St Augustine’s College’s Prep to Year 4 students took strides towards environmental responsibility recently with an incursion all about the natural world.
The full-day incursion featured a 90-minute tactile workshop led by Yorta Yorta woman and artist Tammy-Lee Atkinson, who shared stories of her life and her artwork to a crowd of attentive listeners at the Kyabram school.
“Learning about bush tucker we can find nearby was interesting,” Kezia said.
“The incursion was a great way to learn about Yorta Yorta culture,” Ella A. said.
“I enjoyed learning about the blue-banded bee species,” Mia said.
Each student left the workshop with their own native plant or animal design, as well as a new knowledge of the native world around them.
Selected designs will be made into decorative waste bins for around the college as a part of its goal to embed sustainable practices and make a visible and positive impact on the local environment.
After a native plant-focused workshop led by Yorta Yorta Elders Aunty Greta Morgan and Aunty Hilda Stewart of Parks Victoria, students got a chance to have input into the design of a native garden.
There were a handful of other workshops focused on the faith perspective of caring for the environment, including a session titled Which bin does it go in?, which offered students a wide range of perspectives on the issue throughout the day.