Primary Excursions for Term 4

Have you immersed your students in nature this year? We would love to help you with your next excursion and have a range of new and existing programs in a variety of subject areas to inspire, engage and enhance the learning of your students.

As an added bonus – all visiting teachers will receive 4hrs (BOSTES registered) field work professional learning!

Our NSW Environmental Education Centres are all staffed by trained teachers who have a passion for outdoor learning and specialist skills environmental and sustainability education.

Prices listed are for Public Schools only.

Stage 1

Program	Syllabus	Price
Reptile Recon.	Science & Tech – Natural Environment: Living World	$10/student
Past in the Present	History – The Past in the Present	$10/student
Where is Nessy (Incursion)	Science & Tech – Natural Environment: Living World	Flat Day Rate – $500 (max 60 students)

 

Stages 2 & 3

Program	Syllabus	Price
Aboriginal Education	History – First Contacts, Community and Remembrance	$15/student (includes Aboriginal Presenter)
Aboriginal Education (Incursion)	History – First Contacts, Community and Remembrance	Flat Day Rate – $900 (max 90 students, includes Aboriginal Presenter) Call Brewongle for Details
Barefoot Lawrence	History – First Contacts, Community and Remembrance	$10/student
Tawny Tragedy	Science & Tech- Natural Environment: Living World / Working Scientifically	$10/student
PhotoVoice (Incursion)	Visual Arts & Literacy	Flat Day Rate – $500 (max 60 students)
Art in the Environment (Incursion)	Creative Arts & Science & Tech: Living World	Flat Day Rate – $500 (max 60 students)

In addition to our day programs and incursions, we also have camp facilities and programs for school groups.

Please phone Brewongle on 02 45 79 1136 for further information or to have one of our staff present at your staff meeting.

Vote for us in the 21st Century Learning Awards @ the Youth Eco Summit

Our Aboriginal student leadership program called Warawi Yana Nura is a finalist in the NRMA Peoples Choice 21st Century Learning Awards for the 2015 Youth Eco Summit.

You can watch a short video on the project below.

Please check out all the finalists and vote for your favourite (us of course!) via the link below

http://www.mynrma.com.au/motoring-services/education/youth-echo-summit.htm

Warawi Yana Nura – Art, Acknowledgements and Creativity

Our Aboriginal student leadership program continued today here at Brewongle EEC. Students got their smocks on and let the artistic talent flow. We saw some amazing designs as we worked on some rather large animals. Using a combination of symbols, dots, hand prints and other techniques – we now have some very impressive large paintings to put up!

Erin Wilkins – our Darug educator also helped students develop their own acknowledgment of country. Students are now taking a leadership role within their schools and reading acknowledgments at school events. The Aboriginal Representative Council at Blacktown Girls High is in full swing and I look forward to hearing of their initiatives.

Thanks so much to all participants and have a great holiday everyone.

Aboriginal Student Leadership

Writers Camp Day 3 – Aboriginal Culture and Eco Mysteries.

After an intense day 2 of all things literary, we all headed up to our local oval to use up some energy. Students tried to master the art of throwing boomerangs, spears and woomera’s. The day was finished off with some games of soccer and cricket.

After a hearty breakfast and another good nights sleep (amazing!), students enjoyed an Aboriginal Cultural talk from Wiradjuri Man – James Stephens. James is one of our regular Aboriginal Educators and we were all very privileged to soak up his knowledge and stories of Aboriginal culture.

After morning tea, students continued their writing journey with Simon French and Danielle Chew. I managed to capture some writing on film for you to read below. The stories from the iPads will be published next week after we troubleshoot some technical issues! Thank you to all our budding young authors for attending camp and good luck in the future!

Warrawi Yana Nura – Aboriginal Student Cultural Leadership

Early this week we had a moving and special day. We journeyed with Aboriginal students and staff from Arthur Phillip HS, Blacktown Girls HS, St Clair HS and St Mary’s Senior to several rock art sites in the NW Sydney region.

We offer thanks to the Darug Community and Elder Aunty Edna Watson for giving their permission to enter and view these sites. Our guide for the day was Erin Wilkins – Darug woman and Aboriginal Educator with Brewongle EEC and Muru Mittigar.

Erin Wilkins and students discovering kangaroo and shield engraving.

I can think of no better way to celebrate NAIDOC week in schools than to share some of this incredible heritage of the Sydney region with local students. It was profound event for us and we hope the students too. The sites we visited in Canoelands and Maroota are examples of the rich thousand year old sites that are all around us here in the Sydney basin.

To me, a non-Aboriginal man – I was incredibly grateful to visit these sites and witness the power and a little of the way things were in this land for millenia past. Feelings of sadness and shame bubbled up for the destruction of culture and people that occurred in our tainted colonial past.

If you did not have the chance to watch ‘The Secret River’ on ABC TV recently – I would highly recommend this as a confronting and insightful historical fiction of early settlement and Darug Aboriginal cultures on the Hawkesbury River. It is based on a book by Kate Grenville which is a must read also.

I think these sites are as significant to the world as Stonehenge or the Pyramids, but it is a sad reflection on our country that they are mostly forgotten and lost to all but a few of the community. Maybe it is for the best – they are less prone to vandalism and tourism the way they are. They will gradually erode and fade away.

The Darug culture will not – thanks to custodians like Erin and the Darug community who are educating us all of these traditions. We hope students who took part in our program take pride in their culture and value themselves as custodians of culture into the future.

Listen to Uncle Wes Marne tell a story of the Rainbow Serpent at the Canoelands cave site.

And Aunty Edna Watson discuss the Devil’s Rock site at Maroota

Aboriginal Program Coordinator @ Taronga Zoo

This new employment opportunity is available now and the information came from our colleagues at Taronga Zoo. See below for details.

Aboriginal Program Coordinator – 00003LE5

 

Aboriginal Program Coordinator

 

• Aboriginal Identified Part Time 22.8 hours per week, Temporary 2 year contract position.
• Taronga Conservation Society Australia Salaried Employees Award – Clerk Grade 6 ($80,997 – $83,371 prorata)

 

• Location – Taronga Zoo Sydney

Are you a leader in developing culturally rich experiences for young people? Taronga Conservation Society Australia is looking for an experienced, driven and motivated Aboriginal Program Coordinator who is interested in joining a leading organisation in conservation, animal management and offers amazing visitor experiences.

 

About the role….

 

The position of Aboriginal Program Coordinator reports  to the Community and Aboriginal Program Manager, within the People and Learning Division. This position is responsible for the delivery and development of innovative and exciting Aboriginal focused Zoo experiences that support education, employment and training programs across Taronga Zoo Sydney in particular the Burbangana Zoo Awareness program focusing on the cultural and personal development of its participants who are high needs, at risk, young people.

 

About you….

 

•  Deliver and development of the Burbangana Zoo Awareness programs focusing on cultural, educational and personal development of its participants who are high needs, at risk, young people referred to the program by Metro Intensive Services, Department of Family and Community Services.
• Promote the Burbangana Zoo Awareness program to the wider community, youth, health and Government organisations to assisting in achieving targets and ongoing funding.
• Lead, mentor and support the Aboriginal Project Officer ensuring Key Performance Indicators are met and regular Individual Performance reviews are conducted in line with HR policy and procedures.
• Communicate Taronga’s education and conservation messages both internally and externally, ensuring all communications align with Taronga’s values to inspire change in accordance with Taronga’s vision and strategic pillars.
• Develop strong relationships with representatives at all levels of management throughout the organisation to support the achievement of business strategy, vision, mission and purpose.
• Work effectively as a member of a high performing team, assisting Taronga in its achievement and outcomes of it Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
• Comply with and suggest sustainability practices in the workplace to help achieve Taronga’s sustainability targets and reduce environmental impact.

 

• Comply with and report any Work, Health and Safety incidents in line with Taronga’s Work, Health and Safety Charter.

About us….

 

Taronga Zoo officially opened in October 1916, we believe in a shared future for Wildlife and People. Taronga is working in partnership with wildlife conservation organisations and communities to develop ways to protect species and habitats. Taronga. For the Wild!.

 

About applying….

 

Please ensure that you attached a current version of your resume and address the above key accountabilities in a cover letter no more than two pages. You are also required to complete the two target questions and provide supporting evidence as part of your application.

 

Applications must be completed via http://www.jobs.nsw.gov.au/ using the reference number 00003LE5 or searching the word Taronga. For more information in relation to the vacant position please contact Lucinda Cveticanin on lcveticanin@zoo.nsw.gov.au or phone (02) 9978 4558.

 

To review a copy of the role description, please visit the careers page of the Taronga website http://www.taronga.org.au

 

Applications close: Friday 8 May 2015.

 

Location

 Sydney Region-Sydney – North/North West    

Work Type

 Part-time

Number of Positions

 1

Contact Lucinda Cveticanin – 02 9903 4558

Closing Date

 08-May-2015, 11:59:00 PM

Job Category

 Education and/or training

Organisation

 Taronga Conservation Society Australia 

Targeted Questions / Selection Criteria 

1. Outline a program that you have developed and implemented focusing on the social and behavioural requirements for youth with complex needs.

 

2. Provide an example of a project where you have worked with a range of Aboriginal community stakeholders. What was your role and how did you  go about ensuring that the consultation process was successful?

 

Lost in a food forest

Image by Carl Warner

The term ‘food forest’ conjures up images of an abundant edible landscape similar to the chocolate landscape of Willy Wonka in the movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. I think it is a wonderful term that should inspire us to create ecosystems of food in our schoolyards, backyards and community places. It has ended up in my vocab via a local Permaculture Design Course I am undertaking.

Permaculture is an Australian born philosophy of living. In my head it has meant organic gardening with plenty of hippy stuff thrown in. In reality permaculture is based in ecology, traditional knowledge and is dedicated to working with natural elements rather than against them.

It is truly all about sustainable living – and I think many of the teachings could easily be implemented in our school and backyard gardens.

When designing or creating our indoor and outdoor living spaces, Permaculture encourages close observations of natural influences like sun, wind, water, wildlife, soil and vegetation. Permaculture strives for a self contained, high yield system of growing food.

To create a food forest, we need to harness the power of ecosystem interactions that occur in nature. In most of our food gardens – plants are taken out of their ecosystem role and planted in a very different habitat. What if we could harness the power of plant and animal specialisation to help in our food growing? Large scale monocultures and commercial production are the opposite of this way of growing.

Image from “Earth Users Guide to Permaculture” Rosemary Morrow.

Think of the different layers of vegetation that occur in a forest. We have ground covers, shrubs, small to large trees, climbers, fungi and the list goes on. The idea of a food forest is to replicate this with food producing plants. The Australian bush is a food forest for the knowledgeable and certainly provided abundant food for Aboriginal Australia for thousands of years.

The benefits for your soil, your belly and the creatures in your garden are tremendous. Consider stacking plants into vegetation layers, planting to protect from sun and wind, creating a microclimate in your garden and promoting biodiversity.

Slope, water retention, windbreaks, aspect, soils, mulches, plant selection, pest management, nutrient creation and retention and pruning need to be on your list of considerations.

Rosemary Morrow has written an excellent book on Permaculture design – “An Earth Users Guide to Permaculture” and can be purchased online at most book stores.

Get in touch with your local permaculture community:

Permaculture Sydney West

Milkwood

Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute

Under the Choko Tree – sustainable urban living

 

Best Brewongle Blogs of 2014 #eecnsw #DECNSW

The end is near! 2014 has been quite a productive year for us here at Brewongle EEC and we have had over 5500 students engage in our various programs. I have summarised below the most popular blog posts of the year as judged by the number of hits on the website. Thanks to everyone who has visited our centre, hosted us in their school, read the blog and followed us on Facebook, Twitter and Yammer. Have a an excellent, sustainable break and we look forward to 2015.

Our Writers in The Environment camp was a hit again and I think our famous authors may have helped boost our coverage on this one! Try this blog on for size.

 

The resource page we have developed that is now chock full of documents, links and people to help you teach Aboriginal education has also proved very popular in the last few weeks. Look out for our teacher training day next March!

Adventurer, ocean advocate and Stand Up Paddleboarder Stuart Murray visited Brewongle on his paddle around Sydney’s waterways. We put him up for the night and I helped him paddle up the Nepean River to Penrith. http://brewongleeec.com/2014/03/12/stand-up-and-be-counted/

Cherrybroook THS spent an interesting and smelly day investigating sewage at Rouse Hill Recycled Water Treatment Plant do you know where your toilet water goes?

 

My favourite blog of the year was Where Does Your Food Come From. We have created a unit of work and a great video of local food production and reducing food miles – I had a great time filming and editing that one!

Cross Curriculum Priorities – do you need help with Aboriginal Education?

A quick mental health check for all teachers – How are you going? It is the end of the year, report time, exam time….. brains are frazzelled and our patience can be…. thinning. On top of the usual teaching duties (teaching, planning, meetings, counselling, extra curricular stuff, sport, playground duty, homework, parents, other staff, assessments, marking, marking, marking – am I close?) many of you would also be programming for the new Australian Curriculum. How is it going for you? Are you and your colleagues on top of things? If not, this may help…..

I hope you are managing to incorporate the learning across the curriculum priority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. Read on if you feel you need help in this area…

Brewongle EEC has just finished a professional development workshop on Aboriginal Education (with 62 teachers in attendance from primary and high schools). Due to demand we are planning to run another one soon (watch this space! – and Schoolbiz if you are NSW DEC staff)

If you were not able to attend – we have placed all the resources from the day and many that were suggested by participants in the resources section of our website – feel free to help yourself!

There were many highlights from the workshop (held at the University of Western Sydney – Thanks to the UWS-RCE and Jen Dollin.) and I would like to indulge you with a few that stood out for me.

Finding a way to talk and engage with your local Aboriginal community was an important point mentioned by teachers and presenters alike. This might be as simple as having a chat to parents after school or finding your local community centre or Elders. Talking to an Aboriginal Education Officer (NSW DEC Schools) if your school or district has one could be another place to start. We have listed our Western Sydney Aboriginal educators (who would be happy to talk to you) on our website.

Brewongle EEC has a long history and association with the Darug people and our Aboriginal team help us to run a variety of camp and day programs here at Brewongle for your students. These could be a fantastic addition to your class teachings. We can design a program to suit your needs or you can utilise our existing programs. All of them involve hands on exploration and interactive learning for your students and often prove to be great professional development for staff as well. Discover the uses of artefacts and tools, follow our kangaroo tracks to discover the secrets of the bush plants, and enjoy some art and music! Your local EEC may also be able to help you if Brewongle is too far to travel.

Another standout feature of the day for me was discovering  the treasure trove of resources that is housed in the Henry Parkes Equity Resource Centre (internal intranet link – for NSW DEC schools only). If you are not aware of this place (as I was not) then have a browse through the fantastic array of books, CD’s, Movies and other resources that can be borrowed online by anyone in NSW DEC schools. Their array of Aboriginal resources was amazing and many of them were snapped up by participating teachers on the day.

Thanks to all the participating teachers for their feedback and suggestions – we are taking it all on board as we plan the next event. Enjoy the slide show below of the day.

If NSW DEC teachers would like to comment on Yammer (the new DEC internal social media tool) please join the conversation in the Aboriginal Education group and provide feedback to your colleagues on the workshop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bursting with new programs for your students.

Brewongle staff have been busy preparing a range of new incursions, excursions, camps and teacher professional learning – check out the links below to book for this term or next year.

Incursions:

Stage 2 & 3 Creative Arts and Science. Two programs involving art, technology and the environment. We come to your school, provide all the equipment, expertise and activities. Linked to the new syllabuses for the Australian Curriculum.

Excursions to Brewongle EEC:

Stage 4 & 5 Science. Two innovative programs that will engage your students in authentic citizen science and real life ecology programs. All designed around the new syllabus for the Australian Curriculum.

Climatewatch Citizen Science is a first hand investigation into how local plant and animal species are responding to climate change. Use technology and contribute data to a national citizen science project!

Adventure Conservation Day Program or 3 day Camp is a partnership with NSW National Parks & Wildlife, Landcare and local bush regeneration contractors. Students will kayak the Hawkesbury River and discover first hand how to manage our waterways.

Aboriginal Education Teacher Professional Learning

Thursday 13th November 2014

Venue – University of Western Sydney Discovery Centre, Richmond Campus.

‘Place, People, Pedagogy’: A Story for all Learners aims to build teacher cultural competencies to incorporate the new learning cross- curriculum priority Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures into teaching and learning.