'This is the best thing I ever did for my kids'

I have three beautiful daughters who are – way too fast – growing up and moving away for uni and work.  You do so much for your kids, turn every room into a play-station on a rainy day, drive them to countless dancing lessons, and try really hard to understand calculus.

In hindsight though, the best thing I did for my kids was to have them tag along with me to work and learn about our environment.

I am an environmental educator.  This has taken many forms – teacher, park ranger, marine biologist – and through it all, my kids have had the opportunity to discover just how amazing our world really is.  It has made them passionate, responsible, caring, and aware individuals (I may be biased!).  But I do think environmental education is an opportunity every child should have through our schools.

My first job after having kids was as the science teacher at my girls’ primary school.  I have always been a ‘clingy’ mum, so it was perfect. I got to talk to them at lunch time and meet all their friends.  But the best part of working at their school was experiencing how engaged and excited they were in learning.

Their faces were filled with wonder as they looked at the traces of insects found on leaves, grew grass from seeds, and found fossils of creatures millions of years old.   Wonder was met with equal parts outrage as they collected rubbish in the creek or learned about species becoming extinct.

Practical environmental education transformed their school.  The school had students organising clean-up days, parents making healthy lunches, whole-school bike rides, regular Environment Days in the local community, and students caring for classroom animals. All of this was driven by not only the students being captivated by learning, but also the teachers, parents, and the community.

My favourite part of environmental education is seeing the transformation of students from ones that typically struggle to learn in the classroom to students who are captivated by being in the natural environment.  Students who excel when learning meant “doing”: measuring, touching, and designing their own projects to look after the environment.

I remember one child, Joseph, who struggled to stay focused in the classroom. And then, we talked about the marine reserve in Joseph’s neighbourhood. For the first time, he was the most engaged student in class. He was absorbing and learning faster than we could provide the information. He began to lead his class in stabilising coastal plants and advising the community on where best to launch their boats to fish sustainably.

It’s clear that having hands on experience through great environmental education programs is vital for those kids who don’t have the opportunities my girls did.

My oldest daughter now works as part of the Australian Education for Sustainability Alliance.  This alliance represents over 700,000 teachers, parents, students, and environmental educators who have come together to campaign for sustainability education for all students. She knows the value of her environmental education and is now passionate about ensuring all students get the same experience.

As a parent, this makes me so proud.  As an educator, I’m grateful.  In the last year, I’ve seen the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative, an excellent environmental education program suffer huge funding cuts.  This has left students without high quality environmental experiences as teachers are not supported in delivering sustainability education.  Unless funding is re-instated, we’ll lose the groundwork that has connected students, teachers, parents, and environmental educators.

Sustainability is about a long term commitment. So is parenting and so is education.

As a parent and a teacher, I care most about providing an education that encourages curiosity and instills compassion and responsibility.  From my experience, nothing does that better than getting kids out learning in the environment.  We can’t afford not to invest in environmental education for all students.

You and I both know that there is nothing better than your kid coming home full of new facts about where rain comes from and why trees have roots.  What stories can you share?

What are your thoughts on environmental education for all students?