Pedagogy & Practice 2019 Workshops
With the ECOLN Pedagogy & Practice Conference running over two days in 2019, and many workshops offered twice, there was more opportunity to participate in the great range of interesting sessions. Workshops included: nature kindergarten beyond funded preschool; sustainable practice; knowledge about birds; knowledge about edible weeds; traditional knowledge of plants and tools; investigating natural environments; working with land managers; tours of the Children's Garden; musicking with place and more. See below.
Not just preschoolNot all educators work in kindergartens, so what happens when they also want to take children out into nature and the bush? Hear from Anthony Morris and Rose Major who have experiencing taking children as young as 2 years old and as old as 7 out into nature.
Lessons for pedagogyThe success and challenges of Bush Kinder at Westgarth have presented many opportunities for reflective practice that has informed change. Members of the Westgarth team invite you to join them to discuss how their experiences teaching in nature have transformed the way they teach across all educational settings.
Reades WeedsReade will show some easily recognisable edible weeds and native plants and describe some uses, culinary or medicinal. He will also show participants where to get the best information to ID these plants... offering samples of these plants to experience ...and taste.
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All that glittersPedagogy for sustainability involves enacting change with children. Ruth Harper will talk about cleaning, hand towels, relinquishing glitter, secret plastics, art without paper, milk in glass bottles, bread from the bakery, picking up rubbish and other changes East West have made in their service in an ongoing quest to practice sustainability with the children. It is as much about conversations as solutions, with children and with colleagues
Living cultureLionel Lauch will first present traditional tools and artefacts, and then native flora and its uses for both bush tucker and medicinal purposes.
BirdsBrian from Parks Vic is an encyclopaedia of knowledge about birds. Join him to learn fascinating stuff about birds, and how to find answers to the questions children ask.
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Musicking with PlaceThe arts provide ways for us to make meaning in the world, and foster a senses of connectedness, with the human and morethanhuman worlds around us. In this workshop music is used to explore connectedness to Place.
Place is a ‘pedagogical contact zone’ (Hamm 2017) and when combined with artistic inquiry and practice new ways of being are generated. This pedagogical contact zone is always already and through music we become situated in Place. This is a practice based workshop that embraces the performative possibilities of land-based music education done through performance, composition and storying. |
Mini Bioscan Join staff from Museums Victoria Justin Wright, Wayne Gerdtz and Alex Price for an interactive workshop exploring how educators can guide young children in investigations of their natural environment. Participants will learn how free museum resources can assist with species identification and extending young children’s interest in backyard discoveries.
Let's go shopping: Children's GardenLenka Vanderboom will weave us together on a short shopping trip, exploring native plants in and around the Children’s Garden. Discover and share stories of natural resources you can use in your teaching. We will collect and harvest native barbecue beads, herbal tea materials and perhaps some gluten free grains to grind in to flour.
Garden TourEmily Barrow will lead exploration of the Children’s Garden through the lens of an educator. In this guided walk we will discuss design concepts, plant selection and opportunities to facilitate rich and engaging play in an outdoor setting.
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Working with Land ManagersMick Robertson will outline work undertaken in engaging land managers, issues encountered and measures taken to address them. We will frame next steps to improve access to quality nature play sites.
YidakiDuring Lionel's yidaki meditation sessions you are immersed in the rhythmic primal sounds of the Yidaki as it moves through your muscles and organs, grounding you in the land and moment as the frequencies and vibrations flow through you body, connecting you to the earth and creating a space for powerful healing to take place.
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