Landcare Education Coordinator

Jim Mead

Landcare Education Officer's Role

The Landcare Education Officer's role is divided into three major sections:

School Programs
Teacher Professional Learning
Resources
Linking Schools with Community groups

School Programs

The programs address general Landcare themes such as biodiversity, land degradation, protection of waterways and catchments, environmental threats and issues and soil protection. The education coordinator can work with individual schools to tailor programs to suit each school's particular needs.

Working with education students
at La Trobe University Bendigo

Practical hands on activities can be conducted at either the Parks Victoria Creswick site or in the school. The activities help involve and inform students about Natural Resource Management and the students' role in conservation.

The Landcare Education Coordinator can also assist with school Landcare projects by providing:

Advice on procedures for planning and constructing indigenous plant gardens or no dig vegetable gardens.
Help for schools to source funding through the three Junior Landcare Grants (see www.landcareonline.com.au for more details about funding submission dates, guidelines and templates).

Teacher Professional Learning

Professional Learning programs currently highlight field trips available, propagation workshops, activities based around the "Farm Forestry - Trees at work" curriculum resource and general hands on Landcare activities for students.

Creswick Primary School students with Landcare Education Officer at a planting day

Creswick Primary school students
are shown planting methods

Teacher Professional Learning sessions are run at:

Subject association conferences
Schools
The Parks Victoria Creswick site.

The Landcare Education Coordinator is a trained AuSSI Vic facilitator and can deliver core and biodiversity module to schools to help them gain ResourceSmart accreditation.

See noticeboard for upcoming Professional Learning events

Resources

see resources page

Linking Schools with Community groups

Planting is almost finished
at Creswick PS

The education coordinator has worked with Landcare groups and local schools to revegetate community and public areas. These have included linking the Lake Burrumbeet Committee of Management and local schools to revegetate the shores of Lake Burrumbeet, linking the Moonlight /Misery Landcare group and Cape Clear PS to develop a community wood lot and linking St Francis Xavier and the BEN Lincs program to create an indigenous plantation. This aspect of the education coordinator's role is to:

Establish links between local Landcare groups and schools
Facilitate school involvement in community revegetation projects