Athol Road Primary School (Springvale South

Bryan’s nomination impressed the judges with the both the development of Bryan’s professional learning and also Bryan’s contribution to the learning of others.  The program at Athol Rd Primary School was showcased in the Australian Education Union (AEU) Magazine and Bryan also presented at their May conference in Adelaide - sharing the learnings beyond Victoria. Bryan also provides advice to local schools for setting up produce gardens, nature playgrounds and implementing Environmental Education Programs.

Athol Rd Primary School integrates Environmental Education from Foundation to year 6 with their onsite kinder students,  maximising the use of the learning landscapes they’ve developed which include a school farm, wetlands and nature playground.

These real world spaces provide diverse learning experiences for students who also sell produce to the school community including: seasonal organic produce, chicken and duck eggs and honey harvested from the onsite bee hives.

Southern Cross Grammar (Caroline Springs)

Melissa’s nomination stood out in a strong field of applications from secondary teachers.

Her application excelled across all categories, and was particularly strong for engaging parents and external organisations in Environmental Education.

Melissa has played a pivotal role in reshaping the Year 7-8 STEM curriculum.  Melissa engaged Ecologists from the community and Rangers from Parks Victoria in supporting students to deepen their understanding of field surveys and experiments, and to translate what they were learning at school to thinking about potential career opportunities.   Alongside this sharing of knowledge from outside of the school, Melissa also noticed that students were sharing their new knowledge with peers.

The improved knowledge of local ecosystems and the connections that were made with local community networks led some students to join environmental groups.

Keeper Kids Program (Zoos Victoria)

Ashlee Hughes and Hannah Rau run the Keeper Kids Program at Melbourne Zoo, and have collaborated with VicHealth to involve Culturally and Linguistically Diverse families living near the Zoo, and launched a new Nature Play Program engaging tens of thousands of children and their parents to develop their bonds with nature.

The judging panel was impressed with Hannah and Ashlee’s leadership in Environmental Education.  They provided comprehensive training for the Zoo team, and engaged Zoo Volunteers to guide them on connecting with younger audiences and promoting nature play.  

Ashlee also developed and delivered professional development sessions for external early childhood teachers, focussing on conservation storytelling using puppets.