In a ground-breaking workshop at a recent Forestry Australia and New Zealand Institute of Forestry (ANZIF) conference titled Growing the Next Gen Together: Showcasing Forest Industry-School Partnerships & Tools, industry experts gathered to expand on the innovative efforts being made to enhance forest education in schools and workforce development in Australia.
The collaborative event highlighted significant strides made by key organisations, including the FWPA-supported ForestLearning initiative, Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia (PIEFA), Timber Queensland, Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub Workforce Development, and Responsible Wood in bridging the gap between industry and schools.
The workshop showcased the role that teaching resources and school activities can play in educating students on the future of forests, carbon and nature-based solutions to environmental challenges – including using wood as a renewable and sustainable material.
ForestLearning’s Program Manager Beth Welden said it was great to see the mix of attendees amongst the more than 475 delegates at the conference.
“We were able to demonstrate how collaborating with expert foresters and partner organisations helps to elevate our mission of bringing the forest to the classroom,” Welden said.
“The workshop, hosted alongside key partners, was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the ways ForestLearning has collaborated with so many organisations in support of our important and impactful work.”
Welden also emphasised the pivotal role the ForestLearning program plays in providing robust, Australian Curriculum-aligned teaching and learning resources developed by teachers for teachers.
“All our resources are available at forestlearning.edu.au, whether it’s ready-to-use lesson plans, educational multimedia videos, hands-on tools such as our Tree Carbon Storage Tape Measure, as well as key forest information,” Welden said.
She spotlighted several ForestLearning initiatives including the popular ForestVR™ toolkit, and the integration of cutting-edge technology into forestry education such as drones, ensuring resources are not only educational but also engaging.
With a teaching background, Welden understands just how vital teaching resources like ForestLearning are in building out syllabus activities.
“By providing educators with the right tools and support to navigate these subjects effectively, we can empower them to inspire and educate students about the pressing environmental challenges we face, and the role of the forest industry as part of the solution,” Welden said.
The workshop concluded with a resounding call-to-action, urging collaborative efforts between industry and schools to maintain the momentum in forest education and industry partnership development.
For more information on ForestLearning’s initiatives as well as those of its industry partners, visit the websites of the contributing organisations:
- ForestLearning – forestlearning.edu.au
- PIEFA – piefa.edu.au
- Timber Queensland – timberqueensland.com.au/
- Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub – gtfih.com.au/
- Responsible Wood – www.responsiblewood.org.au/
