Awesome August

What a week, but really I should say what a month! August has been awesome, with so many events and programs linked to National Tree Planting Day, National Science Week and Book Week.

It was wonderful to be back at the Rhodes Science Festival with Mary Bell from Nature Knows for National Science Week. We always have so much fun talking to visitors and there is always a great vibe at the event.


I presented the What’s in your Backyard virtual excursion for SciFest 2024, celebrating National Science Week. Almost 4000 students were registered for the event and many classes have followed up and watch the recording below.

I also created and delivered amazing series of online trivia events for SciFest 2024. I did 4 session linking to the National Science Week Theme Species Survival – More Than Just Sustainability. There were over 6500 students register across, Biology trivia, Australian Animal trivia, Plant life trivia and Environmental trivia.


It was great to be able to follow up from National Tree Planting Day and do some school tree planting with Greening Australia. Tree Planting enables people to make new habitat zones, improve green spaces, increases shade and creates connection to nature. There are so many ecological and social benefits from tree planting and it is great to be involved in Greening Australia’s Cooling the School program.

Cooling the Schools is an initiative delivered by Greening Australia and funded by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. Watch a short video from Ferncourt Public School about there Colling the Schools experience.


I delivered a STEM family activities with Little Scientist at an early childhood centre on the Central Coast NSW. There were 80 children participating in 4 inquiry based learning activities across the afternoon. Children were constructing towers or creating a tool to carry a ping pong ball around an obstacle course. Everyone had a lot of fun.


I wrapped up August with the Willoughby Fauna Fair. This year was the 20th anniversary of the event. The What’s in your Backyard display and Nature Craft activity fit perfectly into this year’s theme Our Awesome Urban Survivors and celebrated the resilience and adaptability of wildlife in urban environments.

I definitely deserve a break after all these events, but September is Biodiversity Month and the 5th anniversary of launching Australian Environmental Education. Maybe October will be quieter!

Australian Environmental Education logo with dragonfly

National Water Week

National Water Week aims to build awareness around the value of water. Access to clean water is hugely important to our daily lives, and it’s down to all of us to protect our water environments and resources, and use water wisely.

What is Water?

Water is essential for all life and is the most abundant substance on Earth. Water covers 75% of the earth’s surface, however only a very small amount is freshwater that can be used directly by people, animals and plants. This issue with the available freshwater creates competing pressures for our water resources.

Follow the journey of water down the river through the catchment to the sea. Think about the different land uses in your local catchment and the variety of impacts they have on our precious water resources.

Education resources

Australian Environmental Education has a range education resources to help you teach about the importance of water.

Explore the importance of water, water usage and water saving ideas with the Every drop counts activity.

Every drop counts, being water wise!

Water moves through the environment by the Water Cycle. This activity investigates the journey of a river through the catchment. Follow water through the environment and explore the changes to water quality over time. This learning activity is the first part of a sequence of 5 individual learning activities focused on Catchment Management. 

Australian Environmental Education logo with dragonfly

Online Science Classes

Get ready for National Science Week with a range of online earth and environmental science programs. These programs are suitable for students in the classroom or learning from home. It doesn’t matter if you are a teacher or parent there is a program perfect for you.

Online Science graphic

Class Programs

My Journey Beneath the Waves

My Journey Beneath the Waves: Diving Sydney’s Rocky Reefs takes you and your students on an exploration of the marine environment. The temperate waters around Sydney are home to a variety of habitats including kelp beds and sponge gardens. These are wonderful place to dive and discover the diversity of animals that live there.

Tuesday 10 August at 10am & 2pm

What’s in your Backyard

What’s in your Backyard: discover some of the amazing animals that live in your backyard. Explores the diversity of animals that lives in your local area by looking for the clues that are left behind. Students will look at local animals and find out what they can do to protect them.

Composite images of a cockatoo, frog and spider web

Wednesday 11 August at 10am & 2pm

Stories in the Stone

Take a journey back in time to the beginning of the Earth 4.6 Billion Years ago. We will explore the changes to the earth over that time and the evolution of life. This journey focuses on the diversity of Australian animals that are found nowhere else in the world. 

Thursday 12 August at 10am & 2pm

Outschool

Outschool is an innovative education platform that offers a variety of engaging, small-group classes online. Unlike traditional classes, Outschool classes give kids the unique opportunity to explore their interests in-depth via interactive, live video by experienced, independent educators.

Marvellous Marine Life

Explore the amazing diversity of animals with the Marvellous Marine Life workshop. Take a journey beneath the waves to explore this wonderful world. Learn about some of these incredible animals, their adaptions and habitats.

marine life program composite image

Invertebrate Investigations

Invertebrate Investigations explores the diverse world of invertebrates. Discover why invertebrates are important and learn how investigate the invertebrates in your own backyard.

Composite image of different invertebrates; cicada, golden orb weaving spider and oleander butterfly

Ancient Australian Animals

Take a journey through time to discover some of Australia’s ancient animals. Become a Palaeontologist and look at real fossils to find out about the animals that called Australia home.

It doesn’t matter if you are a teacher or parent there is a program perfect for you.

Australian Environmental Education logo with dragonfly

SciFest 2021

SciFest 2021 is on again between 2 – 27 August. SciFest aligns with National Science week in August and is a virtual excursions festival promoting science and technology. Join Karen from Australian Environmental Education as she shares her love science.

SciFest cropped

My Journey Beneath the Waves

My Journey Beneath the Waves: Diving Sydney’s Rocky Reefs takes you and your students on an exploration of the marine environment. The temperate waters around Sydney are home to a variety of habitats including kelp beds and sponge gardens. These are wonderful place to dive and discover the diversity of animals that live there.

Tuesday 10 August at 10am & 2pm

What’s in your Backyard

What’s in your Backyard: discover some of the amazing animals that live in your backyard. Explores the diversity of animals that lives in your local area by looking for the clues that are left behind. Students will look at local animals and find out what they can do to protect them.

Wednesday 11 August at 10am & 2pm

Stories in the Stone

Take a journey back in time to the beginning of the Earth 4.6 Billion Years ago. We will explore the changes to the earth over that time and the evolution of life. This journey focuses on the diversity of Australian animals that are found nowhere else in the world. 

Thursday 12 August at 10am & 2pm

FREE events

Backyard Biodiversity

Join Karen to talk about Backyard Biodiversity. Discover some of the amazing animals living in your local area. Students will look at local animals and find out what they can do to protect them.

Tuesday 17 August at 2pm & Thursday 19 August at 4pm

Australian Environmental Education logo with dragonfly

Education Week 2021

Australian Environmental Education has a range of programs to celebrate Education Week between 26 – 30 July. Come on a journey with Karen exploring this years theme of Lifelong Learning.

I have always grown up with a sense of wonder about nature and our place within it. I strive to discover, explore and learn everyday.

Virtual Excursions

Join Karen from Australian Environmental Education while she shares for lifelong learning journey. During the live and interactive virtual excursions Karen will share some SCUBA diving stories, explore what’s living in our backyards and show you specimens from her rock and fossil collection.

My Journey Beneath the Waves

My Journey Beneath the Waves: Diving Sydney’s Rocky Reefs takes you and your students on an exploration of the marine environment. The temperate waters around Sydney are home to a variety of habitats including kelp beds and sponge gardens. These are wonderful place to dive and discover the diversity of animals that live there.

Monday 26 July at 2pm & Tuesday 27 July at 10am

What’s in your Backyard

What’s in your Backyard: discover some of the amazing animals that live in your backyard this World Environment Day. Explores the diversity of animals that lives in your local area by looking for the clues that are left behind. Students will look at local animals and find out what they can do to protect them.

Tuesday 27 July at 2pm & Wednesday 28 at 10am

Stories in the Stone

Take a journey back in time to the beginning of the Earth 4.6 Billion Years ago. We will explore the changes to the earth over that time and the evolution of life. This journey focuses on the diversity of Australian animals that are found nowhere else in the world. 

Wednesday 28 at 2pm & Thursday 29 at 10am

Online Learning resources

Australian Environmental Education has online learning resources to help you teach a range of earth and environmental science concepts. These resources include web pages, printable activities, videos and outside learning activities.

Australian Environmental Education logo with dragonfly

World Environment Day 2021

It is time to celebrate our marine and terrestrial environments with World Environment Day on June 5 and World Environment Day on June 8. The World Environment Day theme for 2021 is Ecosystem Restoration. The World Oceans Day theme for 2021 is Ocean: Life and Livelihoods.

Virtual Excursions

World Environment Day: Friday 4 June at 10am and 2pm

What’s in your Backyard: discover some of the amazing animals that live in your backyard this World Environment Day. Explores the diversity of animals that lives in your local area by looking for the clues that are left behind. Students will look at local animals and find out what they can do to protect them.

World Oceans Day: Tuesday 8 June at 10am and 2pm

My Journey Beneath the Waves: Diving Sydney’s Rocky Reefs takes you and your students on an exploration of the marine environment. The temperate waters around Sydney are home to a variety of habitats including kelp beds and sponge gardens. These are wonderful place to dive and discover the diversity of animals that live there.

Free Education resources

Help restore your local ecosystem this World Environment day with these great activities. Creating a Wildlife Habitat is a 5 part program that can help you plan and plant a wildlife habitat at your school, home or local area.

Focus on Frogs

In urban areas, human development has reduced the natural habitat available to frogs. The Focus on Frogs workshop provides information and skills that will enable you to discover what frogs live in your backyard or local area.

Minibeasts in your Garden

Minibeasts in your Garden explores the diverse world of minibeasts. Discover why minibeasts are important and learn how find them in your garden or local park. The program will help you to identify common groups of backyard minibeasts and provides information and skills to conduct your own minibeasts investigation.

Noises in the Night 

You don’t see many of the animals that live in your local area because they are nocturnal. Often it is the Noises in the Night that give us a clue to the nocturnal species that are living in our local area.

Marine Environments

The Marine Environments is divided up into three main ecosystems; Oceans, Coral Reefs and Estuaries. Our oceans make up 71% of the earth’s surface and they contain the greatest diversity of life on Earth.

The Deep Sea

The deep sea starts where the sunlight starts to fade, around 200m below the surface of the ocean. A twilight zone extends down to 1,000m, after which almost no light penetrates.

Australian Environmental Education logo with dragonfly

Virtual Excursions

Australian Environmental Education has some great virtual excursions coming up for your students. There are a range of live and interactive environmental science programs, by request and on demand content.

Virtual Excursions create unique learning experiences for students of all ages, there is something for everyone.

All sessions are delivered via Zoom to your classroom or home school network. The programs are designed for Stage 1 – 4 students and are available on the 16 – 17 February at 9.30am, 10.30am and 2pm. The cost is $75 for a 45 minute interactive experience. SeaWeek sessions are scheduled at 2pm 8 – 11 March at a special prices of $50 for a 45 minute interactive program.

Topics available

Fabulous Frogs

Australia is home to about 240 species of native Amphibians, all of which are frogs. In urban areas, human development has reduced the natural habitat available to frogs. The Fabulous Frogs workshop provides information and skills to discover what frogs live in your backyard or local area.

Life on Earth

Take a journey back in time to the beginning of the Earth, 4.6 Billion Years ago. We will explore the changes to the earth over time and the evolution of life. How did the 5 Mass extinction events shape the variety of Life on Earth we have today and what’s next? The session will focus on Australian fossil sites and what they tell us about the past.

Devonian landscape ©nicolasprimola

What’s in your Backyard?

Discover some of the amazing animals that live in your backyard, school grounds and local area. Looking for the clues that these animals leave and you will be surprised by the diversity of animals in your local area. Students will also find out ways they can create wildlife friendly environments.

SeaWeek 2021

My Journey Beneath the Waves: Diving Sydney’s Rocky Reefs takes you and your students on an exploration of the marine environment. The temperate waters around Sydney are home to a variety of habitats including kelp beds and sponge gardens. These are wonderful place to dive and discover the diversity of animals that live there.

I will share some of my favourite diving stories with you and highlight the amazing animals that live in Sydney Rocky Reefs. Take a journey beneath the waves to explore this wonderful world. Learn about some of these incredible animals, their adaptions and habitats.

Special price for SeaWeek 2021 is $50 for a or a 45 minute interactive experience.

Interactive Environmental Science activities direct to your class or home through a Virtual Excursion.

If these dates don’t align to your schedule you can request a time to suit your timetable.

Free on demand programs

Focus on Frogs

Minibeasts in your Garden

Australian Environmental Education logo with dragonfly