What is Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots Australia?

Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots Australia is part of a global network of young people taking action to improve our world. It is a youth-led action program that is currently making a difference in over 50 countries. It builds on Dr. Jane’s legacy and vision of placing the power and responsibility for creating solutions to big challenges in the hands of the young people.

What organisation is behind Roots & Shoots Australia?

The Jane Goodall Institute Australia (JGIA) is a registered DGR1 charity and complies with the Australian Charities & Not for Profits Commission (ACNC) regulations on Australian charities. Established in 2007, JGIA is part of the global Jane Goodall Institute network of 25 chapters. JGIA is a member of the Fundraising Institute of Australia (FIA), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and has adopted a formal Child Safe Framework to ensure the highest standards of child safety. JGIA has eight volunteer non-executive directors, seven (mostly part time) staff and some 30 regular volunteers.

What organisation is behind Roots & Shoots Australia?

What does Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots Australia do?

All around the world today, youth are exploring problems in their communities around animals, people and the environment, brainstorming solutions and creating projects that help to solve the problems. Roots & Shoots is a program that is different for each and every member around the world. For instance, a project that works for inner city kids in Australia is going to differ enormously from a project in remote towns in Uganda.

Why Join Roots & Shoots?

Join a network of 70,000 young environmentalists in almost 100 countries.
Address real issues in your community - acting locally to make change globally!
Learn to be a leader like Jane Goodall: If you grew up aspiring to be Jane Goodall, Roots & Shoots is a great place to start!
Get your hands dirty! Roots & Shoots projects included everything from tree planting, beekeeping, and habitat beautification, to fairs and community events.
Make friends with a joint purpose: Joining a Roots & Shoots group is a great way to meet people in your community that care about the same things you do - as well as being part of an international community of youth who want to make a difference.
Learn to lead an awesome Roots & Shoots Group: If you’re a teacher, parent, community leader or student, you have the opportunity to be an effective Roots & Shoots leader in your community with almost 20 curriculum-linked lesson plans and resources via www.coolaustralia.org.

What do you get for signing up to Roots & Shoots?

A Roots & Shoots resource kit to help kick start your projects and answer all your questions
Inspiration and skills to have a positive impact on animals, people and the environment
Eligibility to apply for a mini grant to fund your Roots & Shoots project
Updates and news about Roots & Shoots and Jane Goodall Institute Australia
Opportunities to connect with like-minded people
Access to educational resources for your school
Invites to events
Connect with organisations and leaders in causes you’re interested in
Support of state coordinators and local youth leaders

Understanding the Resource Box

What is the Jane Goodall Resource Box for Schools?

The Jane Goodall Roots & Shoots Resource Box for Schools is a new initiative of the Jane Goodall Institute of Australia (JGIA), with funding support from the Phillips Foundation.

It aims to educate students, and the community, via interactive and action-based programs about wildlife, the natural environment and challenges facing the planet.

This is a new JGIA project and it includes a box of FREE resources for schools, pre-schools and home-schools.

Its content includes a series of school education resources including a Teacher Guide, an Amazing Australian Wildlife book, a Local Safari book, an Incredible Earth book, a What on Earth? book, and information about the WOODiWILD program.

What are the key objectives?

This initiative seeks to:

Conduct the program in up to 4,000 schools in 2020.
Establish a network of like-minded schools that demonstrate curricula connections and direct actions that will make the world a better place for animals, people and the environment.
Provide leadership in education for sustainability, developing partnerships at community, state and national levels.
Assist school communities with resources, strategies and networks to develop their programs and projects.
To inspire young people to take action in their everyday lives and create solutions to the challenges facing local communities.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the program.

What's inside this Resource Box?

Its content includes a series of school education resources including:

A Teacher Guide (see below)
Learning Sequences
Non-fiction book: Amazing Australian Wildlife
Non-fiction book: Local Safari
Non-fiction book: Incredible Earth
Non-fiction book: What on Earth?
Information about the WOODiWILD school fundraising program.

What are the Learning Sequences About?

The Teacher Guide includes six learning sequences; each is aligned to the Australian, Victorian, Western Australian Curricula and the NSW NESA Syllabus.

Australian Habitats - Design and make a model of an Australian animal’s sustainable habitat. They can create a safe and fun place for one of Australia’s lizards, insects, bees, frogs, fish, birds, or furry friends.
A Greener Earth - Explore nature and the resources in the Roots & Shoots resource box and use them to create a book.
Australia’s Amazing Wildlife – Design and create a poster and brochure for improved awareness about wildlife issues.
Seeds of Change - Explore a range of ideas young people have had for making changes for the planet. Then, create a pop-up display, showing the questions and solutions needed to help us design a sustainable planet for us animals, people, and the environment.
Design and implement a conservation or restoration project – Design and implement a conservation or restoration project in the school grounds or local area to support the growth of an Australian species of plant, animal or microorganism’s habitat, and protect a species in that habitat.
It’s time to act now - Educate the broader community to understand how and why we need to plant for and maintain our bee friendly gardens to protect our bees, butterflies, birds and local native wildlife.

Is this really free?

Yes! Thanks to funding support from the Phillips Foundation and several other partners, we are excited to provide the Resource Box free of charge to schools, pre-schools and home-schools.

What expectations and commitments are there when I register for a Resource Box?

There are no specific commitments - we understand that each school is unique! We encourage you to create an Action Plan to help your students plan and track their progress, and similarly, encourage you to attend the professional development sessions made available to help you make the best use of the resources. While parents who are homeschooling are eligible, we ask that you submit a completed Action Plan in order to receive your box, in which you describe your intended project.

To help us measure the impact of this initiative, you may be asked to complete a participant survey.

How can I register?

Register your school to receive a free Resource Box by entering your school details at the Roots and Shoots website: https://rootsandshoots.org.au/resourcebox/

When will boxes arrive?

The Resource Boxes arrive late October and will be dispatched to all addresses by early November 2020. All boxes will be directly couriered to the school, preschool or home address provided at point of registration.

Why are the boxes delayed?

The boxes were created with Jane’s own publishing team in Dorset, England - during the middle of the pandemic. In the shipping from the UK we have therefore experienced extensive delivery delays due to COVID-19, global customs and industrial action.

Is delivery being carbon offset?

Yes, we are offsetting both shipping and delivery, via Sendle, with our partners Woodiwild.

Using the Resource Box

Is there any professional development available for the Resource Box?

Yes! Tailored sessions for teachers and homeschoolers will be provided on Thursday October 29th, November 19th, and December 10th. All session recordings will be made freely available on the Roots and Shoots website. These will be organised as live seminars via Zoom, available nationwide. The recordings of these will then be posted on the Roots & Shoots website and shared with all registrants via email post event.

I can’t make the teacher training sessions. Will they be recorded?

Yes. All session recordings will be made freely available on the Roots and Shoots website. These will be organised as live seminars via Zoom, available nationwide. The recordings of these will then be posted on the Roots & Shoots website and shared with all registrants via email post event.

What support available is to help with my School’s Action Plan?

Yes! We have a state team of volunteers ready to support you as you design, implement and evaluate your Action Plan and lessons plans with the box. Roots and Shoots volunteers are available for school visits, student workshops and can assist you to engage with a host of resources, training, events and grant opportunities to support your further projects. If you’ve any questions or need any help please contact info@janegoodall.org.au.

Why? What does the Resource Box want to achieve?

The wider program will:

Engage and enthuse students, teachers, and the wider community about actions to make the world a better place for people, animals and the environment.
Foster respect and compassion for all living things.
Encourage students’ direct interaction with nature and to take action to improve our world.
Provide high quality books, curriculum resources and a wealth of cross-curricula activities to support teaching and learning about our connections with nature and living sustainably.
Develop scientific skills.
Promote a Project Based Learning and action-based approaches to learning.
Leverage and use the existing Cool Australia lesson plans and develop additional learning sequences aligned to the Curriculum in States and Territories.

I’m a new home schooler. Do I need to complete an action plan?

No. The action plan, teacher’s guide, lesson plan and live teacher training sessions are all tools to help you get the most out of the Roots & Shoots Resource Box. While we highly recommend you make the most of all the resources available to you - so you can really maximise the full benefit and potential of the wonderful Resource Box, this will not be evaluated and is not a requirement.

Is the fundraising with WoodiWild compulsory or necessary for the box to be FREE?

No. The Roots & Shoots Resource Box is free. WoodiWild is presented as an option for any school wanting to run a fundraiser for their own purposes. There is nothing compulsory about running a fundraiser with WoodiWild, and the box being free is not contingent on you running a fundraiser. If you do run a WoodiWild fundraiser, it is designed to not only plant trees but also raise funds for your school.

The Next Step

How can I register as a Roots and Shoots school?

Interested in further engagement with the Roots and Shoots Australia program? We’d love to have you part of the family! Register your details at https://rootsandshoots.org.au/ and one of our friendly team will get in touch with you.

What other programs are available for my school with Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots?

Enjoyed your time with us? We have so much more to offer! From Habitat Workshops, Campaigns like Thumbs Up For Turtles, community tree planting and revegetation days, mini grants to support your own local projects with volunteer support, the opportunities really are endless.

Who do I contact if I have further questions?

Please contact our supporter relations team on info@janegoodall.org.au

Teacher Training

When are the Teacher Training / Personal Development sessions?

There are three teacher training sessions - open to all program participants - taking place for 2020. We will announce more for 2021 very soon. Current dates and details are:-

29th October 4-5pm | Session One: Welcome to the Program

Join the Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots Australia team for our very first teacher training session to learn all about the Roots & Shoots Resource Box program! Meet the team plus fellow nature-loving educators, to find out how you can maximise our the beautiful books and lesson plans with your pupils and children.

19th November 4-5pm | Session Two: WOODiWild tree-planting, case study schools & Q&As

Join the Jane Goodall Institute Australia team and hear all about the exciting WOODiWild tree-planting project - plus teachers already experienced with the Roots & Shoots Resource Box.

Learn how your school can be part of WOODiWild and restore acres of forest across Australia.

10th December 4-5pm | Session Three: Christmas celebration

Join us for the third teacher training session to learn more about the Roots & Shoots Resource Box program!

It's nearly Christmas and holiday time. So in this session it's time to celebrate all your work so far, and plan our Resource Box approaches for 2020.

Will the sessions be recorded?

Yes. We will email all program participants a YouTube link with a recording of the video with a few days of the event.

How do I get Professional Development as a teacher?

We are offering NESA Registered Professional Development (PD) accreditation for teachers at the Proficient Teacher level. To do this you must either join a live teacher training session, or watch the full hour on YouTube within 10 days of the live event, to qualify for 1.5 hours per session.

To do this please share your NESA ID number via the following Google Sheet and confirm within 10 days of each live event that you either attended or watched online. We will then accredit your hours with NESA and share confirmation.

Add your details here to qualify for accreditation: https://forms.gle/vPosthNbLxJZQSAf7

What does Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots Australia do?

Why Join Roots & Shoots?

Join a network of 70,000 young environmentalists in almost 100 countries.
Address real issues in your community - acting locally to make change globally!
Learn to be a leader like Jane Goodall: If you grew up aspiring to be Jane Goodall, Roots & Shoots is a great place to start!
Get your hands dirty! Roots & Shoots projects included everything from tree planting, beekeeping, and habitat beautification, to fairs and community events.
Make friends with a joint purpose: Joining a Roots & Shoots group is a great way to meet people in your community that care about the same things you do - as well as being part of an international community of youth who want to make a difference.
Learn to lead an awesome Roots & Shoots Group: If you’re a teacher, parent, community leader or student, you have the opportunity to be an effective Roots & Shoots leader in your community with almost 20 curriculum-linked lesson plans and resources via www.coolaustralia.org.

What do you get for signing up to Roots & Shoots?

A Roots & Shoots resource kit to help kick start your projects and answer all your questions
Inspiration and skills to have a positive impact on animals, people and the environment
Eligibility to apply for a mini grant to fund your Roots & Shoots project
Updates and news about Roots & Shoots and Jane Goodall Institute Australia
Opportunities to connect with like-minded people
Access to educational resources for your school
Invites to events
Connect with organisations and leaders in causes you’re interested in
Support of state coordinators and local youth leaders

What is the Jane Goodall Resource Box for Schools?

The Jane Goodall Roots & Shoots Resource Box for Schools is a new initiative of the Jane Goodall Institute of Australia (JGIA), with funding support from the Phillips Foundation. It aims to educate students, and the community, via interactive and action-based programs about wildlife, the natural environment and challenges facing the planet.

This is a new JGIA project and it includes a box of FREE resources for schools, pre-schools and home-schools.

What are the key objectives?

This initiative seeks to:

Conduct the program in up to 4,000 schools in 2020.
Establish a network of like-minded schools that demonstrate curricula connections and direct actions that will make the world a better place for animals, people and the environment.
Provide leadership in education for sustainability, developing partnerships at community, state and national levels.
Assist school communities with resources, strategies and networks to develop their programs and projects.
To inspire young people to take action in their everyday lives and create solutions to the challenges facing local communities.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the program.

What's inside this Resource Box?

Its content includes a series of school education resources including:

A Teacher Guide (see below)
Learning Sequences
Non-fiction book: Amazing Australian Wildlife
Non-fiction book: Local Safari
Non-fiction book: Incredible Earth
Non-fiction book: What on Earth?
Information about the WOODiWILD school fundraising program.

What are the Learning Sequences About?

The Teacher Guide includes six learning sequences; each is aligned to the Australian, Victorian, Western Australian Curricula and the NSW NESA Syllabus.

Australian Habitats - Design and make a model of an Australian animal’s sustainable habitat. They can create a safe and fun place for one of Australia’s lizards, insects, bees, frogs, fish, birds, or furry friends.
A Greener Earth - Explore nature and the resources in the Roots & Shoots resource box and use them to create a book.
Australia’s Amazing Wildlife – Design and create a poster and brochure for improved awareness about wildlife issues.
Seeds of Change - Explore a range of ideas young people have had for making changes for the planet. Then, create a pop-up display, showing the questions and solutions needed to help us design a sustainable planet for us animals, people, and the environment.
Design and implement a conservation or restoration project – Design and implement a conservation or restoration project in the school grounds or local area to support the growth of an Australian species of plant, animal or microorganism’s habitat, and protect a species in that habitat.
It’s time to act now - Educate the broader community to understand how and why we need to plant for and maintain our bee friendly gardens to protect our bees, butterflies, birds and local native wildlife.

Is this really free?

Yes! Thanks to funding support from the Phillips Foundation and several other partners, we are excited to provide the Resource Box free of charge to schools, pre-schools and home-schools.

What expectations and commitments are there when I register for a Resource Box?

To help us measure the impact of this initiative, you may be asked to complete a participant survey.

How can I register?

Register your school to receive a free Resource Box by entering your school details at the Roots and Shoots website: https://rootsandshoots.org.au/resourcebox

Why were the boxes delayed?

Is delivery being carbon offset?

Yes, we are offsetting both shipping and delivery, via Sendle, with our partners Woodiwild.

I have not received my box yet. What should I do?

Please email info@janegoodall.org.au with all the details that you registered for the box with including your name, phone number, mailing address, and school (or Home School), and advising us that your box has not yet arrived. Some boxes are being notified undelivered because the address is incomplete. We will confirm whether your box is still in-transit or has been notified as undelivered. We will also confirm your box registration and verify your mailing address before re-sending your box, or if necessary, sending you a fresh box.

Is there any professional development available for the Resource Box?

I can’t make the teacher training sessions. Will they be recorded?

What support is available is to help with my School’s Action Plan?

Why? What does the Resource Box want to achieve?

The wider program will:

Engage and enthuse students, teachers, and the wider community about actions to make the world a better place for people, animals and the environment.
Foster respect and compassion for all living things.
Encourage students’ direct interaction with nature and to take action to improve our world.
Provide high quality books, curriculum resources and a wealth of cross-curricula activities to support teaching and learning about our connections with nature and living sustainably.
Develop scientific skills.
Promote a Project Based Learning and action-based approaches to learning.
Leverage and use the existing Cool Australia lesson plans and develop additional learning sequences aligned to the Curriculum in States and Territories.

I’m a new home schooler. Do I need to complete an action plan?

Is the fundraising with WoodiWild compulsory or necessary for the box to be FREE?

How can I register as a Roots and Shoots school?

Interested in further engagement with the Roots and Shoots Australia program? We’d love to have you part of the family! Register your details here and one of our friendly team will get in touch with you.