Roots & Shoots National Coordinator

Danke Koala Kids!

R & S would like to thank our friends in Berlin, Germany for their support of our Bush Fire Recovery Appeal.

This keen group of 7 year olds, together form the aptly named ‘Koala Class’, and in response to the recent bush fires they created a large poster to draw attention to the plight of our Aussie animals and loss of habitat.

The students kindly collected donations to assist with fire rehabilitation projects such as setting up of water stations and reforestation. The generous donors were the very lucky recipients of a ‘Thank You Koala’ – made from reusing old corks – and just how cute are they!!!

This donation will be going towards our R&S Mini Grants 2020. These grants are specifically awarded to scores of small projects that make a difference for animals, people and the environment. We will be inviting people to apply for a Mini Grant from May 1^st 2020 and will especially be looking to support projects that will help our koalas, gliders, bees, bats, birds and bandicoots – and all biodiversity – through wildlife care, tree plantings, food drops, and other habitat needs.

Have you or your school got an idea that may assist our fire and drought affected wildlife and communities?

Start planning your project and be sure to submit your application via our website from May 1 2020!! See our website for details where you can also check out some of the inspirational projects from last years winners as well. https://rootsandshoots.org.au/minigrants/

Danke Koala Class!! We look forward to sharing our projects with you shortly.

Mac Rob R&S Gals Growing Like Crazy!

16 March 2020 by Roots & Shoots Australia in ,Environment Mini Grants Sustainability VIC

Mac Robertson Environmental Club showcased a massive suite of different projects and tips to both live more sustainably and improve the local environment. They certainly made their mini grant go a looong way!

After much site preparation from groups and dedicated individuals, the gals got busy planting herbs, veggies, the iconic Wollemi pine, and an

indigenous garden. They had some niffy ideas to reuse magazines, toilet rolls and newspaper as starter pots, and check out their cute little hessian bag planter idea too!

Like troopers they navigated planks of food and pallets sourced free around the area to school on the school bus. Mind boggling!

What a great memory to have now that the wood has been turned into planter boxes – and producing great crops to boot!

They collected food scraps for the compost garden and encouraged a worm population to create the good stuff. They held workshops to assist others to reduce waste by making wax wraps, bath bombs and body scrubs – no plastic in sight!

They honed their letter writing skills with a request to local businesses such as Bunnings for soil and other materials. A big thank you to the community for supporting this worthwhile project!

Importantly they kept their school community up to date on their project successes to raise awareness and celebrate their great activit

y. R&S would like to congratulate Mac Rob and the Enviro Team for their huge efforts that really do show a holistic approach to sustainability. These pics are just a small sample from the great images sent to R&S – which included lots and lots of mouth watering organic veggies and herbs. What a feast. You should be proud Gals!

Annangrove PS Champions the Glossy’s

16 March 2020 by Roots & Shoots Australia in

Some animals are generalists – they eat all sorts of different foods. Other animals are fussy. They are specialists, and only eat a select type of food. The Glossy Black Cockatoo is SUPER fussy. They only eat the seeds from She Oaks (Allocasurinas and Casurinas). Sometimes they eat the odd grub too, but on the whole they have what you would call a very specialised diet.

Recognising this, Annangrove Public School applied for, and received, a mini grant in 2019 to be able to plant lots of She Oaks for the locally endangered population of Glossy Black Cockatoos.

What an outstanding result!

The project involved over 100 students and willing adult helpers who collected local seed, prepared the site and planted lots of trees. The project was a fantastic way to educate the local community about the Glossy Black Cockatoo and the need to retain and increase she oaks groves so that the birds have plenty of food as they move across the wider area.

Projects like this are critical to provide stepping-stones to connect up habitat that is being more and more fragmented by housing and other human impacts.

As a bonus to enjoying the sounds of chomping cockatoos in the not to distant future, the sound that the She Oak makes in the wind is delightful too. Great work Annangrove PS!

Frog Bog Success

16 March 2020 by Roots & Shoots Australia in ,Biodiversity Mini Grants WA

Sara Walker of Margaret River Independent School was granted a $500 Roots & Shoots Mini Grant 2019 to help with her frog bog project. In order to complete the project, students had to weed the designated area, removing the rubbish and non-native plants along with it. Students researched habitats and created a 3D model of the necessities for a sustainable environment for the frogs. To separate the frog area from the playground, a fence was created, with native wisteria planted along the fence line. Additionally, a hole was dug to create a wet area for winter, in addition to native plants, coffee rock, river rock and leaf litter to provide shelter for the frogs. Finally, a digital microscope and vernier callipers (a tool for taking measurements) were purchased to identify and measure the frogs on a weekly basis. From this project, the students learn valuable team work skills, learnt to engage with others, gained a greater awareness of environmental issues and improved their mental wellbeing from engaging with nature. The frogs found in the bog include the slender, clicking and quacking frogs. None of these are endangered. The information gathered from the frog bog is being used in classes to learn about rainfall, frogs, frog calls, lifecycles and habitats. The results gathered from the frog bog are being put into books decorated by the class and will continue to be updated as the frog bog develops. Sara plans to share the results with the WA Museum when she collects more information on the frogs in the project. Congratulations for Sara and the group for accomplishing this!

Mother Earth – Jane Goodall

5 September 2019 by Roots & Shoots Australia in ,Animals Biodiversity Dr. Jane Peace Sustainability

Threatened Species Bake-Off Competition

5 September 2019 by Roots & Shoots Australia in ,Animals Biodiversity Conservation NYLC SA

This little Aussie critter cake has been entered in the Threatened Species Bake Off competition by the South Australian Roots & Shoots team.

The keto-friendly Tiger Quoll dessert was cooked up and decorated by Andrea Stiglingh, who is a SA Roots & Shoots volunteer and member of the National Youth Leadership Council.

Image by Michael Fromholtz (fromholtz.com.au)

The cake will be judged against an assortment of edible kangaroos, galahs, butterflies, mapgies and other delectable Aussie native wildlife sweets on Threatened Species Day on 7 September.

“The Tiger Quoll is also known as the Spotted-Tailed Quoll and is the largest marsupial carnivore still present on mainland Australia,” said Andrea.

“Adult Tiger Quolls have a home range of 500 ha and were once common across South-Eastern Mainland Australia but have become increasingly rare due to land clearance, habitat fragmentation and introduced predators Tiger Quolls,” she said.

“Interestingly, it also has the second strongest bite relative to their body size in the animal kingdom,” she said.

To view and like our little Tiger Quoll cake, please visit the Threatened Species Commissioner’s Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/TSCommissioner/).

Otherwise you can also view the original post at https://www.facebook.com/andrea.stiglingh/posts/10206082979191202.

Submissions with the most likes will be awarded the People’s Choice Award, with winners announced on 12 September by the Threatened Species Commissioner Dr Sally Box.

For more fun and interesting facts about Tiger Quolls, visit https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/c550398b-7360-472a-b863-4223d8609812/files/tiger-spotted-quoll.pdf.

Native Seeds for Peace & Nature

5 September 2019 by Roots & Shoots Australia in ,Biodiversity Environment Roots & Shoots SA

Phil Druce (pictured) of Blackwood Seeds in South Australia (SA) has kindly donated thousands of native plant seeds to the SA Roots & Shoots team, to help members celebrate the United Nations International Day of Peace on 21 September.

The theme of this year’s Day of Peace is Climate Change for Peace, and the seeds are being shared with SA Roots & Shoots member schools so their students can make native seed balls to help offset carbon emissions.

Phil works with Landcare and other environment groups to harvest the tiny, precious native seeds for propagation in gardens and properties across South Australia.

He has given the Roots & Shoots team a wide range of native grasses, flowers, bushes and trees seeds such as Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Olearia pannosa and Melaluca lancolata.

These have been gathered from places as far and wide as Melrose, Callington, Tooperang and Livingston Bay.

Watch this space for more news of the Seed Ball project, as schools make, throw and grow their seed balls for climate change!

Koala Star

4 September 2019 by Roots & Shoots Australia in ,Activism Animals Environment Koala VIC

“No voice is too little, no hands are too small to help save our wildlife” Libby Fisher

Recently our inspirational R & S member, Libby, was featured on the 7.30 Report to highlight the amazing work that she does in protecting and promoting koala’s. Check out Libby in action here: https://www.abc.net.au/7.30/the-teenager-determined-to-save-koalas-from/11365266

Now 14 years old, Libby has been championing wildlife conservation and rescue, for the past 3 years. Her passion began in July 2016 when she heard that koalas were listed as vulnerable species (IUCN) and has grown to encompass all Australian wildlife. With the help of her community she has managed to:

• Collect materials to make more than 3,000 rescue pouches for marsupials that have been distributed to wildlife rescuers around Australia.

• Collected more than 5,000 milk bottle caps to help treat wombat mange (the treatment involves a tricky setup where liquid medication contained in the caps is

knocked onto the sick wombat as it exits it’s burrow).

• Planted trees to increase wildlife habitats.

• Sold more than 300 wildlife car rescue kits to assist in the rescue of the pouch young of deceased wildlife (usually after car strike).

• Volunteered with many wildlife organisations to help build equipment and care for animals.

• Raised and donated almost $20,000 to wildlife rescue centres.

• Spread the word by speaking to schools, kindergartens and community groups.

• In 2018, Libby’s outstanding effort was recognised by News Corporation as she received their Pride of Australia. Libby’s passion, dedication and initiative is truly inspiring.

Well done, Libby!

Save Lake Knox!

4 September 2019 by Roots & Shoots Australia in ,Activism Animals Environment R&S VIC

VIC Roots & Shoots members Hunter and Kaelem are working hard to protect Lake Knox, which is under threat from housing development. “It is 1.6 hectares in size and is home to so many endangered species including fish, bird species and plants. This includes a bird called the blue billed duck which is on brink of extinction in Victoria. I am doing all I can to save this bird and its habitat.” Inspiring work Hunter and Kaelem!
Check out the video they made about Lake Knox https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyqVg5D0EL0&feature=youtu.be
and show your support by signing their petition here: https://www.change.org/p/save-lake-knox

Rewind The Future – Dr Jane inspires Sydney

14 May 2019 by Roots & Shoots Australia in ,Dr. Jane Rewind the future tour

National Youth Leadership Council members meet Dr Jane before her public lecture: Becky Goodwin, Dr Jane (holding the real Mr H), Maya Yaffe and Mary Pilkinton (holding a copy of Mr H!)

On May 8, the Roots and Shoots team were lucky enough to hear from Dr Jane at her ‘Rewind the Future’ event at the ICC. After being greeted with the traditional chimpanzee greeting, Dr Jane took the audience on a journey of her life so far and how she became the young scientist that now inspires so many. She spoke of bringing a pile of worms in mud to bed with her as a child, her ever supportive mother and not being able to afford a university education, as well as the many challenges that she faced along the way. We were all inspired by Jane’s story – a story that shows the power of a determined, resilient and compassionate mind.

Thanks to all the FANTASTIC NYLC and R & S crew for all your hard work – we couldn’t do it without you!

Jane also spoke of tackling climate change – the communities she has seen affected by it, not eating meat and the sentience of those creatures, zoos, invasive species, and even death – which she regarded as her ‘next big adventure’.

Jane said that in a world where there seems to be little hope, we must always draw inspiration from these two things – young people, and the indomitable human spirit. If we all work together, we really can make change happen.

Big thanks to Dr Jane and the NYLC and R & S crew for making this event possible.

Becky Goodwin | NYLC NSW

Empowering Future Leaders

14 May 2019 by Roots & Shoots Australia in ,Conference Dr. Jane Macquarie University Roots & Shoots

Dr Jane leads a call to Environmental and Humanitarian Action “Yes We Can! Yes We Will!

What a Team! Thanks to all the fabulous lecturers and organisers of the conference

Over 250 delegates attended the ‘Compassionate Leadership and Effective Advocacy Conference’ at Macquarie University, hosted by the Jane Goodall Institute Australia and the Macquarie University Centre for Environmental Law.

The conference provided students the opportunity to select two workshops from a series of 20 – a difficult choice! – which built valuable knowledge and skills for both the high school students and their teachers. The workshops included topics such as Climate Justice, Indigenous Environmental Activism, Community Mapping, Poaching and the Illegal Wildlife Trade, and The Legal Rights of Nature.

Roseville College meet Dr Jane

These outstanding lectures were followed by a roundtable featuring Dr Jane and other leaders in sustainability, where some of the biggest environmental and humanitarian concerns were addressed before the student audience.

Professor Sakkie Pretorius (Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research), Judith Preston (EDO), Leonard Blazby (International Committee of the Red Cross), Dr Michelle Maloney (Australian Earth Laws Alliance), Dr Jane Goodall (Jane Goodall Institute and Roots and Shoots), Alexia Wellbelove (Humane Society International), Dr Kim Loo (Doctors for the Environment Australia), Dermot O’Gormon (WWF), Zara Bending (Jane Goodall Institute Board member and event organiser extraordinaire)

The conference was a great opportunity for students to gain an understanding of new areas related to conservation, sustainability and leadership, and be inspired by fantastic lecturers and their proactive approach to serious environmental issues. Wrapping up the event was a relaxed soirée with lots of yummy vegan nibbles where finally, to top off a great day, students were invited for a group photo with Dr Jane in which she presented their school with a signed copy of her book “Reasons for Hope”. What a great addition to the school library! Thank you Macquarie Uni, and especially Zara Bending and Shireen Daft, for creating such a special event.

Mary Pilkinton | NYLC NSW

Dr Jane at Taronga Zoo

13 May 2019 by Roots & Shoots Australia in ,Dr. Jane Roots and Shoots Taronga Zoo

On 4th May 2019, a select number of Taronga Youth At The Zoo (YATZ) members and Roots & Shoots families were invited to attend an intimate event to kick off Dr Jane Goodall’s 2019 Rewind the Future tour.

Dr Jane greeted the youth groups in Taronga’s immersive classrooms near the brand new Institute of Science and Learning. Each classroom has a unique theme, such as a desert or rainforest ecosystem, whereby the animals emerged from these habitats to interact with Dr Jane, Zoo CEO Cameron Kerr and engrossed students.

Following, the group then walked down to the chimpanzee exhibit, where they watched a feeding session and found out about Taronga’s chimpanzee family. Who better to explain chimp behaviour than the most esteemed primatologist in the world – Dr Jane herself!

The event concluded with an interview session between Dr Jane and Hayden Turner, Taronga’s Guest Experience Manager. It was a great opportunity for kids and teenagers to ask questions too. “ I am only 10, how can I make a difference?”. This is a common concern. But Dr Jane pointed out that children often teach their parents – such as encouraging them to recycle or avoid products using unsustainable palm oil.

Dr Jane has great hope in young people to be positive change-makers – for people, animals and the environment. Dr Jane is adamant that together we can make a difference, so to emphasise this, the event ended with Dr Jane leading a call to act with “Yes We Can! Yes We Will!!

Maya Yaffe | NYLC NSW

Make change in the world by
starting your own project

Apply for a mini grant
to fund your project

Danke Koala Kids!

Mac Rob R&S Gals Growing Like Crazy!

Annangrove PS Champions the Glossy’s

Frog Bog Success

Mother Earth – Jane Goodall

Threatened Species Bake-Off Competition

Native Seeds for Peace & Nature

Koala Star

Save Lake Knox!

Rewind The Future – Dr Jane inspires Sydney

Empowering Future Leaders

Empowering Future Leaders

Dr Jane at Taronga Zoo

Dr Jane at Taronga Zoo

On 4th May 2019, a select number of Taronga Youth At The Zoo (YATZ) members and Roots & Shoots families were invited to attend an intimate event to kick off Dr Jane Goodall’s 2019 Rewind the Future tour.

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