Alocal high school has been piloting an educational program inspired by the region’s First Nations seasonal calendar.

The “Walking the Seasons” program aims to support the Limestone Coast community to connect with country and culture across the landscape.

Staff and students at Grant High School have been piloting the educational program in 2022 with the Limestone Coast Landscape Board and the alignment to curriculum brings school learning to life.

The program has a strong emphasis on ecology and citizen science providing students with the opportunity to identify species and record seasonal changes throughout the year while collecting data that can be used to monitor long term seasonal variations.

Teacher Brianna Lush said the program had been incorporated into the Year 7 Biological/Earth and Space Science curriculum at the school.

“Through the program, students have had the opportunity to use their learning outside of the classroom to gain a greater understanding of the landscape around them and the cultural connections to the local area of Mount Gambier,” she said.

“The resources and community connections that are used in the program gives teachers the confidence in delivering content around First Nations perspectives to their classes, resulting in meaningful learning for students.”

South Australian Aboriginal Secondary Training Academy students have also participated in this program and have visited the site four times during the year and met with First Nations elders and Limestone Coast Landscape Board staff to make observations of the changing landscape.

First Nations elder Doug Nicholls was full of praise for the program.

“Students out on Country ‘Walking the Seasons’ gain awareness and knowledge of our environment from a First Nations perspective,” he said.

“It gives us an opportunity to demonstrate Aboriginal culture within the seasons of the South East.

“We all move forward together when schools embrace Aboriginal cultural understandings and develop First Nations perspectives within their curriculum.”

The Limestone Coast Landscape Board has developed resources to help with plant and animal identification in the field while students are making observations.