Other Activities
Schools don't have to just plant trees to be a part of National Tree Day. There is a whole range of activities that schools can choose from that are lots of fun and educate students in an interactive and exciting way.
These are just few suggestions that we've come up with - be creative! See what your school is willing to do and make it your own.
Fundraising Activities
School curriculums are usually jam-packed and resources are sometimes stretched thin. We know that plants and gardening tools don't come cheap so here are some suggestions for fundraising;
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Contact your local council - they might be able to provide you with plants and tools you need
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‘Wear Green' day - everyone wears green and brings in a gold coin donation.
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Grow a herb and vegetable garden - this produce can then be sold to parents, teachers and the local community at community fairs, school athletics carnivals and school fetes. You can even use the herbs and vegetables in your school canteen to promote healthy eating among students and parents.
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Hold a school swap party - ask students to bring high-quality, unwanted items such as clothing, toys, books, CDs etc to turn their trash into someone else's treasure. Students should bring a gold coin entry donation. If you like, get the parents involved and hold a combined swap party.
Interested in getting the parents involved? Planet Ark have developed a downloadable poster that can be put up around the school. Or perhaps you could invite parents to donate a tree on behalf of their child.
Train your students to be Tree Troopers!
You could also begin a Tree Troopers program, if you haven't started one already. This is a great way to get students to do the teaching and the learning. A small group of students from each school would be asked to attend a training session, run by a bushcare member. The students would then go back to their school and spread their seeds of wisdom.
Contact your council or landcare group to see if they have a program like this set up. If they don't, be the innovator and get one started!
Get the experts to come to you!
If school excursions are difficult, consider getting the experts to come to you.
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Arrange a visit from a Ranger or Bushcare member - they can give insightful presentations on your local environment and provide expert advice and contacts on all planting and gardening activities at your school.
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Of course, if you want something a bit more visual than a presentation, take your students on a guided bushwalk.
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Try out a mobile zoo - contact your nearest mobile zoo, and they'll set up a fully enclosed zoo in your school grounds. Choose creatures that normally inhabit your local area so that students can learn how each living thing impacts on another.
Explore learning through creative avenues
From arts and crafts to poetry to plays, students can engage in a whole cacophony of creative activities that teach them important things about the world around them.
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Download our Nature Explorer's Logbook (see link below) - distribute this to your students and they can fill in the worksheets as they explore the school grounds or local bushland. Within the logbook, students can sketch what they see, note what kind of trees and plants they've seen, touched and heard.
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Make pots out of papier mache - this is a great way to reuse unwanted paper!
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Create a sustainable artwork - use natural objects such as twigs, gumnuts etc, or use rubbish that you find on the school grounds
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Watch a video or read a book about trees or help your students write the story of trees, describing how the plant first begins, how it grows and develops, and what animal life it attracts.
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Stage a play with different students dressing up as different wildlife in the environment - this need not be elaborate, students can simply make a butterfly or koala mask out of cardboard to illustrate what creature they are.
Help your school; help your community
Tree day doesn't have to be just about one day. Consider developing an ongoing tree and plant care program either in your school or with your local council. Children love watching their plants grow so consider having your students adopt a plant and thereby be responsible for its care and maintenance.
Resources to download:
- Explorers Log Book (3.83MB pdf file)
This resource is full of fun activities to help kids explore the native bushland.
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