A day for school and preschool educators to share successes and challenges of educating for sustainability.

In the second week of the October school holidays, discover how educators have embraced the wonders of nature, empowered young leaders, and collaborated with their communities. You will learn from other local and interstate educators leading interactive workshops and presentations packed full of practical actions for your classroom, school and preschool. Peruse the offering of incursions, and learning resources from other key sustainability education organisations.

Catering and professional development certificate included.

Tickets close on Wednesday 2 October.

Keynote speakers

Thea Stinear is the CEO of Cool.org – an online hub of real-world, curriculum-aligned resources accessed by more than 185,000 teachers. She is especially passionate about student engagement and helping students understand critical environmental and social issues. Bringing her own experience as a science teacher and now an educational leader, Thea’s opening keynote will explore how to teach about challenging topics in ways that inspire hope and action.

Cameron Paterson is the Director of Learning at Wesley College, Melbourne. With more than 30 years of experience as a school teacher, Cameron has made significant contributions to the field, including his Churchill fellowship on Dr Ron Ritchhart’s approach to cultivating dispositions of thinking, and the role of the classroom in supporting and shaping learning. He also co-edited the book, Flip the System Australia: What matters in education. Cameron’s keynote will explore fostering adaptability and innovation within schools – emphasising the importance of nature for student wellbeing, and actively involving young people in community action.

The breakout sessions will cover topics such as:

Nature as the third teacher,
Developing units of work with real-world learning on complex environmental topics,
Facilitating meaningful youth voice in a school,
Collaborating with community groups for authentic learning,
Deepening students understanding of Connection with Country for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People,
Hands-on nature conservation projects for children and students.

Program outline:

9am - Registration, tea and coffee

9:30am - Welcome to Country, forum opening

10:10am - Keynote: teaching with hope and action with Thea Stinear, CEO Cool.org

11:10am - morning tea

11:40am - Short concurrent sessions

12:20pm - Short concurrent sessions (repeated sessions from 11:40am)

12:50pm - Lunch

1:45pm - Long concurrent sessions

2:45pm - Afternoon tea

3:15pm - Keynote: Reschooling for a Green Revolution with Cameron Paterson, Director of Learning at Wesley College

4:15pm Closing farewell

We want the event to be accessible. Please let us know if there's anything specific you need to participate.

Check out Green Adelaide’s Sustainable Schools initiative to help you teach about and connect to the natural world, lead informed action, and enable active citizens.