By Tanya Steele
Over the September school holidays, kids on school celebrated the spring weather and across Victoria and got out into nature.
From Kurth Kiln in Gembrook to the trails at Dandenong Ranges National Park, students were “Junior Rangers” for a day and got to explore many of the state’s beautiful national parks.
Education Officer and Ranger Julie Pickwick from Parks Victoria has been delivering education programs for over 13 years and said she is “living her dream job.”
“I just love it,” she said.
Ms Pickwick said that the the highlight of doing all the face-to-face delivery is that she is constantly seeing the environment through fresh eyes.
“It’s seeing the joy and the sense of wonder in these children because they’re discovering things in nature for the first time,” she said.
The Yarra Ranges hosted several Junior Ranger programs which deliver topics from “Creature Features” to “Changes in the Ranges” and focus on nature, environment and sustainability.
Children can access the programs for free and learnt about several topics at different locations, from Grant’s Picnic Ground to the Thousand Steps at Upper Ferntree Gully.
Ms Pickwick said the programs delivered in the Yarra Ranges can also be quite special because of the the little remnant pockets of rainforest that kids can explore.
“When I get them to look up at the height of the trees, you just see these jaws drop one by one by one when they realise how tall they are,” she said.
The Mountain Ash is the tallest flowering plant in the world and Grant’s Picnic Ground is host to the special species, although Ms Pickwick said that the trees there are “teenagers” and haven’t finished growing quite yet.
“The trunks grow wider as they get older,” Ms Pickwick said.
From bird spotting one day to a nature treasure hunt the next, Ms Pickwick said the programs have a lot of variety depending on their location and the time of year.
“The children learn a variety of things – there is a fungi program here as well,” she said.
Sherbrooke forest is also home to the iconic Lyrebird – although Ms Pickwick said catching sightings with her Juniors in tow is rare.
“Very occasionally, we will hear them doing their whole mimic routine,” she said.
“I do see them when I am walking alone, but with bigger groups, the lyrebirds are long gone before we walk through.”
The activities delivered through the program are site and season specific – Ms Pickwick said she enjoys developing the program.
“There’s bits of the forest that I see that I think children really need to learn about, and I get excited and really passionate about it,” she said.
Ms Pickwick said her current favourite is the prehistoric rainforest walk.
“I teach the children about all the dinosaurs that would have lived here in Victoria and, we go for a walk through the rainforest,” she said.
The Junior Rangers have key messaging embedded in their programs, and they teach kids to care for and engage with their local parks.
“They are our future custodians,” Ms Pickwock said.
The Junior Rangers programs run throughout the year and are free of charge.
