St Brigid’s College in Lesmurdie, in the beautiful hills of Perth, are making the most of their natural bushland setting by incorporating it in to the Early Years Learning Framework through ‘Bush School’, held every second Monday.

In previous teaching experiences, Year One teachers Tanya Kazakoff and Stephanie Pavlinovich noticed how much more engaged and excited students became when teaching programs included outdoor activities such as nature walks and environmental awareness lessons. With the school’s large area of natural bushland and flowing creek, they saw the perfect opportunity to implement play-based learning in an outdoor setting.

Through ‘Bush School’, students take part in learning across all subjects through outdoor experiences.

Teachers Tanya and Stephanie said “On our Bush School days’ students have the opportunities learn about the seasons, by observing the changes occurring in a natural setting over a period of time. They are able to discover how to build a buoyant raft and test its floating capabilities, study the growth of tadpoles to frogs in a real stream. They discover and recreate animal habitats, within a natural eco system. They climb logs, jump from rock to rock, look for and build natural shelters from the rain and love getting muddy!”

“We believe that all of the learning opportunities the Year One students are being exposed to through Bush School will help to develop their awareness of the world around them, build a sense of responsibility to our environment, and hopefully inspire them to lead the way with sustainable daily practices” they said.

A great example of demonstrating both leadership and accountability in our students’ learning experiences!

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