General News
13 January, 2026
NATURE STUDY: Learning from our environment — By Brian Lennen
As I sat in my car waiting for a cup of coffee, I observed a group of adolescents sky-larking.
Unfortunately it involved throwing flower buds from an agapanthus garden.
After they departed on their scooters I did a count. There was over 100 buds strewn on the ground.
This was an act that underlies a total disregard for nature.
I can imagine how outraged my nature study students would have felt.
Through our collecting, observing and propagation, we developed an empathy for all species of plants and animals.
During my first year of teaching grade six at East Warrnambool, there was a rich source every day featuring specimens from the coast.
The school virtually backed onto the beach, only the sand dunes separated it from the ocean.
An infinite variety of marine plants and animals were washed up on the beach and studied.
Gnotuk, a rural school on the outskirts of Camperdown, was perched on the edge of the lake named after it.
The kids fished for eels in the underground water holes.
Although I find them delicious, no one in my family will even taste them.
My time at the rural school was wonderful. The children, 35 of them, were great. They were one big family and took pride in everything we did.
Maryborough presented a totally different collection.
Maryborough Primary School 404 is in the centre of town, but it is virtually at the foot of Bristol Hill tower.
The area is full of old mine shafts and tailings and had been a rich source of gold.
Unknown to many it has a pioneer cemetery at its base.
Climbing the pioneer monument one is struck by the face that the township is completely surrounded by forest.
Maryborough East Primary School (PS 2828) also bordered on the state forest and backing onto the “old tip” was a different alternative.
2828 had an arboretum (native tree garden) attached. A dry creek bed divided it and when went was a rich source of plant and animal life.
The Stewart’s poultry farm in Marshall Street was inundated by 2828 students when the “chicken sexer” was in town.
The male chicks had no value and the kids queued up to collect them.
In my classroom we had some fertilised unhatched eggs in a home made incubator.
The children were fascinated observers and recorded every minute detail up to their hatching.
The bright yellow chicks were flooded with affection by the students.
Every possible statistic was recorded as they grew rapidly.
Providing a home for them was competitive. I did visit some homes to see the full grown roosters.
One family even recorded their rooster crowing and beamed with pride.
Across the blackboard I had one word written — “photosynthesis”.
I explained to the students that it was the essence of life.
It was the process by which green leaves (chlorophyll) converted sunlight into food.
Germination was another process that the children observed and studied.
On the window ledges trays with damp cotton wool were covered by a variety of seeds. Wheat, corn, pumpkin, peas, bean, broadbeans were some of the seeds used.
We also had success with acorns, and before the village development which now stands on the site, a huge oak tree was an example of our success.
A mother brought us some silkworm eggs that had been kept in a frozen state for over a year. In an old aquarium we placed the eggs with mulberry leaves.
Every morning the children hurried inside to see if anything had happened.
Over a long weekend they hatched and the larva (grubs) had feasted and grown into moths.
In no time they began to spin their silk cocoons and became dormant.
The silk farmer rotates the moths to produce silk threads, similar experiments with praying mantis, dragon flies and tadpoles filled every available space.
A visit to a local apiarist outlined the vital role bees play in nature.
Students were amazed at the role played by every bee.
Observing ants go about their business also outlined their value.
Insects attracted by the perfume and bright foliage of the flowers are busy pollinating across all plant varieties.
I watched a procession of butterflies flitting from plant to plant.
The nearby bush is dominated by the magpies and crows. They are fiercely territorial and are fierce defenders of their area.
The thrush (harmonica) serenades from dawn to dusk. Migrating grasshoppers (locusts) form destructive plagues.
Reptiles are abundant in the adjacent bush forest and considering their numbers they are rarely encountered.
Every summer a blue tongue lizard makes an appearance in our garden.
Whether it is the same lizard or its offspring I am unsure.
Rosellas, galahs and cockatoos are frequent visitors who are able to strip a fruit tree in no time.
Australia’s national flower, the golden wattle (once the source of a local festival), still dominates the bushland.
The bush surrounding Maryborough is dominated by eucalyptus trees, grey box the most common. They are drought tolerant and the swift flying, screeching lorikeets seek them out for their honey.
In concluding, I would like to see the Victorian Government bring nature studies back into its education curriculum. Teaching children the value of our plants, animals and environment may help put the world on a better path.