Changing Times

As you may have heard there have been some changes in the Education Department that will affect the way that Learning for Sustainability will take place in the NT. The new structure of the department means that there will not be a designated officer in this position. Learning for Sustainability is however still high on the agenda and support for schools and external agencies will continue to be provided through a broad range of strategies

The main contact with regard to all Learning for Sustainability initiatives in Central Australia will be Karen Loto
e-mail:- karen.loto@nt.gov.au
phone:- (08) 8951 7017

Teachers wanting support with curriculum planning, writing and implementing their Sustainability Education Management Plan (SEMP) or planning for learning at the Alice Springs Desert Park can contact Karen.

There will also still be support for schools involved in all aspects of the Sustainable Schools Initiative, including the Energy Smart Schools, Water Wise Schools, Alice Solar Schools, Re-thinking Waste in Schools, Schools Environmental Tracking System (SETS) and Creating Arid Zone Gardens. Karen will be able to tell you who to contact for each of these.

The Alice Springs Desert Park will remain free to all NT schools and the staff there will be happy to support you with logistical planning for your visit.

For professionals outside of education developing resources for schools there is now a Materials Development team in place. The Education Department will also continue to provide Professional Learning opportunities for non teachers that find themselves running activities and learning experiences for kids. Again contact Karen Loto for more information.

As for me, I am heading overseas for a while to study Strategies for Creative Social Change at Schumacher College and also to learn more about Transition Towns and the Transition Culture.

As I have become accustomed to using this blog as archive of inspiring resources and ideas I have set up my own Learning for Sustainability blog. This has really been set up for my own use, a place to keep all the interesting things I find and experience, but you may find some of it interesting too. There is a permanent link to Emma's New Blog in the "Blogs You Might Like" section.

And finally...

Thanks

Thanks to everyone that I have had the pleasure to work with over the last four and a half years. It really has been an amazing experience, I have thoroughly loved my work in this position.

Emma Bliss

Contact Emma

Rocks and Things

Teaching Geology and don't know where to start?

Firstly there is a great resource Rock Around the Park which you can dowload from the Desert Park Education wiki. This resource was put together by local teacher Mel Phillips in her previous role as the Minerals Education Officer and Anne Scherer.

Secondly, Cathy McKeon, a long serving local teacher now working as an office based Science Teacher for Schools Division, has knowledge of rock, geology and earth science from her uni days. During her time here she has collected a quantity of resources on the local geology and has information on local excursions in the town area. Resources include maps, people, CD, books, posters, games and websites. Cathy is available to help teachers and can be contacted by email cathy.mckeon@nt.gov.au or by calling 8951 7052

Photo Essay Exhibition for National Youth Week

Enjoy taking photographs? Like to show the world how you see things? The Alice Springs Desert Park would like to invite your school to nominate for a place in an exhibition to be hosted by the Desert Park, for visitors to learn about how Central Australia’s youth see the nature of the Desert. Showcase your own and your friend’s photography skills by sending us a group photo essay on the natural desert habitat where you live. Your group’s photos could be on display at the Alice Springs Desert Park for all to see. Be sure to have your entry to us by 5.00pm CST Monday 31st March 2008

More information

Wikispaces

Have you used wikis yet?

A wiki is a website which allows users to add and edit content collectively.

One wiki that you might like to look at is the Desert Park Education Wiki which will help you to plan educational visits to the Desert Park and to share resources with other teachers.

Another is Eduwiki. Eduwiki is a collaborative partnership between educators across the world that enables us to instantly share ideas, resources, projects, and more importantly to connect to one another. The wiki talks about various digital tools and how members of the wiki find them useful in their classrooms.

Recently a group of NT teachers, some in Darwin and others in Alice, came together via a wiki to work on Re-thinking Waste in Schools. To find out more about this project visit the Rethinking Waste wikispace

New Desert Website Teacher info session

Jodie Clarkson of Bioparks NT has been working with Sonora Desert Museum in Arizona to build a website for kids which compares and contrasts the Central Australian Desert with the Sonoran Desert. Teachers are invited to come along to the Desert Park on Monday 20th August 2007 to preview the site and to discuss how you might use it in the classroom.

Please call me by 12noon on Monday to reserve your place and get directions - 8951 8718

Podcasting at the Alice Springs Desert Park

An activity designed with Middle Years students in mind.

Using the current audioguide as an example, and their knowledge of the desert and the Alice Springs Desert Park, students create an alternative audioguide designed to appeal to a teenage audience.

Download instructions for how to do this - it is much simpler than you might think.

High quality and appropriate podcasts will be made available on the Desert Park website, so they will become available for use by students visiting from interstate as well as local people.

Tina Sullivan (the new MY TaLE for ASHS and ANZAC) and myself are available to support one class from ASHS and one from ANZAC with this project during semester 2 of this year. Other schools interested are also invited to contact me.

This project also has great potential for oral language learning activities and bush schools are encouraged to contact me. Podcasts in indigenous languages would also be welcomed.

Teaching English for ESL students at ASDP

A series of worksheets for students with English as a Second Language (ESL) have been developed in conjunction with the ESL and ILSS (Indigenous Language Speaking Students) Project Officers.

A visit to the Alice Springs Desert Park is an ideal language learning opportunity for students from central Australian communities as they are very familiar with the context.

There are six worksheets available, 2 levels for each of the three habitats. There are also extensive teacher notes supporting both language teaching and environmental education outcomes. All documents can be downloaded here.

Resources You Can Borrow from the Project Officer

I have a huge collection of resouces that I can loan out to schools. These include:

• Microscopes
• Mangifying glasses
• Binoculars
• FlexiCam
• Animal Scats
• Snake skins
• Seed collections
• Bird feathers
• Insects
• Clipboards
• Bumbags
• Posters
• Petri dishes, pipettes, measuring cylinders etc for studying water holes and other basic science activities
• Hand puppets of local animals
• All you need to do the Rock Around the Park activities
• Reference books, activity books and children's books on animals, plants, and other aspects of environmental education for sustainability and science
• Wooden Kay Kessing cut outs of the animals and plants of each Desert Park habitat for use in your classroom or for stage sets etc.
• The Alice Springs Desert Park also has an Insects in Schools program through which we can provide you with local stick insects for study in your classroom. A unit of work and care instructions can be found on ExploreNT. Log in with your latis username and password and type 'using stick insects in the classroom' into the search terms.

NT teachers wishing to borrow any of these items please call me on 8951 8718, or email me on emma.bliss@nt.gov.au

Using the Alice Springs Desert Park as an Educational Resource

The Alice Springs Desert Park is a habitat based nature park. Three desert habitats are represented in their entirety - Desert Rivers, Sand Country and Woodland.

The plants and animals are shown as part of the habitats in which they are usually found. Stories of how people have lived and continue to live as part of these ecosystems are illustrated. The roles of fire and water are presented. The overall focus is on how both living and non-living components of these habitats are linked in complex webs of interdependence.

Major Features:
• Exhibition Centre with displays and a film introducing life in the desert
• Three arid zone habitats:- Desert Rivers, Sand Country, Woodland
• Aviaries in every habitat
• Many species of desert plants with labels explaining aboriginal use
• Nocturnal House including threatened species of the arid zone
• Walk through kangaroo and emu exhibit
• Nature Theatre featuring birds of prey
• Guided walks and talks on topics ranging from bush tucker to nocturnal life

A visit to the Desert Park will give students:
• An understanding that the country around them is alive, exciting and dynamic
• An awareness of the complexity of the habitats they encounter
• Cross-cultural awareness and appreciation
• An appreciation that the desert is an enjoyable place to visit and worth protecting

Getting started with planning your visit:
Download the booklet Using the Alice Springs Desert Park as an Educational Resource
For more detailed information on the features of each habitat download Desert Rivers, Sand Country and Woodland.

Entry for all NT School Groups is FREE, providing students are adequately supervised and advanced booking has been received. Click here to download booking forms and the code of conduct

NT teachers may also use the services of the NT DEET Project Officer to assist them with planning their visit and units of work in line with the Northern Territory Curriculum Framework . You can contact the Project Officer by calling 8951 8718 or by e-mailing Emma.Bliss@nt.gov.au