Please find below a review of Bush Kindy and Bush School for Term 1, followed by a review of this term up until the present.  Due to technology difficulties I was unable to submit the Term 1 text and photos last term, so they are offered for your enjoyment today. - Bruce

Bush Kindy and Bush School Term 1

Term 1 is always a wonderful time of year to spend in the forest and exploring the creek.  As the school year began we were just entering the hot dry season of Bunuru, but by term’s end we are enjoying the transition to the cooler days of Djeran, with the beginning of the fungi season and intermittent rain.  The creek dries up to a trickle of water during February/March, and around the time of the equinox the first rains begin to reverse the process. 

The children new to Bush Kindy and Bush School, as well as our ‘old hands’, have generally settled in to our routines in the bush program and show all the signs that they are feeling ‘at home’ in this wondrous, ever-changing learning environment.  Highlights of our term have included:

• laying nets and ‘fishing’ to explore the inhabitants of the creek.  As caretakers of Boodja we return everything we find to their homes.
• exploring the shape and contours of the creek from the school boundary back to our campsite.
• a variety of bushcraft activities including swordgrass weavings, paperbark balls and a range of spontaneous creations.
• wood weaving to protect eroded banks and managing invasive weeds as part of our bushcare.

Please enjoy the gallery of images below from our first term.

Bush Kindy and Bush School Term 2

The beginning of Term 2 is always an exciting turning point at our Bush Camp, as we are able to have campfires at the centre of our activities once again.  Through stories, song, yarning and hands-on activities, the children learn about the sacred qualities of kaarla, fire, its deep significance in Noongar cultural life, and how to manage it safely and respectfully.

Rainfall has been light so far this term, so we have been able to cross the creek to adventure deep into the forest to visit Old Grandmother Karri Tree, one of the Elders of this forest.

Old Grandmother Karri Tree

The wisest of them all

Her mighty limbs reach for the sky

She stands so strong and tall

Her branches, bark, her sticks and leaves

They fall down from up high

They break down into earth again

As round her trunk they lie.

The children continue to discover an amazing variety of fungi along the paths throughout the bush, showing great sensitivity and care in protecting them from the sometimes careless feet of their companions.

And now we prepare for the coldest, wettest and darkest season, Makuru, as we approach the Midwinter Solstice in the coming weeks.

Fire, sacred fire,

Burning through the night

Come to me in the Dreamtime

Bring me visions of light.