 posted 18-11-2021
Kids change when they get outside. Over the years we have had many educators remark about how children that can otherwise be difficult to engage suddenly show commitment to a hands-on activity we’re conducting. Away from the confines of the classroom young learners can have further opportunities to engage with their different ‘intelligences’. According to Howard Gardner (2011), there are 8 intelligences that we may draw upon when learning. These are: words (linguistic intelligence) numbers or logic (logical-mathematical intelligence) pictures (spatial intelligence) music (musical intelligence) self-reflection (intrapersonal intelligence) ...

Lantana Land No More - A School Nature Project

By Danielle2726 posted 23-08-2021
Cattai Hills Environment Network (CHEN) teamed up with the Hawkesbury-Nepean Landcare Network to facilitate and assist Lorien Novalis School undertake a project that would engage a class of year 9 students with the bushland that resides within the school grounds. This bushland was primarily dominated by three environmental weeds, Lantana Camara , Ochna serrulata , and Ligustrum lucidum. Indeed, the Dooral Dooral creek which flows through this bushland was not accessible to the students due to these weeds. We thought this creek would be a valuable asset to help educate the students on water health, as well as give the students the opportunity to contribute ...

Walking our Nature Journey #LandcareStoryContest

By SaumyaFernando posted 02-06-2021
We at Hills Montessori are blessed with a beautiful natural outdoor area with a food forest, a worm farm, compost bins, a butterfly garden and two very cheeky chickens. The wealth of knowledge and practical education children receive merely by utilising this environment is truly beyond what book-learning can offer. Last year, we thought of adding more to this environment by starting a wildlife garden with native plants. Through reaching out to community members from the Hills Shire Council and the Hawkesbury-Nepean Landcare Network, we received so much support, ideas, advice and help from various people who came on board to make this dream a reality. Even when ...

Environmental Education Remote Learning Packs

By Naomi425 posted 13-08-2020
Attention parents and teachers! Bellarine Catchment Network have created six remote learning resource packs covering the topics of litter and water, wetlands, biodiversity, ferals, climate change, and waste reduction. These resources are for parents or teachers looking for ways to engage their students in environmental education in new and innovative ways. These packs offer simple, self-directed learning developed for Grades 4-6 that will see the students cutting, pasting, drawing and engaging in kinaesthetic learning both inside and outside. If you would like a copy of these resources, please visit https://www.environmentbellarine.org.au/cb_pages/remote_learning_packs.php ...

St Aloysius Ramsar Activities Day

By Rebecca719 posted 24-03-2020
The Ramsar Convention is the only international treaty devoted to conserving a single ecosystem type across the planet-Wetlands. One hundred and fifty nations work together to care for 2,300 Ramsar wetland sites across the world and 6 of them occur within the Bellarine Peninsula and western Port Phillip Bay. Raising awareness of these precious habitats is a priority for the Bellarine Catchment Network in 2020 and our established schools program provides the ideal outreach for this message. On Wednesday the 11th of March, 64 grade 3/4 and 5/6 students from St Aloysius Primary School participated in a Ramsar Activities Day in Swan Bay. Students spent time ...

VCAL Clean Up Ocean Grove

By Angeline419 posted 17-03-2020
On the 27th February 2020, twelve Year 11 and 12 VCAL students undertook a clean up on 500m of beach at the Ocean Grove main beach.The most abundant items collected were small litter fragments, butts, bottle tops, bottles and cups. Approximately 5 kgs of rubbish was collected from what, at first appearance, seems like a clean beach. Many small plastic fragments were found in the high tide line, with the larger items found in the adjacent flora in the dune system. The students logged their litter data and enjoyed a well deserved fish and chip lunch for their efforts. These students are passionate about the environmental impacts of litter on the bay and did ...

From Barren Wasteland to Biodiversity Classroom

By Cath531 posted 25-02-2020
From Barren Wasteland to Biodiversity Classroom The Mentone Primary School Story In 2019, Mentone Primary School began a new Specialist subject- Sustainability. We began the year with an audit of the school. Students walked around and pointed out areas they thought needed improvement. We then collated ideas to see what students thought were highest priorities. There was one absolute standout area- the front nature strip. The earth was cracked, the couch grass and weed had died over summer and it looked like an uncared for barren wasteland; and so it became our Sustainability classroom. We learnt to identify weeds and began to eradicate them using our ...

Forty + Years of Community Effort

By Jeanette560 posted 18-02-2020
Over forty years ago, the Innisfail State High School Grade 12 class Student Council came up with the idea to plant a rainforest revegetation plot in the school grounds. In subsequent years, encouraged by a young biology teacher, the plot was maintained and increased. Then in 2006 came Category 5 Cyclone Larry, with severe damage to trees throughout the area. Within school grounds, the powers-that-be decided trees were a hazard and many other schoolyards around our area were denuded, as trees which had survived the elements succumbed to chainsaws. After being contacted by the biology teacher, the high school principal stared down the tree-felling contractors ...

Our Secret Garden

By Ann616 posted 06-02-2020
Our school has a narrow strip of land that some of the classrooms backed onto and we were all at a loss in how to use it.To hire a landscaper was beyond our financial needs, so with the help of Bunnings, a willing Green Team made up of students from Prep to Year 6, we got things moving. Bunnings donated the pallets and some plants, which, with the efforts of Brad, our very handy man, the first step towards our hanging gardens was made. Our Upcycling Club next took over and made planters using 2L and 3L milk jugs. They painted and beautified, planted and watered. We called it our Secret Garden because we tried our hardest to keep it a secret from our ...

Biodiversity on the Bellarine

By Matt363 posted 25-07-2019
A holistic approach to environmental education: How to foster ongoing environmental stewardship in the community. Bellarine Catchment Network engages the wider Bellarine Peninsula community through a variety of programs and opportunities that facilitate re-engagement and behavioural change. Their goal is to continue delivering integrated community driven projects that protect and enhance the environmental values of the Bellarine. Bellarine Catchment Network are a non-government, incorporated organisation that support and collaborate with 27 ‘friends of' groups, community groups, councils and land managers across Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula. In ...