Observatory Hill Environmental Education Centre | Education

Observatory Hill Environmental Education Centre

Phone: 9247 7321

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24.01.2022 This morning, three classes of S2 students from Newtown North PS participated in a fun presentation about the fascinating world of s with Francisco Garcia Bulle Bueno. Francisco is a Sydney Uni PhD student in the behaviour and genetics of social insects laboratory who has travelled the world studying a. The presentation is part of our Sustainable Schools Grant project with five inner city schools. We will be extending to another two school with the support of Nicole Lewis from the Planting Seeds organisation, who are working with many Sydney schools on the & Highway project.

24.01.2022 Celebrating NAIDOC week by visiting the fantastic exhibition of Wiradjuri/Gamilaroi Aboriginal culture (from Dubbo) at the Rocks Discovery Museum thisavo. The exhibition is a creative partnership between sisters Dr Lynette Riley and Dianne Riley-McNaboe. Beautiful cultural artworks.

23.01.2022 This week is also National Recycling Week. Here’s how to recycle in the City of Sydney.

23.01.2022 DID YOU KNOW: Koalas need flying foxes to survive? Some trees such as Australian eucalypts (koala favourites) only flower at night. This means they depend o...n the nocturnal activity of flying-foxes for survival. Flying foxes are major pollinators helping spread native flowers and spread seeds. NO ME, NO TREE Without flying-foxes, there would be: no food and shelter for our koalas no pristine habitat for our native birds and no magnificent forests for all of us to enjoy. Head to our website for tips on living with this incredibly important native species: www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/flyingfoxes

23.01.2022 Visit the new S2 History, First Contacts website, to learn more about the first contacts between Gadigal Aboriginal people and the early colonists. The site contains learning modules that you can work through with your class, as well as lots of links to teaching and learning resources. https://sites.google.com/education./firstcontactsoheec/home

23.01.2022 Observatory Hill, Walsh Bay and the city looking south. Photo by Frank Hurley c1950 (nla)

23.01.2022 Want to learn more about Sydney’s local Aboriginal culture? Check out the City of Sydney’s Barani website.

22.01.2022 Did you know this week is Pollinator Week! We have been busy bees helping local schools learn about pollinators in our B&B program. Find out more about what schools in the program have been doing by surfing our new B&B website https://sites.google.com/education.nsw./the-bb-highway/home

22.01.2022 Today marks five years since the opening of Barangaroo Reserve! To celebrate our fifth birthday, this week we will be taking a trip down memory lane and sha...ring some interesting facts about the Reserve. Did you know? Beneath Barangaroo Reserve is a leading-edge water re-use system. It provides for the capture, storage and re-use of rainwater for the irrigation of the Reserve. Features such as these have seen Barangaroo Reserve receive many awards over the years for its sustainability. Find out more https://www.barangaroo.com/the-pro/progress/sustainability/

22.01.2022 Four Stage 2 classes from Darlinghurst P.S. learn about the importance of pollinators today in our B&B Highway incursion. The school is one of five local schools we are supporting by providing a pollinator garden, native bee hive and incursion lessons as part of our Sustainable Schools grant. A great way to celebrate Science Week 2020.

21.01.2022 The Sydney Opera House launches Guwanyi Walama: The Aboriginal history of what we now know as Bennelong Point

21.01.2022 Some Aboriginal portraits from the S H Ervin Gallery’s Salon De Refuse and NAIDOC week posters.

21.01.2022 Today, two classes of S5 students, from James Meehan HS, learnt about Sydney Harbour as a case study for Environmental Change and Management. Did you know next week, 14-16 Sept, is Sea Week. Learn more about Sydney Harbours rocky reefs by joining one of the DART presentations next week. #nswezec

20.01.2022 Four classes of stage 2 students from Darlinghurst PS took part in lessons this morning about the wonderful world of Bees. The heard from Bee Expert Francisco about bee behaviours and variety, and practiced data collection techniques. The students have been working on a class bee project including making bee hotels.

20.01.2022 Today, Observatory Hill EEC had a record 17 classes attending virtual lessons from Gosford, Bossley Park and West Wyalong High Schools. Students were taken on virtual tours of Harold Park and The Bays Precinct for the S4 Geography topic Place and Liveability, and Sydney Harbour, for the S5 Geography topic Environmental Change and Management. Feedback from participating students and teachers, about the virtual lessons, is overwhelmingly positive with comments such as: Tha...nk you so much for the fabulous presentation yesterday. Both myself and the students got a lot out of it. The resources are excellent and the professional delivery really enhanced the virtual experience. Hopefully, next year, we'll be there in person. Thanks for your all your help both before and during the presentation. Kendall Dieleman, Warners Bay High School. Browse our homepage to find a presentation to support your topic at: https://observatoryhilleec.schools.nsw.gov.au/ See more

19.01.2022 A fascinating look at the Gadigal stories behind Bennelong Point and the Sydney Opera house.

17.01.2022 Observatory Hill EEC also offers a classroom webinar lesson and supporting resources for the S5 Geography topic Environmental change and management, covering many of the issues discussed in the Warrane talk. Find out more at: https://sites.google.com/educatio/obhill-env-chng-mgmt/home

15.01.2022 Looking for something to do close to home this #ScienceWeek? Flying-foxes are becoming increasingly common in cities, and while they help keep our ecosystems he...althy they can frustrate local residents. To better manage our nocturnal neighbours, we first need to better understand what theyre feeding on, where and when. This is where you can help as a citizen scientist. By recording flying-foxes in your area in CAULs Urban Wildlife app we can build a clear picture of where they are throughout the year. Find out more here: https://nespurban.edu.au//caul-urban-wildlif/flying-foxes/ Aaron Fellmeth Photography via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) #biodiversity #urbannature

15.01.2022 Did you know? No project in history has used more Sydney sandstone than the creation of Barangaroo Reserve with more than 10,000 blocks used to create the extra...ordinary reimagined headland. Approximately 93% of the blocks came from Barangaroo itself, painstakingly extracted from beneath the site. Find out more https://www.barangaroo.com//the-sto/sandstone-spectacular/

14.01.2022 It is vitally important that the Federal Government invests in STEM education initiatives for the early years and school sectors in Australia. Together with the... Australian Academy of Science, Little Scientists Australia has launched a campaign to promote the importance of STEM education. More from Prof Cheryl Praeger, Winner of the 2019 Prime Minister's Prize for Science https://bit.ly/2FOHgCK

13.01.2022 Discover the Grass Tree and how so many different parts of the plant are used in Aboriginal culture. Learn more about the traditional uses of plants on an Aboriginal Heritage Tour, running Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at the Garden https://bit.ly/3fuXr4F

13.01.2022 Today, Observatory Hill EEC participated in our schools External Validation process. All NSW schools undergo validation by an external panel, whereby school based judgements in 14 school excellence elements are discussed. Our panel increased our self assessment in three areas which was encouraging. Thanks to all our staff for contributing to the process.

12.01.2022 Interesting webinar tonight hosted by the Australian National Maritime Museum called Ocean talk - a fish eye view of Warrane / Sydney Harbour. Speakers included Emily McDaniel discussing traditional aboriginal use of the harbour, John Faulkner discussing early European colonists use of the harbour and David Booth, a marine biologist discussing the current ecological status and threats to marine ecology. Observatory Hill EEC also delivers webinars about Sydney Harbour for the Stage 5 geography topic 'Environmental Change and Management'.

12.01.2022 Three Stage 2 classes from Paddington PS learn about the importance of pollinators in our B&B Highway incursion today. The school is one of five local schools we are supporting with a pollinator garden, native bee hive and incursion lessons as part of our Sustainable Schools grant.

10.01.2022 Today, Observatory Hill EEC conducted virtual fieldwork in Barangaroo for 16 classes (360 students) of Stage 5 geography students from Knox Grammar. The students were guided through the history and geographic processes transforming this 'Changing Place', as well as the economic, social and environmental outcomes of these changes. Thanks to Austin Brooks for an excellent presentation. #NSWEZEC

08.01.2022 Check out our article in the latest Geography Teachers Association Bulletin.

08.01.2022 This evening I presented to teachers at the North Sydney and Willoughby sustainable schools networks on integrating sustainability into teaching. It was great to also hear stories of inspirational sustainability leadership, from girls at Monte St Angelo HS, who led a waste reduction program in ther school.

08.01.2022 It’s beginning to look a lot like ‘Bush Xmas’ at Double Bay PS as two classes of Kindergarten learnt about Australian native animals through stories, music, craft and observations of preserved animals.

07.01.2022 This week, Austin taught over 500, Stage 5 students from Bossley Park High School. The students were guided through a virtual lesson on Sydney Harbour, including the factors causing change in Marine Environments, and management strategies to mitigate those changes. Fittingly, in Science Week, the students learnt about micro plastic pollution and AusMaps citizen science project, to gather data about this growing problem. Take your own harbour tour below.

06.01.2022 Today is National Threatened Species Day. Weve been doing our bit by helping install pollinator gardens and native bee hives in 5 local inner city schools. What are you doing to help threatened species?

06.01.2022 Did you know Observatory Hill EEC is delivering a Youth Eco Summit workshop on Designing a sustainable School? Find out more about how you can make your school more sustainable, as well as other great workshops on offer.

05.01.2022 View of the former Observatory Hill EEC building (in foreground) in 1972. This hall will soon be demolished for a new school building. The Centre is now located in the building just above the right hand side of the former toll booths.

04.01.2022 Check out our geography resources in the latest addition of the GTA Journal. Observatory Hill EEC has a range of websites to support Stage 4-6 students with their geographical learning and fieldwork assessment tasks, as well as a History Site Study (and units of work). The continuously updated websites offer resources, valuable links and current news articles. These sites are a perfect compliment to the virtual lessons below, allowing students to independently explore the fie...ldwork options. Visit our website below to learn more about the following webinars https://observatoryhilleec.schools.nsw.gov.au People and Economic Activity Tourism Changing Places Urban Places Pyrmont Urban Places Green Square Urban Places Barangaroo Environmental Change and Management Place and liveability The Rocks Site Study

04.01.2022 Have you heard about the B&B Highway? Today Observatory Hill EEC worked with Newtown Nth PS, who are having a pollinator garden and native bee hive installed by us, as part of the B&B Highway project. Find out more about this fantastic biodiversity education project below. #EZECNSW

03.01.2022 Congratulations to the NSW EZEC network for winning a NSW 2020 Ministers and Secretary's award for excellence in education. The EZEC network has respond brilliantly to the disruption to their normal operation due to COVID-19. Through an incredible collaborative effort, the network has been able to produce an amazing amount of quality learning resources to support learning at home and school in the areas of science, geography, environment and Aboriginal education. Although a visit to the natural environment can never be replaced, these resources have brilliantly bought a slice of this into their homes and schools. Observatory Hill is developing a further six websites to support NSW HSC Geography students, as well as continuously updating our exisiting fieldwork support websites.

03.01.2022 Urban environments are among the most important environments in Australia. As our cities continue to grow, how can we make them better places for people and oth...er urban dwellers? Join us this Thursday, as we present the content from our new e-book, 'Cities for People and Nature', live. You will learn about our research spanning air quality, urban greening, urban conservation and more. Everyone who registers will receive a free copy of the e-book! https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/cities-for-people-and-natur #CitiesPeopleNature Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment Threatened Species Recovery Hub RMIT Centre for Urban Research The University of Melbourne UOW: University of Wollongong, Australia

03.01.2022 The production of water bottles uses 17 million barrels of oil and emits 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. It takes 3 times the amount of water to make a single bottle as it does to fill it. #northernbeachescleanupcrew #plasticfree #bottledwater #plastic

02.01.2022 Win a free excursion or Webinar for your class. We would like your input to help us develop our new School Improvement Plan. By taking the short survey below, you will be helping us to improve our school's effectiveness for the next 4 year planning cycle and be in the running to win a free webinar or excursion for your class. Take the survey at: https://docs.google.com//1FAIpQLSdZeL8I4R_7kkYsoR/viewform

02.01.2022 It's the first day of spring and #NationalWattleDay You've probably noticed blooming wattle trees across NSW, and the scent of its sweet flower that you'll us...ually smell before you even see it. Wattle 'bout these fun facts: It is our national floral emblem Represents our national colours (green + gold) Over 1,000 different species of wattle Resilient plant withstands droughts, winds and bushfires Wattle represents the spirit of the Australian people.

01.01.2022 Did you know Observatory Hill EEC has a S5 Geography presentation on Sydney Harbour for the topic 'Environmental Change and Management'? The presentation examines environmental changes and management strategies, like plastic pollution. #EZECNSW https://www.youtube.com/embed/M6Y0AF95C1Y

01.01.2022 It's #WalkSafelytoSchoolDay today! Did you and your child walk to school this morning? Walking to and from school is a great way to be active an...d practice safe pedestrian behaviours together. More road safety tips and ideas on https://education.nsw.gov.au//ne/walk-safely-to-school-day

01.01.2022 Hi guys! (Free resource post)