Bad News for Teachers:            There are less than 3 weeks before kids go back to school!
Good News for Teachers:        Sustainability “How to Guides” and full lesson plans are available on the Landcare Australia website.
Good News for Parents:          The How to Guides are a wonderful resource that can be used in your home garden or natural environment as well. We loved the natural pesticide recipe!
Based on the 2015 Australian Curriculum, the lesson plans include engaging and easy-to-understand teaching and learning sequences.  The lessons plans and How to Guides cover a range of gardening and nature based activities and have been to assist Primary School teachers across Australia.
These Junior Landcare resources were developed to encourage more schools to better understand where their food comes from and participate in Landcare activities such as creating school gardens and building a closer connection with the land.

The How to Guides cover topics such as;

Creating a Food Garden
Building a Worm Form
Creating a Frog Pond
Enhancing and Restoring Habitats
Growing Healthy Plants Using Natural Pesticides
The full lesson Teaching and Learning Sequences that build on the 5 topics of the “How to Guides” and are available online here.
Information and updates on other Junior Landcare initiatives for teachers and students are available in the monthly e-newsletter the Junior Landcarer; free subscription is available via juniorlandcare.com.au.
Landcare Australia CEO Tessa Jakszewicz said at the recent launch of the curriculum resources that getting Landcare into the curriculum was a huge step and was enabled through funding from the Australian Government. “Ensuring kids learning these skills of caring for our natural environment at a young age will help all of us into the future,” Ms Jakszewicz said. “An awareness of Landcare might start in the vegie patch or through planting trees and weeding but it can encompass a broad cross-section of issues and skills like mathematics, science and building communities.”
Primary Industries Education Foundation (PIEF) CEO Ben Stockwin said, “Although a majority of schools have a vegie patch, these on-ground activities have not been translating into lessons inside in the classroom, so we’re extremely excited to be launching Landcare in the Curriculum for the first time. The resources can be used by schools new to Landcaring as well as those who are already green thumbs.”

Renowned chef and restaurateur Matt Moran, who was a keynote speaker at the 2014 National Landcare Conference, said: “There’s a growing interest in food and where it comes from. Food is not only a great source of pleasure but a great conversation starter too and through gardens and dining experiences it’s a great way of building communities.
“I think educating kids about food and its journey from the farm to the kitchen is a really positive thing – getting kids to think about how we can sustainably grow and enjoy the produce we all rely on and will continue to rely on into the future is an educational and really rewarding experience.”
For more information on Landcare or Junior Landcare, please visit their websites www.landcareonline.com and www.juniorlandcare.com.au .
Happy Gardening
Erica