New Landcare resource will help OSHC children to fill the summer holidays with fun

A new resource has been added to the online Learning Centre of Landcare Australia’s Junior Landcare program, just in time for the summer school holidays. 

 

The Learning Centre is a digital platform full of activities and ideas that children who are in the  outside school hours care (OSHC) age group can access, either in service or at home with their families, to help them build their knowledge of and connection to their local environment.

 

Using the Junior Landcare characters – Suyin, Amir, Beth and Jarrah – the Junior Landcare School Holiday Journal encourages children to explore the four key areas of Junior Landcare – biodiversity, food production, waste management and recycling, and First Nations perspectives – through a series of fun activity sheets and easy-to-do ideas to try these holidays.

 

From nature sketching to an animal crossword and garden find-a-word, veggie scrap propagation to how to build a bee hotel, the journal activities have been designed for children of all ages to do on their own, or together with friends and family over the December-January school break.

 

“For children to want to protect the environment, they must first be able to appreciate and understand it,” Dr Shane Norrish, Landcare Australia CEO said. 

 

“The Junior Landcare Learning Centre has been designed to do just that, with this latest resource part of Junior Landcare’s vision to inspire young Australians to be aware, empowered and active in caring for their local environment.”

 

The Junior Landcare School Holiday Journal is based on learning activities in the Junior Landcare Learning Centre, supported by Woolworths. The Learning Centre activities have been developed by environmental educators to support hands-on learning in the classroom, at home or within the community, and are supported by educational videos, checklists, activity sheets and fun facts.

 

Earlier this year, 10 new First Nations learning activities were introduced to the Learning Centre, which were developed by Landcare Australia together with First Nations educator, Wiradjuri man Adam Shipp.

 

Activities include discovering First Nations weather, creating an Indigenous plant use garden, and exploring First Nations people’s languages map, which can also be accessed via the school holiday journal.

 

“We are always delighted to get behind resources that inspire curious young minds and support children to learn more about the active role they can play to ensure the safe future of the Environment,” Loretta Arrastia, Community Programs Manager, Woolworths Supermarkets said.

 

“With children at home for several weeks over the school holidays, this is the ideal time to introduce them to ideas that will help to grow the next generation of environmental champions.”

 

To download the Junior Landcare School Holiday Journal, please use this link.