52 Earthcare Challenges Project

Project in development in 2025 – get in touch with [email protected] to learn more & be notified when resources are available.

Structure:

52 Earthcare Challenges, each tailored for various Earthcare skills required to amplify the sustainability cross curriculum priority. Each challenge is associated with reflection questions and links to organisations for additional support.

Themes:

Challenges are categorised into themes such as Green Calendar, Footprint, Landcare, Citizen Science, Community Outreach, Wellbeing and Active Hope.

Challenges address various aspects of environmental citizenship such as cultural awareness, water and waste management, biodiversity, sustainable transport, and climate action.

Implementation:

Students commit to the program, document their progress in journals, and celebrate their achievements with EENSW.

Schools can integrate these challenges into their curriculum, forming environment committees, and possibly earning awards.

Support and Resources:

Create the Earthcare Tree with completed challenges across the year.

Student passbook/journal for tracking progress. Connections with local environmental organisations are encouraged for guidance and collaboration.

Examples of Challenges:

1. • Be CulturalWise: Know your Country.
   • Be CreekWise: Assess the health of a local creek.
   • Be TreeWise: Learn about and grow local eucalyptus trees.
   • Be WaterWise: Implement water-saving strategies.
   • Be WasteWise: Participate in the lunch box challenge to reduce waste.

Engagement:

Students are encouraged to document their journey, take photos, and reflect on their experiences. Schools and families are encouraged to undertake challenges collectively, fostering community spirit.

Acknowledgement and Awards:

The program includes the potential for earning badges, certificates, and recognition through the annual EENSW awards.

Long-Term Vision:

The initiative aims to create lifelong environmental stewards who are informed, active, and passionate about their local environment and can positively engage with global issues.

By engaging in these challenges, students will develop a deeper connection to their local environment, enhance their ecological knowledge, and foster a sense of responsibility towards maintaining a sustainable and just world, to “bala ga lili” (Yolŋu for giving and taking, co-creating balance through relationships of reciprocity and responsibility).

EENSW Earthcare Challenge

52 Challenges outlined to be undertaken individually by students.

Each card / page is one challenge that is one aspect of becoming an “Earthcarer”

Each challenge will have suggestions but can be a challenge to go deeper in each activity.

Each challenge will have a set of reflection questions as part of the Earthcare Reflection Journal.

Each challenge will have links to an organisation that can assist.

Each challenge has a set of Earthcare skills the student is working towards gaining.

·      Voice for Country

·      Leadership

·      Student agency

·      Navigating risky play

·      Cross curriculum priority – system thinking, world view

·      Care expertise in water, waste, energy, transport and biodiversity

Steps for the Earthcare Challenge

1.     Make a commitment to undertake a set number of challenges over a set period of time, a Term, a Year.

2.     Place the poster in a special place.

3.     Undertake a weekly challenge

4.     Reflect, takes pictures for your journal

5.     Celebrate achieving Earthcarer status once your challenges have been achieved

6.     Share your success with EENSW and enter the EENSW awards program  

For each challenge a suggestion is named but this may not be appropriate for your place, each one is building your skills as an Earthcarer, there are many ways to be an Earthcarer.

You may want to go deeper for each challenge, find a local Earthcarer and they will help you on this journey to make our world a safe, fair, sustainable, just, Country for all.

EENSW Acknowledgement of Country:

We acknowledge the context of our time when the human species is having an unprecedented impact on the planet. Any actions we take will have consequences for other people and other species – both those living now as well as future generations.         

Ways to run an EENSW Earthcare Challenge at your school

EENSW would like to see all students in NSW taking up the Earthcare Challenge, schools undertake a variety of challenges, and we see this as part of the various student Premier Challenges – reading, debating, sporting.

Ideas to grow Earthcare Challenge at your school:

·      Develop school sustainability charter – commitment, SEMP

·      School environment committee runs challenge across school

·      House points School Sustainability cup, Premiers Environment Challenge, EENSW awards

·      Use to find ideas for service, Duke of Edinburgh and other service programs

·      Tread gently when out in nature, tread wisely be sunsafe,

·      Undertake challenges with parental or teacher guidance.