WHAT WE DID
Term 2: WILD TRAPS and Term 3: FERAL PARK
An overarching theme of environmental awareness and sustainability connected two separate projects over terms 2 and 3.
In Wild Traps, students began by investigating the school’s surrounding bushland, observing and noting its vegetation and fauna. They focused on what belonged and what didn’t, learning about the impact and management of invasive species. Outdoor activities such as bird counts, weed hunts and directed conversations encouraged inquisitive lines of enquiry. This opportunity to find out what students knew was a valuable entry point to the project.
Tactile connections to the subject were made through the gathering of natural materials. This process relaxed and engaged the students in a welcome casual alternative to the indoors classroom experience. Using burnt materials – ash and charcoal - to draw and get to know the trees and plants also allowed directed ‘play’ with mark-making that connected to the subject.
This physicality and active hands-on approach continued in the art-room where students made traps designed to catch and relocate feral animals. Simply allowing students to rummage through a pile of recycled materials was
noticeably more productive and engaging than the earlier stage of sitting and drawing hypothetical designs on paper. By ‘playing with possibilities’ with a limited range of materials, students vastly increased their pool of ideas and creative options.
‘Making stuff’ as an approach to learning highlighted all the Creative Habits of Learning. Physical processes would be later used as a metaphor to bring into sharp focus less tangible emotion-laden topics. For example, the persistence required to repeatedly rebuild a collapsing trap structure or the collaborative teamwork that got a build over the finishing line became part of the toolkit used to identify and confront challenging and overwhelming situations.
Tapping into students’ inclinations towards screens leant towards some ‘static activity’ warm-up sessions to focus the students. Short videos were selected to highlight aspects of the learning material such as extinctions. Footage of the last living Thylacine at Hobart Zoo, the devastating impact of feral cats and foxes on ecosystems and successful feral animal control programmes such as Western Shield became productive conversation starters.
The working assumption was that through increased environmental awareness comes a sense of responsibility. In term 3’s Feral Park, the premise of an educational zoo featuring feral animals caught in the Wild Traps project was expanded by including a mountain bike park (a popular existing feature in Nannup).
However, the bike trail plans were dramatically halted by the discovery of the fabled Nannup Tiger in one of the bushland traps! This scenario gave students agency to decide a course of action - whether to continue the trail making through this habitat or find a creative solution: redirect the trails through the adjacent pine plantation and eliminate environmental impact. This ‘flexible design’ also turned challenges into imaginative opportunities: Feral Park would be part safari park, part mountain bike park and now – with the ultimate drawcard - home to the once mythical Nannup Tiger! (In a further twist the carnivorous Thylacine had crossed with another marsupial, the Quokka. Its new name: the Zenup!)
Combatting biodiversity loss and taking action in promoting sustainable land and forest management was a topic frequently raised throughout the Creative Schools experience, echoing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (specifically SDG Goal 15 - Life on Land). Giving students choice in where to lay paths in Feral Park and change outcomes is a potential metaphorical ‘turning point’ that can shed light and hope on both personal and global goals. It helped provide tangible and creative solutions to the challenge: “what can I do?”
With trails redirected, they could be mapped onto a 3D ‘welcome map’ of Feral Park that would now include a functional bike-rack! This Term 3 student project had many inherent challenges to overcome, from working with limited materials to attaching multiple components like trail markers attached to a rotating bike wheel.
Students worked in two teams on the two components. This format previously worked well as a competitive driver, emphasising collaborative teamwork within. Now, however, each team would need to come together. The only way to make the combined structure stand was through mutual support!
This spirit of collaboration continued into the final presentation of the students’ creative journey in a combined Creative Schools Showcase with the younger 4-6 class. Symbolically, students were particularly keen to share their discovery that despite perceived limitations there awaits so much potential.
WHAT WAS THE IMPACT?
“… you don’t get the same experiences in a normal classroom. In Creative Schools you get outside, learn in nature, and actually be amongst it, which is a really good way to learn.” (Student)
“In a classroom, I get agitated and don’t focus much, but being out and about with Creative Schools really helps me focus on the work instead of being distracted.” (Student)
“…you actually get to do things with your hands and learn in different ways. For me, that really helps me learn better, and I think it does for some of the other students too. It’s hands-on, and in my opinion, a better way of learning.” (Student)
“I’m really happy that people can see what we’ve been able to contribute. It’s great to show all the different things we’ve made—not just secondary but also primary students too. People might not think you can make little traps out of a few sticks or some PVC pipe, but we’ve shown that you can make do with what you’ve got.” (Student)
“At times Creative Schools was very challenging, but I think it really brought the kids out of their comfort zones. I was so pleased to see students who don’t normally excel in class suddenly come to the front because they were more creative or hands-on – they’re the ones who really shone. Working with the Creative Practitioner was very different. I don’t think the kids had experienced anything like that before either, but once we got into the swing of things and found a routine, I think we worked really well together. Our project came about from a few of my boys in particular who don’t always excel with their writing but have a real interest in farming and feral animals. They’re always asking questions about that, so that became the basis of our discussions. From there, Tony and I built a plan. The biggest surprise for me was just how much the kids who don’t normally shine with writing or numbers really excelled in this space. One of my students with English as a second language really stood out – he was able to achieve so much more than some of the others because the work was more hands-on and in his comfort zone. That was wonderful to see.” (Jane Harris-Brown, Teacher)
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