Landcare Illawarra

School engagement

Highlighting the benefits of caring for the environment by creating partnerships with local schools to benefit the environment and support volunteer engagement.

Community Participation - LEP23 - 014_LLC07_1

The issue

Many local schools have service days requiring them to work in the community and seek broader opportunities for outdoor education and engagement, including Duke of Edinburgh challenges, science and geography excursions.

We need extra hands to support our local Landcare volunteer groups. Many of our groups have small memberships and practical activities are often postponed due to lack of labour.

The solution

Creating regular activities that provide education and outdoor engagement with the school community while assisting our local conservation efforts.

We hosted three schools on our Landcare sites to learn about the environment and support our groups’ work:

  • At Seven Mile Beach, Year 9 and 10 students from Southern Highlands Christian School integrated a rubbish cleanup with data collection, geography and learning what motivates our groups with our Local Landcare Coordinator, who led an educational walk through recently planted areas to explain the changes in vegetation.
  • In Wollongong, twelve students from Ambarvale High School and twenty-four students from Illawarra Christian School planted and weeded with the Bellambi Blue Lagoon group before heading to the beach for a bush foods and dune species discovery walk.

The impact

  • Building links with local schools
  • Getting school students out of the classroom
  • Increased environmental awareness and engagement
  • A deeper understanding of environmental stewardship
  • Meeting our Landcare volunteers and understanding their mission
  • Local knowledge and practical skills in return for hands-on support

Learnings

Presenting education as a discovery and allowing students the freedom to explore in smaller groups works well.

Personal stories and observations create context and support learning outcomes.

Author: Ailee Calderbank

Key facts

  • 3 schools engaged in walks and practical activities to support our community groups.
  • Southern Highlands Christian School students undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh Medal collected rubbish and learned about the coastal and estuarine plant communities at Seven Mile Beach.
  • 12 students from Ambarvale High School and 24 Illawarra Christian School students planted 100 tubestock shrubs and grasses, weeded extensively and discovered Bellambi Blue Lagoon.