Teachers' Environment Network

The Teachers' Environment Network (TEN) has been running since 2005 and is a joint Nillumbik, Banyule and Whittlesea undertaking. The network aims to support local teachers in both schools and early childhood settings in delivering an integrated and locally relevant sustainability curriculum by:

• providing an opportunity for teachers to share knowledge, experiences and skills about environmental education and projects they are undertaking

• providing support, advice and encouragement to schools and early childhood centres, wherever they are on their sustainability journey

• providing a range of relevant and interesting professional development sessions for teachers around sustainability education

• bringing awareness to relevant Council environmental projects, policies, grant opportunities and events.

The Network usually holds two meetings per term on a Wednesday or Thursday afternoon from 4–6pm. Often the meetings are held at Edendale, but sometimes at local schools to showcase an environmental project, or other local destinations such as the Gawa Trail in Watsons Creek or Bunjil Reserve in Panton Hill. It provides a variety of guest speakers, as well as the opportunity for discussion and sharing.

The sessions have continued to provide an interesting and varied array of speakers and topics including:

Cool Australia and their sustainability curriculum resources
Gardens for Wildlife, Schools for Wildlife and Pollinator Gardens in Schools programs
Indigenous planting in schools with Edendale plant nursery staff
Dr Rachel Forgasz, Monash University lecturer (climate change education)
Dr Luis Mata, University of Melbourne ecologist (native pollinators and pollinator observatories)
A sustainability grant-writing workshop run by CERES
Katrina Naish from A Fitting Connection (textile waste and recycling)
Rachel Sietzema, a psychologist who spoke on environmental and climate-anxiety

PROPOSED TEN PROGRAM FOR 2026

TERM 1

Thursday 19 February Bundoora Secondary College Greenwood Farm tour

Thursday 19 March Tour of Beales Road urban farm in St Helena

TERM 2

Thursday 7 May Presentation by Life Rocks

Thursday 11 June To be confirmed, focus around World Environment Day

TERM 3

Thursday 30 July To be confirmed, theme around National Tree Planting Day

Thursday 3 September Kids Climate Action conference at Edendale

Thursday 10 September To be confirmed, theme around Spring and pollination

TERM 4

Thursday 2 October To be confirmed

Attendance at TEN meetings can be counted towards teachers' Professional Development requirements for VIT registration.

Please note that dates for meetings can change during the year depending on presenter availability. An email invitation is sent out prior to each meeting to everybody on our email list. If you would like to be added to the TEN email database, please sent us an email at edendale.education@nillumbik.vic.gov.au

We are always interested in ideas for speakers and topics, so please feel free to contact us if you have any ideas.

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