Category: Environmental Education

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My Spider Garden

I have been working in the garden to create a habitat for local wildlife. So far it’s the spiders that have found a safe home. I saw St Andrews Cross Spiders, Leaf-curling Spiders and Net-casting Spiders. I’ve had these species in my garden before and it is exciting to see so many again this year.

The new fence didn’t impact the spiders at all. There were several different spider egg sac, some freshly hatched spiderlings (the fuzzy mass in the middle) at least 2 Net-casting Spiders, 4 Leaf-curling Spiders and 5 St Andrews Cross Spiders just is this section of my backyard. I’ve highlighted some below in case you missed them.

Spiders in my garden highlighted

I got some close up images too so you can see more detail. I especially love the Leaf-curling Spider shots.

  • St Andrews Cross Spider
  • St Andrews Cross Spider
    St Andrews Cross Spider
  • Leaf-curling Spider
  • Leaf-curling Spider
  • Net-casting Spider
  • Net-casting Spider
  • Spider egg sac

It has been wonderful to see so many spiders and other invertebrates making a happy home in my garden. Surrounded by so many spiders and their webs I was surprised to find a newly hatched praying mantis. It was about 1cm in size and almost transparent, unfortunately it disappeared not long after this photo. I’ll keep an eye out, but I think this one has become someones lunch!

I have more spider images mostly from my backyard in the Spider Image Gallery. Find out more about spiders

Australian Environmental Education logo with dragonfly
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The year that was: 2020

I don’t think 2020 turned out the way anyone expected. In the first 2 months of the year Sydney experienced bushfires, droughts, heatwaves and then record rains and floods. Just when we thought the worst of 2020 was behind us, COVID-19 changed our lives for ever.

2020 was going to be My year of Sustainability and I was able to achieve some of my sustainability goals, however many were put on hold. During 2021 I will be able finish the journey I started.

  • Planting natives and building a frog pond
  • Creating insect hotels
  • Growing food
  • Creating a sustainable backyard resources and delivering environmental education programs online.

In 2020 my focus had to change and I began creating more education resources and activities and delivering online education programs. I created over 50 resources pages and activities focusing on earth and environmental science over the last 12 months.

Education resources
Activities

I have also been writing resources for the Junior Landcare Learning Centre. You can find the following resources on their website. Create a Wildlife Habitat with this series of 5 resources including: Research, Vision, Design, Planting and Monitoring.

Other activities I have written for the Junior Landcare Learning Centre explore the importance of water with Every Drop Counts. This activity also looks at water usage and water saving ideas. Investigate the journey of water through the environment, from the mountains to the sea, with the Exploring the Story of Water program designed for younger kids.

I have a series on catchments and water and a series on a beach survey and clean up for high school students coming out soon, so keep an eye out on the Landcare Learning Centre in 2021. I was also excited to be able to contribute to this year’s Coastcare Week campaign and wrote a following booklet on Marine Litter.

Like many other people in the education community I had to pivot to online delivery in 2020. I have been working with Virtual Excursions Australia for many years and was able to transition my programs for online audiences. I delivered programs for schools and individuals reaching thousands of students from across the world.

Another focus has been photographing some of the amazing wildlife I’ve come across during the year. Below is a selection of image taken at Sydney Zoo, central west NSW, central coast and my backyard. You can check out some of my favourite Macro images too.

Let’s see what 2021 brings!

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Reduce your use: plastics

Over 75% of the rubbish removed from our beaches is made of plastic. Plastics don’t biodegrade, they breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics.

Microplastics collected on the beach ©David Pereiras Villagrá

Microplastics are small pieces of plastic less than 5mm in size and are the most abundant form of solid-waste pollution. It has been found in all the worlds oceans and even in the deep sea. Microplastics include microbeads, plastic pellets and plastic fibres and form from broken down parts of larger plastics.

Floating plastics absorb toxins dissolved in the water and when ingested these toxins enter the food chain. Over time plastics and toxins accumulate in the foodchain.

Another major issue for marine species is entanglement in fishing line and other marine debris.

Dead turtle entangled in fishing nets on the ocean ©Maxim Blinkov
Estimated decomposition rates of waste in our oceans ©elenabsl  
Tips to reduce plastic waste and to prevent ocean pollution infographic ©elenabsl  
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Coastcare Week

I’ve been working on education resources for the Junior Landcare Learning Centre and was excited to be able to contribute to this years Coastcare Week campaign.

Coastcare Week is on between 7 – 13 December and Summer up with Coastcare is the 2020 campaign. The campaign aims to raise public awareness of the effects of litter on our waterways, encouraging all Australians to get connected to their local environment with Coastcare, and support groups to continue their invaluable work.

To recognise Coastcare Week find out ways you can help clean up your local marine environment.

Find out more about the impacts of marine debris

  • At the beach, keep on the walking tracks. This protects the vegetation that provides habitat for local native birds and other animals, and prevents erosion.
  • Ensure your dogs are kept on a lead in areas where dune vegetation is vulnerable.
  • Landcare and Coastcare groups work on these sites to enhance the habitat for native animals to protect them.
  • Avoid and Reduce – by reducing your plastic footprint, you are helping to protect our rivers and waterways that will keep our beaches and oceans clean and protect marine animals from the impact of rubbish including plastics.
  • Reuse – if you need to use plastic products, make sure you reuse items over and over again before disposing of them thoughtfully at the end of their useful life.
  • Recycle – if you can’t reuse an item or if it is at the end of it’s useful life, recycle it or compost it.
  • Make sure you take a bag with you to the beach to collect rubbish on your next walk.
  • Every piece of plastic removed from the marine environment can save an animal’s life, and reduce the amount of microplastic created.
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Australian Pollinator Week

Plants can’t move around to look for a mate to reproduce. Plants need pollinators to transfer the pollen, the male sex cells to the female reproductive parts of flowers. This process is called pollination, which leads to fertilisation. Good fertilisation helps plants develop seeds and fruit. The seeds and fruits that feed the countless animals in the world, including us.

  • Carpenter bee flying
  • Carpenter bee finding pollen

Pollinators drive biodiversity, and over 75% of the world’s flowering plants rely on insect pollinators to reproduce. Most people are aware that bees are important pollinators and other insect pollinators include flies, beetles, moths, butterflies, wasps, ants. Birds and bats are some of the vertebrate animals that also pollinators. Pollinators provide these important ecosystem services in the natural landscapes as well as within agricultural/horticultural and urban environments.

Australian Pollinator Week acknowledges the important and unique insect pollinators found across Australia. It is a designated week in November during our southern spring when community, business and organisations can come together to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators and support their needs. The world is suffering from major pollinator declines, but you can also help make a difference by encouraging theses animals into your backyard and local area.

Use this great resource ‘Pollinator Insects Identification Tips’ by Wild Pollinator Count to help you identify pollinators around your home.

Download the Pollinator Insects Identification Tips

Make an insect hotel to attract more pollinators to your garden. Plant flowering plants and natives to attract more birds into your garden.

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National Water Week 2020

The theme for National Water Week 2020 is Reimagining our Water Future. How can you reimagine the way you use and reuse water to ensure there’s enough of it in the future? Use these resources from Australian Environmental Education and beyond to rethink your current water practices. Remember what you do as an individual and as a communities can make a difference; every drop counts.

Even though water is the most common substance found on earth, less than 1% is available as freshwater. We need to conserve and protect freshwater resources, consider your use of Water.

Education resources

Every drop counts, being water wise

Leaking tap © Chayatorn Laorattanavech 

The Every Drop Counts learning activity explores the many ways that water is used, how you can reduce your water usage and reuse water.

How to Be Waterwise

Water is essential for all life and is the most abundant substance on Earth, yet water scarcity is one of the biggest issues facing us today. Australia is the world’s driest inhabited continent and has the lowest rainfall and the lowest water runoff. Most water is Australia is used in Agriculture reducing environmental flows.

You can be part of the solution by looking at your water usage and exploring way that you can be more Waterwise.

The Urban Water Cycle

The natural water cycle has been modified by people to ensure a constant water supply and the safe disposal of wastewater. The Urban Water Cycle incorporates the Water Supply System, Wastewater system and the Stormwater system.

Why is Water Important

Water availability © normaals

Water is the most common substance found on earth, so why is it important? Water is essential for all forms of life and can dissolve nearly anything. It can exist as a gas (water vapour and steam), a liquid (water) and a solid (ice).

Australian Water Association

The AWA has extensive list of educational resources that explore all the different aspects of water including the water cycle, the sustainability goals, Indigenous water knowledge, how to save water, caring for our catchments, and general water education.

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Launch: one year on

A lot has changed since I launched Sydney Science Education one year ago. Other than the challenges of bushfires, drought, flood and COVID, there has been a name change to Australian Environmental Education.

There were several factors that led to the name change. Firstly due to the COVID-19 pandemic I had to rapidly change from delivering onsite programs across Sydney to online delivery. Virtual Excursions means that I am able to deliver programs across Australia and even to overseas audiences. My goal of staying local to be more sustainable shifted due to the increased demand of online learning.

Secondly, when I started developing more programs and writing more content for the website it became clear that my passion continues to be environmental education programs. To provide a true representation of what I was creating and delivering I decided to change the name to Australian Environmental Education.

What have I been up to over the last 12 months?

I started focusing on developing water and sustainability resources for the website due to the continued drought and bushfires. I also started writing resources for the Junior Landcare Learning Centre and my first program relates to being waterwise; Every Drop Counts. From there I started My Year of Sustainability focusing on what I could do to make a difference. I developed an incursion program, What’s in my backyard videos and education resources.

Over the last year I have been creating a multitude of education resources to help teachers and students learn more about the natural world. The main topic areas include:

It is a work in progress and I am enjoying researching and writing every page.

I recently created a set of fun and educational activities to supplement the educational resources section on this website.

I have also compiled a range of image galleries including some new macro images. The following images provide a snapshot from the galleries.

  • Spiny Leaf Insect
  • Assassin bug
  • Case Moth
  • St Andrews Cross
  • Grevillia
  • Grevillia
  • Cart-rut Shell eggs
  • Crab claw
  • Seahorse
  • Octopus
  • Echidna exploring
  • Cockatoo

These are the range of programs now available as onsite incursion across Sydney or Virtual Excursions across Australia and the World.

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Magpie swooping season, are you ready?

Magpie chicks are starting to hatch out and 10% percentage of males will swoop people to protect their young. Peak breeding season is August through to November, and therefore Magpie swooping season has begun.  Watch the video to find out about why Magpies swoop.

The Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen habitat is closely linked to our recreational spaces. Magpies are found wherever there is a combination of trees and adjacent open areas, including parks and playing fields. They are absent only from the densest forests and arid deserts. This is why Magpie swooping season impacts on these recreational spaces. Find out more about these amazing birds through the Birdlife Australia or Australian Museum websites

Beautiful call of the Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen

You can report swooping Magpies on this link https://www.magpiealert.com/

https://www.facebook.com/australianenvironmentaleducation/posts/352181029483206

The Magpie Whisperer wants to show the world how friendly magpies can be. Remember only 10% of magpies swoop, the rest are singing and having fun.

Find more videos of Magpies having fun and singing on the Magpie Whisperers YouTube channel.

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School Holiday Programs Online

Australian Environmental Education has range of new Online programs for the upcoming school holidays. 29 June – 17 July.

Virtual Excursions create unique learning experiences for students of all ages. Sydney Science Education offers a range of video conferences called Science Made Easy. Specialising in Earth and Environmental Science, Science Made Easy are hands on, interactive workshops designed to inspire your students about the natural world.

Karen presenting virtual excursion

Dangerous Australian Animals

Discover some weird, wonderful and dangerous animals that live in Australia. We will explore the deserts to the sea, forests to your backyard to find out more about some of Australia’s most dangerous animals.

Time: 16 July at 1pm

Time: 17 July at 2pm

Book Now

Mysteries of the Deep

Explore the weird and wonderful marine animals with the Mysteries of the Deep workshop. Take a journey beneath the waves to uncover some of the strange animals that live in this underwater world. Learn about some of these incredible animals, their adaptions and habitats.

Time: 2pm-3pm

Date: 6 & 7 July

Book Now

Online Interactive Environmental Science activities direct to your home through Virtual Excursions.

Uncropped AEE logo with dragonfly icon

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World Oceans Day

World Oceans Day is celebrated on 8 June. The theme for World Oceans Day 2020 is “Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean.” The Marine Environments is divided up into three main ecosystems; Oceans, Coral Reefs and Estuaries.

There are the five major oceans that cover the world including the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Southern Oceans. Coral reefs are small in size when compared to the oceans, but around 25% of marine species live in the coral reefs ecosystems. Estuaries are areas where rivers and streams flow into the ocean. This area where freshwater and saltwater meets, creates an ecosystem diverse plant and animal life often called the ‘nurseries of the sea”.

Our oceans make up 71% of the earth’s surface and they contain the greatest diversity of life on Earth. Habitats range from the freezing polar regions to the warm waters of the coral reefs, deep sea hydrothermal vents to shallow seagrass beds and beautiful sponge gardens to giant kelp forests, marine organisms are found everywhere.

Find out ways to take action on World Ocean day

World Oceans Day 2020 VIRTUAL EVENT Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean.

There are also some great video and resources on Science Club Live.

Together We Can Protect Our Home.

Find out more with Sydney Science Education

Uncropped AEE logo with dragonfly icon