L4Y Forum- 2010 Term 2 Newsletter

L4Y Forum Term 2 2011 A term based newsletter of the L4Y network

L4Y Update Term 2, 2011...... 3 CCC TV...... 3 The L4Y Network...... 3 Tools 4 Schools...... 4 L4Y Network meetings...... 4 Marmong Creek Home Ed Landcare Group (MCHEdLG)...... 5

Diary Dates...... 6 National Tree Day...... 6 Environmental Dates calendars...... 6 Highlights for Term 3 include:...... 6

Awards and Competitions...... 6

Grants...... 7

Online Teaching Resources and links...... 7

Contacts...... 8

This project has been assisted by the New South Wales Government through its Environmental Trust

of 7 also available online at www.treesinnewcastle.org.au L4Y Update Term 2, 2011

CCC TV

The Catchment Connections Carnival (CCC) was a hoot. If you weren’t there you can get a flavour for the event from the reporting the students did as L4Y’s contribution.

CCC TV captured the experiences of the day and highlights the resources that are available to engage and encourage students to care for the local environment. The five minute movie can also be used as a teaching aid to highlight the role of community volunteers in caring for Lake Macquarie.

Most of the presenters at the CCC are often available to visit your school for free and are a great resource for sharing their enthusiasm and passion for Lake Macquarie.  Lake Macquarie City Council–Catchment Activity Model, Riparian Rambles, Ranger Sam- responsible pet ownership ph 4921 0333  Hunter Bird Observers - E-mail: [email protected]  Forests NSW Central (Hunter Region), Joanna Bodley, ph 9872 0105 [email protected]  Rural Fire Service Fire Mitigation Officer Matt Horwood ph 43936222/0407934502 mat- [email protected]  Hunter Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority community program include Cultural Awareness and Waterwatch- Ph: 4930 1030 Email: [email protected]  Lake Macquarie Frog and Reptiles Observation group can be found on Facebook- Brad McPherson is the Spokesperson ph 0419415917 or 49753374  DPI NSW Fisheries- Fisheries Education Officer Jamie Burns ph 49711201, jamie.burn- [email protected]  Native Animal Wildlife Rescue - [email protected]  Ocean & Coast Care Initiative ph 4341 4291  Lake Macquarie Landcare – ph 4921 0393  Nuts about Nature-bushcraft with Jenny Musicka (fee for service) ph 4988 6343

The L4Y Network

The L4Y project has been very busy over Term2 visiting schools and preschools, attending community events, building the Tools4Schools and generally sharing the joy of landcaring.

There have been quite a few requests for site visits so if you would like Jenny to come out and offer advice contact [email protected] . Tuesday and Wednesday are the preferred options.

At the Term2 L4Y Network meeting Kerry Philips from Eleebana Public School presented a Scope and Sequence she developed for integrating Learning for Sustainability throughout her school.

“The problem was that learning wasn’t happening with one-off environmental activities” Kerry said. So together with staff and students she identified the sustainability areas that needed to be addressed and assigned one to each grade/stage. “It was interesting to see that these were the same theme areas identified in the new draft Sustainability Policy.”

of 7 2011 L4Y Forum Term 1 A scope template was produced for integrating activities for each stage including investigations to solve environmental problems, this allowed for delegation to other teachers.

Kerry’s passion for quality learning was obvious, “the learning outcomes are so much better if there is a problem that the children can work out how to fix, this is why we study the environment” Kerry said.

To investigate an environmental issue these steps are followed. Investigate an issue, describe the issue, plan the possible solutions, implement the plan and report on the findings.

Over the past year each stage has had a focus and there have been obvious gains, a vegetable garden, increased biodiversity plantings, enhanced awareness of stormwater and reduced waste. The ES1 studied waste, Stage1 wondered about water, Yr3 looked into native animal protection and endangered animals, Yr4 studied self sufficiency and growing food, Yr5 took on recycling, Yr6 explored energy and the whole school contributed to native gardens and National Tree Day.

Into the future Kerry thinks that a possible revision would be to adopt a focus for the year. This would allow the whole school to work on one topic and support peer learning for students and teachers.

In the mean time a lunchtime group of students with the support of the GA continue to make a difference to sustainable management of the school grounds by landcaring.

Kerry has made available the integrated scope and sequence for the Stage 1 studies on Water.

Tools 4 Schools The Tools 4 Schools online manual was previewed at the Term 2 meeting and is up and growing on TIN’s refurbished website. The monthly Nature Watch calendar is there to record what is happening in your local bushland, school grounds or backyard. There are OH & S guides for weeding, planting and working outside, links to the different kinds of habitat gardens to grow and a plant catalogue with a picture and description.

L4Y Network meetings L4Y Meetings are held at the Landcare Resource Centre 3.45-5pm, Toronto Road, Teralba, near the Five Islands bridge round about, across the road from the CA Brown Anglican Care facilities. RSVPs are always appreciated. The agenda is usually round the table rap, resource review, events, grants and plans for the year.  L4Y Meeting Term 3 Tuesday August 9th  L4Y Meeting Term 4 Tuesday October 25th

Marmong Creek Home Ed Landcare Group (MCHEdLG)

Our group We are a small group of home educating families, and this project constitutes a home ed activity. We will be

of 7 also available online at www.treesinnewcastle.org.au learning a lot about our local environment, about catchment issues, teamwork, community, developing skills in Landcaring, resourcing, documentation, water testing, plant ID and bird ID. All in all, a very exciting project for us!

Site impressions Our group is working on regenerating part of the northern arm of Marmong Creek, a stream that flows occasionally and otherwise consists of a series of waterholes which ends with a billabong, constructed to control the flow of this creek into the main arm of Marmong Creek. Downstream from this site is a state significant wetland, which adds to the importance of our work though our motivation comes simply from appreciation of the potential beauty of this section of the creek, and how it ties in with efforts of other Landcare groups in the immediate vicinity.

Goals We have done a site assessment after a bit of a drought, and had a look at the creek in flow. The initial stage of our project is to familiarise ourselves with the site. Our Team Leader assures us that to know this site is to love this section of the creek, and already that is proving true. We have identified some weed species that need removing, eg Small-leaf Privet and Senna. Lantana will need to be controlled, but considering there is a lot of it, we will need to replace it bit by bit in sections so we don’t destroy the habitat for birds and animals. There is a considerable amount of rubbish to remove, so that will be a long-term effort too. We plan to produce a leaflet to distribute through the local community, and hopefully influence them with regard to dumping of rubbish over their back fences, and to let them know what we are doing. We have started a blog at http://marmongcreekhomeedandcaregroup.blogspot.com/ to log our progress.

Celebrate with a Syzygium

An advanced Magenta Lilly Pilly, Syzygium paniculatum, is available for your school upon request to the Landcare Office to celebrate the National Tree Day, International Year of the Forest, Biodiversity month or any other occasion you choose. The Magenta Lilly Pilly has edible fruit which makes great jam, is a glossy leaved tree and great for shade, a welcome addition to any school grounds. Diary Dates

National Tree Day

Schools Tree Day is Friday 29th July, but you can have a tree planting day anytime you like. National Tree Day is just around the corner and if you would like some plants for planting contact us and place your order. Term 3 is a great time as it gives the plants time to settle in before the summer heat kicks in. The Planet Ark site has some great resources to ensure learning outcomes from the day.

If you would like your students to choose their plants TIN’s species catalogue in TIN’s resource library is a good place to start.

On Thursday 28th July a combined community- school planting is happening from 9.30am at Reay Park Dudley, off Tumut St. There are thousands of plants to go in the ground to extend the local rainforest and create a fire retardant buffer zone. School groups are most welcome to come along to this well supervised event. A BBQ lunch is also available. If you plan to feed your school please RSVP with numbers to the LRO on 4921 0392.

of 7 2011 L4Y Forum Term 1 Get your orders in for national Tree Day. There are free plants available for Lake Macquarie schools and groups. The later the order is placed the less variety of plants available as orders get filled on first in basis. Contact [email protected] to place your order.

Environmental Dates calendars The Australian Government’s Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water Population and Communities has an online calendar of environmental events

LMCC has the Green Access calendar available for download at. It contains a local list of dates, resources and contacts.

The Australian Schools Calendar presents 2011 within the context of International Year of Forests providing dates of significance across the country and testing observation skills by asking students to spot the people in each month’s illustration who are trying to preserve the forests and wildlife. P.S Education Network Australia Edna.edu.au is going to be decommissioned over the next few months so if you want to access their resources and save some links hop to it.

Highlights for Term 3 include:  National Tree Day - July 29th & 31st and 28th at Reay Park, Dudley  National Science Week -August 13-21  Climate Clever Energy Saver Applications - late August  Biodiversity month all September  Threatened Species Day - September 7th  NSW Environmental Education conference - September 26-27 Awards and Competitions There are a few awards and competitions on the horizon to get the students thinking, doing and sharing their findings of the world around them. The Sustainable Schools websites has a calendar for potential grants and projects.

Wet, Wild and Living in a Ramsar site is a competition for students in Stages 2, 3 and 4 to learn about Australian Wetlands and celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the establishment of the Ramsar Convention. The activity commences in Week 2, Term 3, 2011. For more details and to be involved have a look at the website.

In the 2011 Animation Awards, students must utilise their creative abilities to develop a short animated film of 30 to 60 seconds duration. The animation can be created by a variety of techniques and should promote a sustainable environmental practice. See The task for details. This competition is open to students in Years K-12 across Australia. All entries must comply with the competition rules and be uploaded to the Animation Awards server by 5:00 pm on 29 June 2011. Digital Story Awards Students across Australia are asked to combine words, images, music, sound and other media to tell the story of an environmental action in their local area. This competition is open to students K-12 across Australia. All entries must comply with the competition rules to be eligible for prizes and awards and be uploaded to the Digital Story Awards server by 5:00pm on Wednesday 19 October 2011. Website Design Award- Have you been developing Bush tucker gardens? NSW CLIC invites school aged students from across Australia to use their developing technology skills to create a website that that educates others about some aspect of the production, preparation or consumption of food. All entries must comply with the competition Rules to be eligible for prizes and awards and be uploaded as a zip file to the Web Design Awards server by 5:00pm AEST on 3 August 2011.

of 7 also available online at www.treesinnewcastle.org.au Future Leaders Environment Award The Future Leaders Environment Awards recognise and reward young Australians who have shown outstanding environmental leadership. They also aim to inspire others to engage in environmental issues. Schools throughout Australia may nominate Year 12 students for the Awards. Nominations are due by July 1st.

MobileMuster -The MobileMuster school recycling challenge, can be run at anytime during the year. Last year 806,000 handsets and batteries were collected, half of what gets thrown away.

Grants Coles Junior Landcare School Garden Grant- Round 3: Friday 5th August, 5pm (EST) Up to $1,000 is available to schools and youth groups to help create gardens in their grounds or community, such as bush tucker gardens, water wise gardens or veggie gardens.

Online Teaching Resources and links It is the International Year of the Forest in 2011 and there has been a growth in forest information to assist in understanding this vital global resource. Modern day forestry is more than resource production for timber or paper; it is also habitat conservation and carbon storage.

NSW Department of Primary Industries- Forests NSW has a wealth of forest resources at including posters, images for download and blackline masters for all stages. Ozprojects project aims to engage students in a celebration of forests and increase their understanding of the global issue of sustainable use of forests for 2011 the International Year of Forests. It includes activities and resources for students from lower primary to lower secondary. A related theme page is 'Nature - plants and gardens'. This page provides links to online resources to extend children's interest in plants and how things grow. The Curriculum Learning and Innovation Centre’s Sites2See has a Forest theme page with so many things to see and do it will keep you hidden in the forests for ages. Another very useful resource is www.primaryschool.com.au where you can search for forest and a wealth of activities and sites will appear before your eyes.

Contacts L4Y, on-ground advice, plant orders Boundary Street, Dudley- contact via the Wetlands Centre Trees In Newcastle ,ph 4969 1500 The Wetlands Environmental Education Jenny Robinson Centre [email protected] Chris Prieto ph 4955 8673 Suzanne Pritchard [email protected] [email protected] Sandgate Road, Shortland Landcare Resource Office Team Leader Training ph 4921 0392 [email protected] GreenCare Kids Centre ph 0410 459 945 Awabakal Environmental Education [email protected] Centre Janet Street, Merewether

of 7 2011 L4Y Forum Term 1 Weeds ph 4930 1010 [email protected] Kim Hignell LMCC Noxious Weeds Officer Margo Smith ph 4921 0360 LMCC Waterwatch, Adopt-a-SQID [email protected] ph 4921 0702 [email protected] Water Quality Monitoring Energy & Schools Amanda Gregory Pamela Baker Hunter-Central Rivers Waterwatch Sustainability Engagement Officer ph 4921 0144 [email protected]

of 7 also available online at www.treesinnewcastle.org.au