Testimonials

A nature education conference with a full day in the Botanical Garden is an absolute cannot miss experience.! The ECOLN PEDAGOGY AND PRACTICE IN NATURE EDUCATION CONFERENCE was nothing short of inspiring once again this year. This was my third year attending and every year I learn something new. I have a profound appreciation for how the facilitators present the conference in a way that is knowledge sharing as well as a firsthand experience of Bush Kinders by the way we get immersed in the gardens and experience what a child would feel, see and do. This multimodal conference is like none other. Among many other topics and sessions on a variety of concepts, these are my treasured highlights so far and I say "so far" as I cannot wait for the next one. The first year a major take away for me was the organisation of and the planning and collaborative documentation of having a Bush Kinder program. That first year consolidated our newly formed Bush program and gave us the skills and vision as we strengthened our philosophy. The second year, I learned about story-telling in the Bush using the natural items all around us and weaving in the Indigenous perspectives, respect and walking softly on Country. I also learned about identifying birds in the Bush with the children. This third year, alongside other early childhood teachers, we played with sounds in nature and seasons and my eyes grew wide as we looked at design and engineering ideas and theories embedded in the natural world. Immersing myself in these two-day conferences has given me a depth of planning, theorising, observing and learning with children that I would not have had otherwise.