http://www.cradlecoast.com/documents/MediaReleaseArborWeekActivities22Apr

Media Release 22 April 2010 Arbor Week school activities celebrate biodiversity Students from eleven schools across the North West will come face to face with giant fresh water lobsters and get their hands dirty planting trees and water sampling in an engaging program of educational activities at the Tasmanian Arboretum this May. The activities will be run by passionate Arboretum volunteers and experts from all over Tasmania, to celebrate Arbor Week and the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity.

In previous years Arbor Week activities have focused on the first week of May, but interest from schools has been so great that this year’s program will run for three weeks from 3 – 22 May, allowing twenty‐five classes to visit the Arboretum and engage in a range of activities featuring local and international flora and fauna.

Chris Moore from Hillcrest Primary School has attended Arbor Week events in the past, and she found them so useful for her students that this year she is bringing the entire school to the program. “We want to develop a whole‐school approach to environmental education, and the Arboretum helps us do that. The students really love going” said Ms Moore.

Lee Cole, a volunteer educator at the Tasmanian Arboretum, is passionate about the quality and longevity of the Arbor Week program. “Our Arbor Week activities have grown from strength to strength. Teachers return year after year, and students have such a good time. This event offers so many learning opportunities and raises student awareness about their local environment including how they can engage with their surroundings in a positive way”.

The Arbor Week schools program is now fully booked, however school groups have the opportunity to visit the Arboretum at any time of the year thanks to a dedicated group of volunteers who run year‐round educational activities. The Arboretum is also open to the general public during the Arbor Week program as well as daily throughout the year from 9am to sunset.

The Arbor Week activities are a joint initiative of the Tasmanian Arboretum Volunteers, Cradle Coast Natural Resource Management (NRM) through funding from the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country, and the Devonport City Council. The volunteers are also working with Cradle Coast NRM to develop new educational resources for the Arboretum, including a bush foods trail and pre‐visit resources to help teachers prepare students for Arboretum excursions.

End… Cradle Coast NRM works with community, industry, private enterprise and government to manage and improve our natural resources to ensure a healthy future for our region. Cradle Coast NRM is a committee of the Cradle Coast Authority.

Media Contact/s: Rechelle Fisher Lee Cole Facilitator, Cradle Coast NRM Tasmanian Arboretum Ph: 0409 240 864 Ph: 0438 767 810