2023 Schools Eco Day Expands for Year 5 Students
2023 Schools Eco Day saw close to 400 children from the Parkes Shire, Forbes Shire, Eugowra and Condobolin attend a fantastic educational day.
Community Participation - LP003-002
The issue
Central West Lachlan Landcare have been running Schools Eco Day events for nine years. During that time, we had been approached by schools hoping to make the event more accessible to more students.
Over the past three years, we have been working hard to expand the day and make it more accessible, evolving from a day with year 5 and 6 school representatives of about 100 children.
More children, means more workshop providers to be sourced to provide the best range of workshops possible for students with a focus on the environment.
The solution
With funding from CMOC-NorthParkes Mine to cover transport expenses for many schools, was welcomed as transporting students is a large part of expense in addition to specialist workshop providers.
Volunteers provided support for workshop providers and also provided some workshops and assisted with the day to allow it to run smoothly. Workshops provided include insects, biodiversity, seed balls, eco art, Wiradjuri culture, fish care, solar power, mining and water recycling.
Celebrity gardener Costa Georgiadis joined us for the day, participating in some workshops and finishing the day with a presentation to students and teachers speaking of people who inspire him and encourage him in his work.
The impact
Children and adults alike love spending the day with Costa. They leave Eco Day with fantastic memories and enthusiasm.
Learnings
Expanding Eco Day provided more fun educational activities for children in our local area.
Planning ahead for larger groups is key.
For our next event in 2024, we will be incorporating more workshop providers to be able to engage more students.
Key facts
- Schools Eco Day provides educational workshops for Year 5 students from local schools.