At Upper Snowy Landcare we’re really keen to spread the word about Landcare and the environment to local school kids. We love getting them involved where we can and engaging them in different ways.
Discovering Dragons
The Monaro is comprised of a number of ecological communities, one such community being the endangered natural temperate grassland. These grasslands are not only iconic to the Monaro basalt country, but are also home to a rich variety of unique flora and fauna, many of which are now listed as threatened.
Throughout the second half of 2024 and most recently, early 2026, we have been rolling out an educational program, partnered with the NSW government’s Saving our Species Program, to educate students about the Monaro Grassland Earless Dragon, a threatened species endemic to the Monaro region. We are delivering a presentation to students, aimed at teaching them about the dragon’s habitat and diet, physical characteristics, current monitoring programs, and the key threatening processes leading to their decline including land management regimes and feral species. This is followed by an identification activity, and a craft activity where students get to paint their own 3D model of the dragons. These models were scanned from a Earless Dragon specimen and then 3D printed.
We have recently expanded the program to include a nature collage, and a mock up of the scientific monitoring process done in the field by ecologists which has been a hit!
Students have responded with interest and enthusiasm to learning about this unique reptile. We are hoping to teach people the value of these grasslands through inviting interest in the species which live in them and are found nowhere else in the world.
Yearly School Calendars
The Upper Snowy Calendar is a school’s initiative which has run for many years. The calendar showcases our yearly theme through a collection of artworks done by local school children. We tie each theme to a local environmental topic and encourage teachers to involve students in learning creatively about it.
Once all works are in, we invite our committee to do the hard job of voting for the artworks which will feature in the calendar. It’s always a difficult decision but such a rewarding activity to see all the great art that comes from across our region.
An archive of all past calendars can be viewed HERE
