We offer Educated by Nature incursions that are suitable for Local Council events, community fairs and school fetes. These community focused programs are designed to connect families with the natural world and each other through play.
We believe it is important to connect the heart to nature. This connection creates an internal sense of why it’s important to change our environmental behaviours and work to find sustainable solutions for our world.
Programs provide opportunities for families and children to work together and meet new people, while engaging child development skills to meet community health needs.
To discuss how our these programs can be tailored to your requirements, please contact us via our Enquire form.
“I wanted to let you know what an absolutely lovely time our group had at Rushton Park in Armadale. The facilitators were excellent and showed great skill in directing the group while allowing them to explore at their own pace. I have recommended your company to be involved with other future nature based activities that may take place as part of a City of Armadale celebrations.”
Pauline Giblett, City of Armadale
Community Program Themes
Community based Educated by Nature programs can be tailored to the duration, size and location of your community event.
Our programs are developed by qualified primary school teachers, play and nature connection experts. We have experience working with families and in community development through work with local councils and other organisations.
The Art of Mentoring connection modelling is also used when designing our programs, which encourages connection to self, nature and community.
Not sure what would work best for your group? Please contact us and we will be happy to discuss your needs and provide a recommendation.
Muddy Experience
Natural clay offers tactile experiences that engage the senses, inspire creativity and support fine and gross motor skills.
This program gives children an opportunity to take sensory risks in a supportive environment. Sloppy, firm, gooey and muddy clay is available for small scale or full body exploration of clay in various forms. Natural ochres are provided for face painting with an indigenous connection.
Water play is also an important part of this experience – a chance to tip, pour, collect and splash.
Flag Making
Fascinating aspects of nature can be discovered through the manipulation of natural materials.
Through the traditional art of Hapa Zome, a Japanese form of natural dye extraction, students investigate the properties and structure of trees and plants while making an artistic flag.
The skill of whittling is then used to reveal the inner beauty of a stick to create a flagpole using simple carving tools.
Cubby Building
Building shelters connects people with their sense of identity and place, but also with concepts of history and science.
Learning simple knot tying skills and building in teams, participants explore basic tents from the early pioneers of Australia and engage in understanding of physics to make their own strong structure.
Wand Making
Join Educated by Nature for a hands-on, tactile play opportunity to experiment with the manipulation of natural materials to whittle a stick into a wand.
Infuse some magic in a wand by whipping collected items such as flowers, feathers, or leaves to it, as you would whip, or fuse, the end of a rope.
Loose Parts
Choice and control are fundamental characteristics of play, so we afford children the freedom to engage with the environment and decide what they do with the resources. We facilitate the activity through careful observation, interaction, and occasional intervention.
As well as promoting creative play (combining resources for construction and making things), children engage in a wide range of play schemas and play types: locomotor play (exploring movement through different trajectories and physical actions); mastery and object play (enveloping, transporting and manipulating objects and the environment); imaginative play types (role play, fantasy play, socio-dramatic play); and risky play (being in control while experiencing the thrill of uncertainty).
Above all else, it is a lot of fun!
The loose parts we provide are primarily junk materials – an abundance of discarded items from homes and businesses repurposed for children’s play. The concept of environmental sustainability is seamlessly woven into this experience.
Re:Build
Re:Build is a pop-up pallet build experience that invites children, families, and communities to imagine, build, and play together. Using real tools, pallets, and loose parts, participants co-create evolving structures, cubbies, towers, platforms, and more within a shared playspace.
It’s messy, joyful, and full of discovery. Children take the lead, adults step back, and the magic of community-built play comes to life. Perfect for festivals, community events, or family days where imagination and hands-on fun are the main attraction.
