Blog Articles

Students strengthen their river connection with Kingston-On-Murray's Water Watch program! A WATER-testing program is continuing a Riverland school’s long-running connection to the River Murray. Kingston-On-Murray Primary School’s (KOMPS) Water Watch program has run for more than 10 years and, after a brief hiatus, is back and stronger than ever. Understanding the importance of water quality and the role the river plays in the lives of all in the region are critical parts of the education program at KOMPS. Program organiser and KOMPS teacher Phillip Lawson said the program was designed to “give students an understanding of how water quality is measured ...

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 ...

The Walpole community has come together to produce a litter picking guidebook to inspire young people to help keep their towns tidy. The Little Litter Pickers Guidebook was created by Nathan Vass Viney in collaboration with the Walpole CRC and Tidy Towns hero Michael Filby, and supported by a grant from Keep Australia Beautiful. Viney said the four-page A5 guidebook clearly instructed children on how to prepare, where to go and what safety precautions must be taken with regard to litter-picking, while being visually fun and educational. “The goal here is to inspire young people to get out there and keep their towns tidy,” he said. The guidebook ...

Pollinator's Paradise begins at local early learning centre! Early learning facility Community Kids Kadina has received a Woolworths Junior Landcare grant for its Pollinator's Paradise garden project! The idea for the project began after the centre adopted Buzby the Bee as part of its pet adoption project in 2021. With Buzby now settled in, and a butterfly about to join the community Kids Kadina family, the children and team decided the two pollinators needed a garden to pollinate. "The aim is to create the Pollinator's Paradise using flora native to our area," Christine Bailey said. "Children will be able to see these remarkable creatures in action as ...

The World Food Forum’s (WFF) Global Youth event kicked off on Tuesday as young people from various corners of the globe gathered to brainstorm ways in which to transform agrifood systems. The hybrid event is being held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Under the theme “Healthy Diets. Healthy Planet”, participants will focus on how to innovate and shape policy to ensure more people can access safe and nutritious food, while simultaneously looking at ways to mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis. “You have created a global movement with us. You are making your voices heard, and they are dynamic. ...

How can we be green this Halloween? What’s more frightening than ghosts, ghouls, and goblins? The amount of litter and waste that’s produced during Halloween celebrations each year... Help save the planet (and a few dollars) by following a few, or all, of these simple tips on how to remain green: Simple Swaps Low-cost costumes: Many Halloween costumes are fast fashion, made from poor-quality materials and are mass-produced each year, often only being worn once, for a couple of hours. The most sustainable costume is one you already own. Have a look in your wardrobe or check with your family and friends if they’ve got something you can borrow. ...

Last week, in mid-October, the senior students at Casterton School began a unit of learning focusing on birds in their local area! The Birds in Schools program was introduced by Lyn Brown at South West Landcare earlier this year. Last term, the Grade 4/5 students wrote information reports on birds of our region after two guest speakers, Tim Burnard and Charlotte Davis, spoke about their knowledge of local birds– particularly the Red Tailed Black Cockatoo. After the success of the program following extreme student engagement, the school decided to follow up this term with Birds in Schools! The program will shortly have students participating in the annual ...

Students from Bass Valley Primary School, the Flutterby Savers, have been working alongside Bass Coast Landcare Network as part of the Kids Thrive charity program Kids as Catalysts After a successful pitch to local community members including councillors, principals and others, the students raised $50 for this project to help increase butterfly populations around the region. The team “Flutterby Savers” have worked with Lisa Wangman and the volunteers who do the potting of plants at their nursery at the Bass Recreation Reserve. Students worked with Landcare to research what butterfly species are located in the area, and then determined which plants would ...

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! From young community leaders to social entrepreneurs, advocates to event organisers, we’re looking for young people with a commitment to making regional Australia even better. Trailblazers will have their work featured on the ABC and receive an amazing package of support. Applications close on October 20, 2022, so there's still almost three weeks left to refine your/their application! Trailblazers is an opportunity for young ...

Kicking off the 2022 National Landcare Conference, the NextGen Landcare Youth Forum provided a space for young people around Australia to come together and explore ways they can channel their passion and concern for the future of our planet into meaningful action. Hosted by Costa Georgiadis and the team at Intrepid Landcare, the three sessions of the high impact forum saw a range of inspiring young leaders and school students share their stories, tips, and experiences, moving on to then discuss the many diverse ways our young leaders, communities and schools can get involved and look after the environment, in their own way. Designed for senior primary ...

We live in times of uncertainty and change. Bombarded on a daily basis with information about the state of the planet, it’s no wonder young people can feel overwhelmed and unsure on how to make a meaningful difference. At present, Australia is facing some of the highest species extinction rates in the world, as well as experiencing increased pressures on biodiversity and natural resources due to land clearing, development, climate change and land-use pressures. ​​If we are to reverse the damage that has been done, and ensure a sustainable future is secured for future generations, we need to act now. No generation feels or understands this more than youth. And ...

The Intrepid Landcare Leadership Retreats fast-tracks young people’s understanding of landcare activities in their communities By Megan Rowlett, Intrepid Landcare While the appetite to lead change is ripe with the next generation, reversing the damage that has been done and saving what’s actually left can seem like an overwhelming and almost impossible task for many. With this sentiment can come a perception that there will never be any change. But as twenty young intrepid Victorians from across the Yarra and Dandenong Ranges in Victoria recently saw and heard firsthand, change is happening every day all around us, and it’s the leadership of an often ...