Education & training

Community Landcare representative organisation, National Landcare Network, is pleased to announce it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with leading agricultural research, education and advocacy organisation, the Mulloon Institute. The MoU will deliver ‘Catchment Scale Restoration and Rehydration Pilots’ across the country.

A small school has changed its name to KeithUrbenville to honour the songs they love to sing by rockstar Keith Urban. On Monday, December 14, Urbenville Public School students sat in the classroom to have what they thought was a zoom session with Kate Moore, the director of education leadership. Instead, they were shocked and surprised when Keith Urban appeared on the screen and chatted to them for six minutes.

Taxpayers will fund the costly relocation of unvaccinated teachers to Cape York over the school holidays, despite the fact they will be unable to work when students return in 2022 ... According to the Queensland Teachers’ Union, teachers and school staff, have until January 7 to provide the department with evidence that they have received at least the first dose.

“Plants and livestock will be more resilient to the challenges of drought, frost and salinity, as well as more resistant to pests and disease thanks to the research coming out of our new Advanced Gene Technology Centre”: NSW Minister for Agriculture, Adam Marshall.

Workers from the EPIC (Employment Preparation and Inclusion in the Community) program have been assisting in the restoration of Porcupine Village since July this year. The group, which rotates its participants through the village twice a week, initially began by clearing out the historic buildings, and are now focused on doing a number of other jobs around the place, including yard work.

You may have noticed the new window display with artfully displayed bandages, band-aids and defibrillators at 22 High Street. Nurse Nicole Gleeson, started Rhythm First Aid three years ago, a training company delivering first aid training of the highest quality in a captivating and fun environment. Rhythm First Aid delivers first-aid courses to schools, parents, and businesses around Victoria.

It began with a vision to get Sunshine Coast kids back to nature. Now, Wildlings Forest School is teaching outdoor education around the world with one simple goal: to let kids be kids ... From raft building and archery to wood carving and bush cubby houses, the forest school offers a dose of the outdoors enriching the lives of thousands of children, big and small.

Last Sunday Maldon Preschool unveiled their beautiful decorative mosaic. Located at the front of the preschool the mosaic pays tribute to the local area and Mt Tarrengower.   The two metre long project is the culmination of art sessions at the preschool with the children, as well as community outreach activities and incorporates links to families of the region and the local environment.

“When I got Penny, it was just after my third operation on my leg. I was sad and frustrated, but she gave me the motivation to start living my dream. I couldn't wait to get off my crutches and start riding again. Penny was being trained to be an Olympic dressage horse, but she sustained a leg injury that she meant could no longer be an elite athlete. After a rest, she is sound and can be ridden, so she is like me now": Travis Newman, 13, cancer survivor and scholarship recipient.

Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston has opened the expanded Joe Lord Core Library in Kalgoorlie ... The completed 2,100 square metre extension has tripled the storage capacity of the world-class core sample library. The improved facility provides geoscientists, explorers and mining companies with greater access to view and analyse the drillcores containing a wealth of geoscientific information.

Tweed farmers are invited to attend a field day to learn why and how to restore and protect biodiversity on grazing properties. The field day is being delivered by Council’s Sustainability and Environment team alongside Tweed farmers Rhonda and Greg James, who will host the event on their 220-hectare cattle grazing property at Cudgera Creek on Thursday 16 December 2021.

Recent research by a team at Charles Sturt University aims to help develop a robust research framework for regional New South Wales to help improve the control strategy for COVID-19 at the regional level in NSW. It can also assist other infectious disease epidemics.

Story Dogs is a reading support program where selected children read to an accredited dog and its handler ... Rusty and his handler Kathy are the Clarence Valleys first Story Dog team. They visit Gillwinga Public School in South Grafton each week to listen one on one to a pre-selected group of children who benefit from Rusty’s calm and relaxed manner.  

As Australia’s chicken meat consumption continues to grow, attracting and developing emerging leaders in Australia’s chicken meat industry is crucial to ensuring its future success ... In 2019 Joshua Angove was awarded the Gary Sanson Scholarship, and now nearing completion of his PhD, Mr Angove says his introduction to the chicken meat industry was through his honours project.

Pam Dillon. Students from Murray Downs were lucky enough to name a game the Barkly Region Sport Education Coordinator made up. The game is now officially called “Tricketball” which is a combination of Tennis, Cricket and Softball equipment. The students played the game and incorporated maths into the lesson by tallying the number of runs each team member made.

Farmers who have been through a bushfire are wanted for a research project looking to gain a better understanding of the psychological impacts of bushfires and the support that farmers want in the aftermath. The lead researcher, Dr Kate Gunn, Senior Research Fellow and Clinical Psychologist from the University of South Australia, herself grew up on a farm near Streaky Bay in South Australia.

Emma Pritchard. “Teachers are instrumental in every community and the NSW Government needs to invest in them because children, especially in rural and regional areas, are bearing the brunt of the shortages and as a consequence their education is being put at risk”: NSW Teachers Federation President, Angelos Gavrielatos.

Cape York’s future Olympic stars were put through their paces by two of the most qualified coaches you could come across at a two-day clinic in Cooktown earlier this month ... members from Cooktown Amateur Swimming Club had the opportunity to be coached by former Olympians – breaststroke champion Leisel Jones and backstroke star Meagen Nay.

TAFE NSW has denied claims that it plans to sell off the Narrandera and Deniliquin campuses. The denial was in response to claims by the Member for Murray Helen Dalton that a secret briefing note ... revealed TAFE NSW wanted approval to sell off 19 TAFE campuses across regional NSW ... “We should be investing more in TAFE, not less. I sometimes wonder if this Government want to kill off all of regional NSW and force us all to move to Sydney.”

Forestry Corporation put 40 new firefighting recruits through their paces at its Tumbarumba training camp in preparation for the fire season ahead ... This included topics such as fire behaviour, tactics and strategy, leadership, command, control and communications, and how to operate the range of appliances and equipment used at fires, said Fire Training and Operations Officer, Adrien Thompson.

The Australian Rural Health Education Network (ARHEN) today welcomed the Final Report from the House Select Committee on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and the recommendations to improve access to services for people in rural and remote Australia.