I have three beautiful daughters who are – way too fast – growing up and moving away for uni and work. You do so much for your kids, turn every room into a play-station on a rainy day, drive them to countless dancing lessons, and try really hard to understand calculus.
In hindsight though, the best thing I did for my kids was to have them tag along with me to work and learn about our environment.
I am an environmental educator. This has taken many forms – teacher, park ranger, marine biologist – and through it all, my kids have had the opportunity to discover just how amazing our world really is. It has made them passionate, responsible, caring, and aware individuals (I may be biased!). But I do think environmental education is an opportunity every child should have through our schools.
My first job after having kids was as the science teacher at my girls’ primary school. I have always been a ‘clingy’ mum, so it was perfect. I got to talk to them at lunch time and meet all their friends. But the best part of working at their school was experiencing how engaged and excited they were in learning.
Their faces were filled with wonder as they looked at the traces of insects found on leaves, grew grass from seeds, and found fossils of creatures millions of years old. Wonder was met with equal parts outrage as they collected rubbish in the creek or learned about species becoming extinct.
Practical environmental education transformed their school. The school had students organising clean-up days, parents making healthy lunches, whole-school bike rides, regular Environment Days in the local community, and students caring for classroom animals. All of this was driven by not only the students being captivated by learning, but also the teachers, parents, and the community.
Top Comments
What a great read! Ingrid, your story is inspiring & hopeful because it tells an honest story & provides a solution. I hope lots of readers follow the 'get involved' link & sign the petition, send the emails to our representatives so that there are many sustainable education programs for many more years. I was educated in 13 schools in 4 states & territories. My school days involved, my favourite school memories include: learning about climate change, pollution, unsustainable farming practices, feeling afraid then empowered by hearing of solutions, making our own recycled paper, worm farming, gardening, goat herding, talks with my family about being our own local & household solutions, tree planting, permaculture, rubbish collecting & so many things your article describes. How can kids not be educated in this super-important way? Thanks & keep writing.
Just Beautiful! I especially loved this paragraph: 'As a parent and a teacher, I care most about providing an education that encourages curiosity and instills compassion and responsibility. From my experience, nothing does that better than getting kids out learning in the environment. We can’t afford not to invest in environmental education for all students.' This has totally been my experience - learning about the environment hands on at school really helped me develop curiosity and passion for solving some of these issues. I grew up in Langhorne Creek in South Australia, and towards the end of the drought, students at the Milang Primary school were involved in rescuing turtles with tube worms and calcification on their backs and removing it (their was SO much on them, poor darlings - pic attached), as a result of the high salinity associated with low environmental flows. - they not only got to spend time with the turtles, but were learning about the bigger issues - the health of the lower lakes, Murray management and the effects of climate change. This blog reminded me how deeply important that learning is. More on the Milang Students Project here: http://www.adelaidenow.com....