Chapter Update November 2023

November 23 ACT Chapter Update  

by Viv Pearce OAM

ACT members have been busy winning awards in the past few months.

 

Wollongong Conference

At the AAEE Conference I was very happy, as Acting AAEE President, to present awards to not one but two of our local members. 

Firstly, to long term member Julie Armstrong founder of ACT for Bees, ACT and national AAEE environmental Educator for 2023. Julie has been a driving force both in ACT and nationally promoting the importance and need to support bees and other pollinators. Julie and her team have worked tirelessly through community events, schools, production of teaching resources and advocacy to our politicians, to increase community awareness of the vital role our pollinators play in the web of life and in our food production. The importance of wildlife corridors, year-round pollinator food and the devastating effects of pesticides and other human food production practises, are now better understood by communities and politicians due to Julie’s clear and passionate voice. 

 

Julie Armstrong AAEE environmental Educator for 2023

Monty Nixon, a PhD education student from University of Canberra (U.C) won the AAEE 2023 Brian Foreman Scholarship to enable him to attend the conference. At the conference Monty and fellow U.C student Jordan Harrison, delivered a very enjoyable and educative workshop on Country as Teacher. 

 

Monty Nixon (centre) and Jordan Harrison (third from left ) delivering Country as a Teacher

Both are AAEE Arthur Thyne Reid Foundation Teacher Education Student Scholarship holders and will through the scholarship, be members for the next couple of years, with the 5 other scholarship holders. ACT appreciate the infusion of enthusiasm and youth into our membership and the chance to mentor the next generation of environmental educators. 

The conference was uplifting, educative and enjoyable to all ACT members attending including myself. Helen McHugh and Sally Ingham (Australian National Botanic Gardens) gave an informative talk on ANBG new Plant Hub resource. ACT Sustainable Schools with Victoria Sustainable Schools and other State groups ran a successful roundtable which raised questions around the why and how of government funded programs that are delivered in the various parts of Australia. Other ACT attendees included Mary Clare Woodforde ( student scholarship holder), Glenys Patulny, Jodie Green (both ACT Executive members) and Keith Skamp (AAEE Fellow amongst a myriad of other exciting achievements).

Jodie and I were re-elected to ordinary member and Vice President respectively at AAEE AGM.

Other Awards

The Teaching Science Most Valuable Paper Award for 2022, announced at the CONASTA 23 conference in July was awarded to ACT members Keith Skamp and Jodie Green for their three-part series of papers, “Earth System Science Education and the Australian Curriculum: The way forward to sustainability.” An important contribution to our mindset on sustainability, we cannot understand the trees if we do not see the forest!

NatureArt Lab recently won the prestigious 2024 Telstra Best of Business ACT State Award for Building Communities. The business also won the 2023 ACT State Award for Promoting Sustainability and has been a finalist both years in other categories. NatureArt Lab is a unique purpose-led arts and environmental education centre which was established in 2017 by Julia Landford who is a passionate artist and nature lover. NatureArt Lab’s art classes, photography courses and nature tours make a difference to people’s lives and help people connect with nature in a deeper way. Julia has also been an active contributor to the AAEE ACT Chapter over many years, as well as supporting the national executive with the Environmental Educator of the Year Award. 

Julia Landford with NatureArt's Telstra Award

Other ACT Events

In September the AAEEACT Curriculum subcommittee had a productive meeting with ACT Sustainable Schools ,looking forward to how we can assist our teachers to include more sustainability into their day-to-day teaching. Watch this space for more focus next year.

Our national AAEE Environmental Educator Julie Armstrong in October ran an enjoyable and relaxing Forest Therapy walk in the Australian National Botanic Gardens for members. As environmental educators we have the opportunity in our busy, frantic world to promote the wellbeing advantages of being in and with nature.

AAEEACT Annual Report (June 22-June23)

prepared by Vivienne Pearce OAM

As awful as the emerging climate crisis is, or perhaps because of it, it has been wonderful this year to welcome 10 new members to the chapter, including 5 students and new environmental, nature and sustainability educators who are being supported by the generous AAEE Arthur Thyne Reid Foundation’s scholarships program.

Meet the team: this year the AAEE’s ACT Chapter team included Andrew O’Meara (@Wildbark, Chapter President), Julia Landford (@NatureArt Lab, Chapter Vice President), Jodie Green (Teacher @CIT, Chapter Treasurer), extraordinary ‘ordinary’ committee members Vivienne Pearce (Education Ranger @ANBG), Glenys Patulny (@Southern Catchment Group/Landcare) and Belinda Wilson ( Postdoctoral Research Fellow @ANU), plus the wisdom of experienced co-opted members Tarun Whan (Teacher @EdACT and @ASTA), Karon Campbell (Teacher @EdACT), and Donella Johnston (Teacher @EdACT)and last but not least Angela Crompton (@SustainableSchoolsProgram) for half of this year - her lively input to the executive will be missed. We are also over the moon to be welcoming new member, ANU student Mia Callaway, stepping in to be a trainee-Secretary for the association. Thank you Mia!

ACT members serving on the national committees and panels include Jodie Green, Julia Landford, and Viv Pearce - Jodie is AAEE’s official representative at the Australian Alliance of Associations in Education (AAAE), Viv is one of 3 of the national executive’s Vice Presidents, serving on many panels and subcommittees, and Julia is the 2022/2023 national awards program coordinator. Glenys Patulny represents the ACT Chapter nationally via the state and territory ‘Chapter Checkin’ forums, thank you Glenys.

Vivienne Pearce OAM ACT Environmental Educator 2022

ACT’s environmental, nature and sustainability educators have been busy, and there is too much going on to mention all - check the blog https://enviroedact.blogspot.com/ for more! The highlight of the November 2022 AGM was the celebrating ACT’s Environmental Educators of the Year for 2022 Viv Pearce  and Belinda Wilson (Emerging/Early Career). 

Congratulations to Julia Landford and the team at Nature Art Lab’s for being the 2022 Telstra ACT Best of Business Award winner for the category ‘Promoting Sustainability’, as well as being an ACT finalist in three other categories ‘Championing Health’, ‘Building Communities’ and ‘Accelerating Women’ - so well-deserved.

Julia Landford -NatureArt Lab- 2022 Telstra ACT Best of Business Award 

 Finally, AAEE ACT members Adjunct Professor Keith Skamp and teacher Jodie Green received the ‘Most Valued Paper’ award by the peer-reviewed journal Teaching Science (Australian Science Teachers Association), for their 2022 articles ‘Earth System Science Education and the Australian Curriculum: ‘The way forward to sustainability: Part I – III’. Congratulations Keith and Jodie. 

More Chapter and Canberra Region Network highlights: 

● Planning: In March the chapter executive met at Australian National Botanic Gardens for a thought-provoking strategic planning afternoon which was ably facilitated by member Karl-Erik Paasonen, for which the ACT Chapter is grateful. The new Executive has a clear vision of where they might lead our local AAEE Chapter this year and a renewed vigor to grow and expand the chapter and support members in the future.

● Chapter collaborations and representations: In June Tarun and Vivienne attended the launch of new climate and science education trial program Einstein First and are collaborating with Prof. Anne Scott ANU, to see if some ACT schools are interested in trialing this innovative program; Julia, Keith, and Vivienne wrote a submission to the ACT Legislative Assembly members on behalf  of AAEE chapter championing planning for ecology and climate-informed living infrastructure in all ACT Schools; Glenys, Viv, Jodie and Tarun have prepared initial plans to guide a series of workshops in 2023/4 to collaborate with ACT teachers to develop assessments and lessons supporting 2024 implementation of the new version of the Australian Curriculum’s Sustainability Cross Curriculum Priority. 

● Chapter Tours:  ANBG Education rangers Viv Pearce and Maddie Tranter ‘s tour of the Australian Botanic Gardens new education resources and developments in gardens in November ; Karon Campbell’s wicking bed tour in collaboration with the Hawker Community Garden; Andrew O’Meara’s train-the-trainer tours and member networking at the Jerrabomberra Wetlands on WorldWater Day;  Julia  Landford’s tour and member networking of the exceptional NatureArt Lab ‘Nature In Focus’ photography exhibition celebrating World Conservation Day.

 

            AAEEACT President Andrew O’Meara’s train-the-trainer tours at Jerrabomberra Wetlands

● What we’re looking forward to - exciting new territory and regional programs and initiatives: The Sustainable Schools Program launched their Energise Your School Program and have adopted the SSP Online tool with schools as partners in meeting the ACT’s ambitious biodiversity, emissions and waste targets; The Albanese government is supporting 8 young delegates to attend the 2023 climate COP28 as part of the UN’s global COP-linked Greening Education Partnership.  Landcare ACT in 2023 is launching their inaugural ACT  Environmental Volunteers Conference and their new annual ‘Festival of Nature’ starting in Spring 2023; Conservation Council ACT Region’s new Endangered ACT species program Bush Buds was launched  in march this year tours of endangered species habitat will continue into 2024, and AAEEACT is collaborating to deliver some of these tours; ACT government’s new water naturalization investment, which will be a wonderful resource for nature and local sustainability educators; the ACT Office of the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment’s State of the Environment report 2023 - we are especially looking forward to member’s work being showcased including a feature section on NatureArt Lab’s ‘Reflections on Nature’ community arts project, and to see what is new at the excellent sites:  https://www.environmentforyouth.com.au/ and https://www.environmentforkids.com.au/

        

  AAEEACT Wetlands Tour on World Water Day March 23