It was a big day for our Kids in Action students last Friday as they got out and about in the community to explore the topic “Connecting to Country: Celebrating Nature’s Icons”.
Thirteen senior primary students have been selected to represent MIC in the 2019 Sunshine Coast Council Kids in Action Program and will be connecting with the broader community to conduct research and prepare for their project – a ‘docu-movie’ to be shared at the Kids in Action conference in September.
Last Friday our MIC students joined more than 300 students from 26 different schools at Environmental Projects Day where they took what they already know about the environment (head), harnessed that with their passion for the environment (heart) and developed skills and capacities to take action (hand) to realise true change.
With 2019 declared as the International Year of Indigenous Languages, it was timely that our students had the opportunity to be immersed in, and engaged with, the cultural landscape and traditional owners of the Sunshine Coast region – the Kabi Kabi and Jinibara First Nations people.
Congruent with the Montessori philosophy, the Kids in Action program starts in the classroom and extends into the wider community with a focus on inspiring young people to learn about, and care for, their environment.
Environmental Projects Day was first key activity of the program for 2019 where students were actively engaged in a variety of real-life natural resource management and citizen science activities and were introduced to their mentors. MIC students are focusing on local species of flora or fauna and through Indigenous cultural and spiritual connections to Country, as well as scientific knowledge, they are gaining a deep understanding of the role those species play in the broader ecosystem.
On the day students were introduced to traditional knowledge systems and rich ways of connecting to Country. Guided by either Jinibara or Kabi Kabi Traditional Owners, students were led on walks around culturally significant sites where they learned about the local Indigenous history. They also participated in workshops that included learning about aquatic life, rope making, boomerangs, weaving, Indigenous land management, spear making , Indigenous dance, stone knapping and making ochre natural pigment.
From here, MIC Kids in Action students will work with their mentors on their project to deliver at the conference to be held at Venue 114, Bokarina, on Wednesday September 11.
The Kids in Action program is a great fit for MIC students as it encourages them to be informed and become confident and capable citizens who are able to actively protect their environment.
For more on the Senior Primary program at MIC, visit the Primary section of our website.
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