The Enviro-Stories Education Program provides a unique community engagement opportunity that involves schools in a environmental education competition with a focus on science and literacy.
This program engages the whole community, but primarily teachers, students and their parents. Students get the opportunity to learn about their local environment, write a story about it, then get their story published.
This program provides an educational experience that creates readers, written about local issues, by local kids, for local kids.
The Cotton Catchment Communities CRC and Central West Catchment Management Authority have once again sponsored the Enviro-Stories Education Program across the cotton communities of NSW and Queensland. In 2011, the Enviro-Stories Competition theme is “An Aussie Bush Tale”. This is in honour of the United Nations International Year of Forests.
Australian forests are fantastic and magical places that mean a lot of different things to different people. Some of us work with the wood from the forests. Some work with the creatures that live in the forests. Some of us live in the forests and some of us play in the forest (camping, hiking, exploring) and some of us just love looking and being in a forest!
Without a doubt whatever your use, be it a little or a lot, Australian’s should be proud of Australia’s forests! For more information go to: http://www.internationalyearofforests.com.au
The Australian bush is one of the most unique environments in the world. We have a large variety of plants and animals, some that can easily be seen and many that can’t. In order to conserve our environment we need to get to know it better. We can do this through visiting sites, learning about its inhabitants and understanding how all life is connected.
This competition is all about encouraging students, and teachers, to reconnect with their local bush and taking a closer look at its inhabitants. Go for an excursion and wander around the bush, look at the plants, listen for the wildlife and research something that makes your bush unique.
This will provide your students with a starting point for writing a narrative about an element of our local bush.
“An Aussie Bush Tale” can be a reflection of what your students saw in the bush or a fictional story about an animal. No matter what the story is about, students should be encouraged to use their storytelling creativity.
The Enviro-Stories Competition involves students in grade 3-7 writing and illustrating a story for younger students. Each entry needs to contain a minimum of 10 written and illustrated pages, or a maximum of 15 (using the template provided in the Getting Started Pack). Stories need to be related to the theme “An Aussie Bush Tale” and contain an environmental message.
So put on your thinking caps, use the supporting Getting Started Pack and Education Kit for ideas, and get writing!
Register your school/group with Trudy Staines on 02 6799 2478 or trudy.staines@csiro.au.
| Competition theme |
• An Aussie Bush Tale |
| Geographic range |
All Cotton Catchment areas from Fitzroy basin in north to Murrumbidgee in the south. Nine catchments in total. |
| Targeted age group |
Mid to Upper Primary – Grades 3-7 in NSW and QLD to produce a reader targeted at Grade 2 reading level. |
| Outcomes of project |
9 new books written by students about local biodiversity published and distributed free to schools and libraries. 1,500 copies of each book produced. |
| Time frame |
Registrations: As early as possible in term 2
Competition closes – end term 2 July 11 2011
Judging to occur straight after competition closes
Design and Printing - October
Presentations and distribution - November
|
Distribution
(recommended) |
Winning schools to receive 10 copies of each reader (90 books in total).
All schools in each catchment to receive 1 copy of each book (9 books in total).
Winning school prizes to be presented to each school.
Sets of 9 readers to be posted to schools in catchment areas. |
This project is an integral component of the Education and Training sub-programme as it aims to encourage primary and secondary students into science and agriculture based fields of study.
For further information please contact Trudy Staines Ph 02 6799 1500 or email: trudy.staines@cottoncrc.org.au
