Organisations around Canberra recently received charming postcards featuring the Gang-gang cockatoo, an invitation to view the students at Canberra Montessori School plant habitat for the endangered species.
On Thursday 19 May, Glenn Watsonโs Cycle 3 (grades 4-6) Karri class planted Indigenous trees in a previously unused garden walkway, following two terms of researching and surveying Gang-gangs.
โTheyโre gaga about Gang-gangs,โ said Mr Watson about his 19 pupils, whoโve been studying under the auspices of Bird Life Australia. According to Mr Watson, the children took a liking to the struggling Gang-gangs immediately.
To rejuvenate the โIndigenous Walk,โ the Birdlife Australia Gang-gangs Project has provided 20 saplings to be planted by the children, โGums and Acacias, what Gang-gangs likeโ.
The school community has also provided 20 more plants, with hundreds pledged to come. Mr Watson and the children hope to see Gang-gangs return to their school in 10 yearsโ time.
โIโve been teaching for nearly 40 years now. Being involved in the community and taking some worthwhile action is something that we encourage Montessori children to do, and they tend to do it very well,โ he said.
โTheyโre great researchers and they really like practical action.
โIt is just so important for the children here, and for their children, that we actually have an Earth and an environment that has great diversity and will be able to cope with the difficulties itโs going to face.
โI often say โMy generation has messed things up and many of them still refuse to do anything about it, but we have to do something.โโ
Aaron Chatfield, a Gamilaraay man born and raised here on Ngunnawal country, will continue to guide the children in their next steps of growing a Yuki Mulch path, and lining it with native plants.
Mr Chatfield noted that if there was one message he hopes the students will walk away with, itโs to start looking at our native plants not only as plants, โbut also see what use we can get out of themโ.
โOur garden trail here is not only creating habitat for the Gang-gangs, but down the track, weโre going to be planting native plant beds that the kids can then harvest for weaving plants.โ
Through Yarning Circle, the children will learn how to weave the foliage into ropes, nets, and baskets.
โNext, weโre going to plant edible beds that the kids can then harvest and use in their cooking classes.โ
The third garden beds will grow medicine plants that have been used for generations by Ngunnawal people.
โI can see the change in the school society, adapting, and becoming more accepting of the Indigenous culture,โ said Mr Chatfield. โMontessori seems to be front of the game.โ
Ten-year-old Greta Martin has been looking forward to the tree planting day since she first saw a male and female Gang-gangs near her house.
When asked what she likes so much about them, she grinned toothily. โStrawberry heads,โ she replied.
โ[Tree planting] has been easier than I expected. My favourite part was planting Bobbyโ โ a sapling at the entrance of the Indigenous Walk.
Greta says that itโs important kids her age learn how to protect the environment โso that when we grow up, we donโt have a world where the skies are greyโ.
Sitting on a mound of dirt with spade in hand, nine-year-old Kit says she was very excited to take part in the planting.
โIโve done some gardening with my mum, but Iโve never really planted a tree that will grow up and have such a change on the environment.
โ[Gang-gangs] have been declared endangered and Iโm really happy thinking that my tree might one day house some.โ
Kit says that sheโll come back and visit her tree when itโs fully grown.
โKids my age, when they have great great-grandchildren, itโs important that they donโt look outside and say, โI wish the Gang-gangs were hereโ,โ she pondered. โOr I wished magpies werenโt endangered.โ
Best friends Urooba, nine, and Alina, 11, were excited to spend the day in the dirt together.
โWe want to help the environment and stop climate change,โ said Urooba softly.
โThink about it like this, in 30 years the sky will be grey and thereโll be no green,โ Alina said. โSo, if we make a change now, then we can prevent that other stuff happening in the future.โ
When asked whether her classโs efforts to prevent that future made her happy, Alina quoted a hero.
โIt makes me happy that weโre doing something about it, but I think it makes me nervous, too. Itโs like when Mr Incredible says, โI feel like Iโm the maid. Every time I clean up a mess, it always comes back.โโ
From the mouth of babes comes a message as the dust settles from the recent election: Keep the world clean for 10 minutes, give the Gang-gangs, and the next generation, a break.
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