build up the next generation
Educating the next generation Charlotte Vaughan Education and Learning Manager Kiely O’Flaherty Schools Program Coordinator
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ducation and Learning in Kings Park and Bold Park provides stimulating hands-on, inquiry-based and immersive learning experiences for kindergarten to tertiary-aged students. Our suite of innovative education programs supports the Western Australian curriculum while highlighting local plants, people and places and the actions we can all take as a connected community to ensure a sustainable future. Equipped with skills to lead at school and in their community, students can become custodians for environmental change and join Kings Park in the global movement to restore our world.
Fostering connections with our environment The journey begins in early childhood and continues through primary school where opportunities to connect with nature help children develop positive attitudes towards the environment which will last a lifetime. Reduced human experience with nature is directly linked to the loss of biodiversity. Regular time in nature during the early childhood years may counteract this decline in biodiversity as children build knowledge, relationships and empathy for non-human species including plants. K. Beasley et al., 2021 Zippy’s Kings Park Adventures is an environmental education program for kindergarten-aged children. Interactive and engaging in design, this outdoor early learning program aims to develop curiosity about the environment and conservation. The program is delivered in four eightweek terms over the school year. Each week children enjoy stories about native animals and plants incorporating Noongar culture, engage in nature-based play and explore the bushland in Rio Tinto Naturescape Kings Park. E-STEM integrates Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, with place-based environmental education, and project and community-based learning. E-STEM combines learning with cultural understanding and well-being to help
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Kings Park’s Senior Education Officer, Gemma Wood and Duncraig Senior High School students carry out ex situ conservation at the WA Ecology Centre, Bold Park. Photo: Ellen Davies
Noongar Elder Cynthia Garlett joins education presenter Louise Tero and volunteer Janet Walker to share language and culture. Helping children to understand and connect with native flora and fauna from an early age has life-long benefits for health, well-being and our environment. Photo: Emma Schoknecht
young people become scientifically literate and environmentally aware. By spending time in nature, understanding indigenous knowledge and western science. Making connections with local environmental issues, primary aged students can be enthused by STEM
For People & Plants | Special Issue | Spring 2021
principles to help solve real environmental problems. Incorporating citizen science projects during E-STEM action week helps generate change and make a positive difference for the environment. Each visiting class receives a native tree grown by
