Numinbah Valley Environmental Education Centre | Government organisation

Numinbah Valley Environmental Education Centre

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25.01.2022 NVEEC staff have had an awesome week 9 at Mudgeeraba Creek State School leading all Year 6 students through our Solar Boat Challenge. This engaging program, which can be delivered as an incursion, allows students to take on the role of scientist and engineer for the day. In small groups students learn about the process of fair testing as they design and test different variables on electric powered boats. The ultimate goal of students is to build the fastest boat in their class (and bragging rights for the rest of term!). Will solar panels win or are battery packs better? You’ll just have to try it and see!

24.01.2022 We loved having our friends from Tamborine Mountain Community Kindergarten visit our centre over 2 days. We took children on an interactive nature adventure to learn about native plants and wildlife through ‘Sensory Blindfold Trail’, ‘Indigenous Forest Walk’ and ‘Creature Feature’ activities. We were blessed with glorious weather and delightful, curious young folk to go exploring with. We hope you visit us again soon!

24.01.2022 Did you know humankind’s insatiable demand for electronic devices is creating the world’s fastest-growing waste stream? It's called E-Waste. What happens to all this E-waste?... Well, NVEEC had a fantastic learning experience today taking a load of our E-waste, which had been stockpiled for the last 30 years, to an award winning social enterprise recycling facility called Substation33. Substation33 collects and processes e-waste, diverting it from landfill. Apart from the environmental benefits, this facility offers an inclusive space where people from all backgrounds can learn new skills and transition to employment. Substation33 also have a dedicated team of specialists who are developing and commercialising innovative products and services which utilise the recovered e-waste. The facility is an amazing sight to see in operation. We were very lucky to be shown around by Substation33 Founder Tony Sharp and other staff who explained how what appeared to be e-waste chaos all seemed to have a place and purpose. We were particularly impressed by the innovation projects such as their water quality sensors, 3D printers, portable speakers and charging stations which all have the potential to link directly with program delivery at NVEEC. Our visit today highlighted the problem with E-waste currently and how much bigger this issue will be in the future. We encourage everyone to think twice about throwing their E-waste in the bin. Consider taking it to a dedicated E-waste recycler like Substation33. https://substation33.com.au/

24.01.2022 Solar Boat Challenge! Year 6 students at Canungra State School enjoyed two days of hands-on scientific inquiry. Their goal was to design a vessel using the materials available and best use of hydro dynamics to propel it through water at the fastest speed. Follow the principles of a fair test, students constructed boats and made adaptations to variables including hull design & buoyancy, weight distribution, propeller angle and power source. After various trials and modificat...ions, the day culminated in a final race with groups entering their best-designed vessel to try & claim the title of Solar Boat champions! It was great to see the students having so much fun with Science, sustaining their energy and enthusiasm all day.

23.01.2022 What an amazing group of young people we were privileged to expedition with from Kingston State College. These Year 11 students undertook their Practice Adventurous Journey as part of The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Queensland Bronze program. This group was a standout, sustaining a positive attitude through every challenge, encouraging and lifting each other up along the way and showing genuine enthusiasm to be exploring the outdoors. Well done to everyone for your stellar efforts and we look forward to seeing you in a few weeks to complete your qualifying journey.

23.01.2022 Fantastic to support Yr 8 students from the Brilliant Futures Program at Queensland Academies Health Sciences Campus over the weekend. These young learners are keen to extend their STEM opportunities and explore specialised pathways in the field of Health Sciences. While at our centre, the students engaged in catchment studies, a solar boat challenge and environmental science activities in the field, to help develop individual capacity and teamwork skills. Our motto states, ‘Inspiring Minds for a Sustainable Future’ and these students demonstrated enormous potential and we wish them well with their future studies.

22.01.2022 The NVEEC P&C would like to shout out a big thank you to all the volunteers who came from near and far yesterday for our October field day. We are thrilled over 25 people (young and old!) gave up their Saturday morning to help plant 750 trees along a beautiful stretch of the Nerang River in the Numinbah Valley. The effort by everyone will contribute to improving water quality and important riparian forest locally, while at a larger scale this planting day is one more piece o...f the puzzle in establishing a green corridor linking Lamington National Park to Springbrook National Park. One of the pleasures of each field day is the morning tea our P&C enjoys sharing with volunteers after all the hard work is done. Yesterday was no different and I think everyone who attended would agree the cuppa and cake was even more special given the incredible location we all found ourselves in. KEEN TO HELP? Our next monthly field day (and the last for 2020) will be held on Saturday November 28th where another 750 plants will be put in the ground in the same amazing location. Please stay tuned and look out for registration details once they are released. Finally, the NVEEC P&C would like to once again thank our project partners, Watergum and SEQ Water for ensuring this project continues to succeed. We would also like to give another special thanks to Landcare Australia and WIRES for their funding of the project.

20.01.2022 Setting up the Solar Boat Challenge for a group of STEM extension students. Learning about the scientific principles of a fair test, design variables, renewable energy, team work and having fun along the way. Perfect weather for it!

20.01.2022 The team at NVEEC are excited about our upcoming collaboration with Substation33 - an e-waste social enterprise and Griffith University. We welcomed the team onsite at the centre to discuss ideas and innovations regarding scientific data monitoring using re-purposed materials and upgrades on our mobile Energy Trailer. We are moving quickly on this project and look forward to sharing our progress!

19.01.2022 Wildlife Wednesday! Our ‘Creature Feature’ incursion program has been a great success. Students love interacting with reptiles and our centre friends have been been well received and cared for when visiting schools. ... Students are shown how to identify and handle reptiles, while learning about their habitats and important ecosystem roles. They are encouraged to take greater responsibility for protecting wildlife through simple actions and wider community connections. We have a range of environmental education programs we’re taking into schools to support experiential learning opportunities. Get in touch with us if you want to be involved!

19.01.2022 For those interested in getting out next weekend and getting their hands dirty the NVEEC Parents & Citizens Association will be holding it’s monthly field day on Saturday 24th October. Our P&C will be continuing the work they started last month to establish a wildlife corridor through Numinbah Valley that will connect the biodiverse hotspots of Lamington National Park and Springbrook National Park. Tree planting will commence at 8:30am and continue until 10:30am. Morning tea ...will follow. Tools, equipment and training will be provided on the day. Please bring your hat, ENCLOSED SHOES and a water bottle. IMPORTANT: This is a free event. Online registration is an absolute must via the link below. Children are to be supervised by parents/carers at all times. https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/125103516987/ The NVEEC P&C would like to acknowledge this project wouldn’t be possible without the support of our project partners- Watergum and SEQ Water and the funding provided by Landcare Australia and WIRES

18.01.2022 Tell a story. Make a plan. Think and do. Draw it. Take it outside. ... Try a new way. Watch first, then do. Share it with others These are described as the 8 Aboriginal ways of learning- Using Canungra Creek as our classroom today with Year 1 students from Canungra State School, we were able to incorporate indigenous ways of learning to explore Canungra Creek and the first nation Wangerriburra people of this area.

17.01.2022 We welcomed new wildlife friends at Numinbah Valley Environmental Education Centre today! Two young Coastal carpet pythons, Blue tongued skink, Saw shelled turtle, Green tree frog and stick insects. They have excellent temperaments and are easy to handle thanks to the expert skills of Martin at Geckoes Wildlife Pty Ltd who transferred these beauties into our care. We look forward to expanding on our ‘Creature Feature’ program for schools in Term 3. Students love learning about wildlife care and interacting with local native species in a safe, secure environment.

16.01.2022 This made our day! We received a big bundle of thoughtful and insightful thankyou letters from our Year 3 friends at Ingleside State School. We loved having you visit for your 3-day camp. Your enthusiasm and curiosity for learning about the environment, being junior scientists and connecting to natural places was delightful to behold.

15.01.2022 We were very excited to support our first The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Queensland Adventurous Journey for the term with enthusiastic students and teachers from Cavendish Road SHS - Official. They were very organised and well prepared for their Silver Award 3-day, 2-night expedition through Springbrook National Park and an absolute pleasure to journey with. Their positive attitudes, willingness to challenge themselves and support each other along the way was wonderful to behold. Looking forward to guiding them with their qualifying journey in a couple of weeks!

15.01.2022 We were very excited to welcome back our Year 11 friends from Kingston State College to undertake their The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Queensland Bronze Qualifying Adventurous Journey. Once again they impressed us with their tenacity, teamwork and positive attitude as they journeyed through some tough conditions over their 2-day expedition. Much needed rain made for very wet conditions hiking the 17km Warrie Circuit in Springbrook National Park and although drenched, the students still enjoyed the beauty and wonder of the rainforest and flowing waterfalls. A campfire cheered and dried us out and we were met with blue skies and sun the following day. Congratulations to this awesome group of students and their dedicated teachers for successfully completing the adventure part of their Bronze Award.

14.01.2022 As schools in QLD will become student free as of next week..... just remember Nature has not been cancelled #naturenotcancelled Another great teaching resource is Nature Play QLD. Make sure you check them out! Below is an example of the ideas they can bring to your home.

14.01.2022 Numinbah team members undertaking professional development for Recreational Marine Driving Licences to support water-based programs. Beautiful day for training and learning!

14.01.2022 Nature has not been cancelled! Visit coolaustralia.org to access heaps of free lessons and great ideas to engage kids in nature at home.

12.01.2022 After many weeks of COVID lock down it was a privilege to finally get back into schools this week and show what NVEEC can bring to student learning. These pictures give a glimpse of our Energy Trailer program and show just how much the Year 6 students at Tamborine Mountain State School - Independent Public School really enjoyed learning and exploring.

11.01.2022 We were honoured to host Year 12 students from Silkwood School who were keen to round out their senior year with connection to Kombumerri Country and custodianship of their local places. Over four days, we explored water security on the Gold Coast through journeying along the catchment from mountain to mouth (rainforest to the sea) learning about history, culture, ecology, scientific analysis and how best to care for our precious natural resources. We travelled by foot and ...by canoe, incorporating personal reflection, relationship and trust building activities as well. On the last day, the students engaged in a legacy tree planting project in the Numinbah Valley to restore native habitats along the catchment. Their special location is part of the Gold Coast Biggest Tree Planting site. These insightful and capable young people are our future leaders and we wish them all the best with the next stage of their life’s journey.

10.01.2022 Tomorrow 22nd April 2020 is Earth Day (This little old day has been celebrated for 50 years now! Maybe its not so big here in Oz but it is big in other parts of the world ) One way to get involved is to take the Earth Day Daily Challenge, a 22-day series that will allow people to connect through challenges to take action right now, and every day, for our planet. Check out the link below for more details of the day, its history and what other ways you can get involved. ... https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-challenge/

09.01.2022 Spring has sprung with beautiful natives from orchids to pea flowers, bottle brushes and hibiscus in bloom throughout our centre grounds.

08.01.2022 The NVEEC P&C is excited to announce we finally started work on our new project in the Numinbah Valley. The goal of this new project is to respond to recent drought and bushfire conditions and limit the impact these disaster have on native animals in the Gold Coast Hinterland. We are proudly taking part in a landscape scale project to establish a wildlife corridor through Numinbah Valley that will connect the biodiverse hotspots of Lamington National Park and Springbrook Nati...onal Park- eventually allowing, if the need arises, for animals to move safely between these two World Heritage refuges. We also believe that facilitating hands-on community projects such as this one will encourage people from near and far to build a connection with the Numinbah Valley; a place that has significant natural and human values. At our soft launch on Saturday 19th Sept, a team of 10 volunteers planted and watered 300 native tubestock in a couple of hours of work. Not bad for a Saturday morning! This launch event was a culmination of several months planning and wouldn’t be possible without the support of our project partners, Watergum and SEQ Water. A special thanks to Landcare Australia and WIRES for funding our project proposal. KEEN TO HELP? We still have 3000 plants to put in the ground over the coming months and will be looking for more community volunteers to get involved. Please stay tuned and make sure you register for our next field day we plan to have in October.

07.01.2022 Looking for something to get the kids away from the computer for a while? Pobble365.com is a great free resource to engage kids in writing tasks. It's a simple idea, everyday there is a new image to stimulate pens on paper. For parents at home getting kids to write can be a challenge so to help with the process each image comes with Story Starters, Sentence Starters and questions to stimulate more thinking about the theme explored in each image. ... The image and theme looked at here is about Habitat Loss (posted on March 19th 2020), an important issue we talk about with students at NVEEC all the time. Not your thing? There are heaps more images and themes to choose from, just pick a day!

06.01.2022 Numinbah Valley EEC were proud to host our local sector’s OEECs for a day of professional development linked to the theme ‘Innovation through Community Partnerships’. Staff from Runaway Bay SLEC, Maroon OEC, Tallebudgera OEEC and Jacobs Well EEC all joined us to connect, learn and share how our centres have adapted and innovated during COVID times through strengthening partnerships in our local communities. Professor Amy Cutter-Mackenzie-Knowles from Southern Cross Universit...y was our keynote speaker, presenting on contemporary, research-led innovation in Environmental and Outdoor Education and how we can walk with ‘climate children’. The Numinbah team shared their experience working with Substation 33 (a social enterprise focused on re-purposing e-waste) to upgrade their Energy Trailer, including creating a battery pack out of disused laptop batteries and installing an e-waste constructed water monitoring device in the adjacent dam to collect water quality data. Participants in the Jacobs Well PD session learnt about the importance of providing habitat for wildlife and how to use cameras and monitoring devices to track wildlife habitation in nestboxes. They also constructed a nestbox to take back to their centre to install! Both Runaway Bay SLEC and Tallebudgera OEEC shared how Positive Psychology, Brain Gym, Rites of Passage and journey work have been integrated into learning programs, exploring different ways of interacting and engaging with students to strengthen relationships and increase wellbeing outcomes in outdoor and environmental contexts. After lunch, with a cuppa in hand around a fire, Maroon OEC engaged participants in a reflection session on how Indigenous learnings can be incorporated into the current environment through taking the time to look at how we interact with each other. The alternative activity after lunch was jumping on a bus for a site visit to a local revegetation project that is managed by the NVEEC P&C. The purpose of this session was to highlight the role OEECs can have in community outreach projects in their local areas. NVEEC would like to thank all centres for attending and connecting, networking and sharing innovations explored through strengthening community partnerships. We look forward to catching up with everyone again soon!

06.01.2022 The joys of working in an environmental education centre. We heard the calls and finally found our amphibian friend - an Emerald-spotted Treefrog! If you zoom in you can see the beautiful speckles on the frog’s back. Visiting students love trying to spot creatures in our various ponds, as do our staff.

05.01.2022 Our first P&C Field Day since March! A small crew of members and volunteers worked in one of our key restoration zones in Numinbah Valley to remove invasive species and give the area some attention and care. As always, a delicious morning tea and good conversation followed to wrap up a successful revegetation session. Shout out to Ben for coordinating us all.

03.01.2022 We supported a fantastic group of senior students from Silkwood School with the bushwalking component of their Certificate 2 in Outdoor Recreation studies. They are training to be assistant guides and in addition to hiking, navigation, logistics and campcraft skills, they are learning to be effective leaders in the outdoors. We were very impressed with their planning and preparation and attention to detail with own self-care. They then proceeded to demonstrate the necessary skills for their training with curiosity, increasing competence and in the final stage, confidence. We loved how they worked collaboratively and supported one another in varying situations. Well done Silkwood seniors!

03.01.2022 We are very excited to see the completion of our new outdoor learnscapes! With the support of State Government funding, our original shade cloth meeting area has been transformed into a more functional all-weather learning zone, ready for student interaction in Term 3. The flagpole zone, meeting place and learning circle outdoor spaces will broaden the scope of program facilitation, integrating Aboriginal Ways of Learning, with careful consideration of layout, functionality, natural features and plant selection. Enhancing outdoor learning opportunities for greater student engagement.

03.01.2022 Do you want to connect with your local environment? do something positive for local wildlife? or an important water supply catchment on the Gold Coast? If you answered YES, we need your help... The Numinbah Valley Environmental Education Centre Parents & Citizens Association (NVEEC P&C) will hold it’s final field day of 2020 on Saturday 28th November. ... Come give us a hand with our project which aims to establish a wildlife corridor through Numinbah Valley connecting the biodiverse hotspots of Lamington National Park and Springbrook National Park. Tree planting will commence at 8:30am and continue until 10:30am. Morning tea will follow. Tools, equipment and training will be provided on the day. Please bring your hat, ENCLOSED SHOES and a water bottle. IMPORTANT: This is a free event. Online registration is an absolute must via the link below. Children are to be supervised by parents/carers at all times. https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/128441254249/ NVEEC P&C would like to acknowledge the support of our project partners- Watergum and SEQ Water and the funding provided by Landcare Australia and WIRES

03.01.2022 This is a great initiative to get outdoors over the holidays with your kids. It's free, lots of learning opportunities and the data contributes to citizen science. https://facebook.com/events/s/watergum-backyard-bioblitz-cel/240466260410320/?ti=cl

02.01.2022 At NVEEC, we respectfully acknowledge and pay our respects to the Kombumerri people, the Traditional Custodians of the djagun (land), part of the wider Yugambeh Language Region. We are proud to embed Aboriginal Ways of Learning, Knowing and Being into our educational programs and learning spaces. Thanks to Clinton Brewer and Chern'ee Sutton Art for their valued cultural contributions to our Acknowledgment to Country, which welcomes visitors to our centre. ... National NAIDOC Week 2020 #alwayswasalwayswillbe

02.01.2022 For those who want to be up to date with all the social distancing guidelines I guarantee you will never look at 1.5m the same way again!