Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos eat seeds of casuarinas, banksias and hakeas. Apparently they also eat some larvae and grubs which are under the bark of eucalypts and pine trees.  According to the Reader’s Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds, they produced two eggs but only one chick survives.  The female sits on the eggs in their hollow for approximately 4 weeks while the male feeds her all this time.  Both parents feed the hatchling which takes three months to fledge.  It does not become independent until the next breeding season. 

These cockatoos have yellow cheek patches and their feathers are delicately edged with yellow:  They also have yellow underneath the tail as their name suggests.

Just a few days after seeing the Cockatoos, another welcome sighting was of three Pacific Bazas (or Crested Hawks).  We used to have a pair coming regularly to the property for years, but I haven’t seen them for a long time.  It would be interesting to know where they nest as these three were crashing about in the foliage of one of the fig trees,  trying to flush out some insects:  One of them had scored a large stick insect.  These birds also take insects in mid air and other foods include grubs, lizards and frogs.  After foraging in the fig tree, the trio flew off and I haven’t seen them since.

Pacific Bazas are the only Australian hawks with a crest.  They are predominantly varying shades of  blue grey with darker wings.  The crest is black.  Belly is a cream colour with beautiful brown horizontal bars.  Vent and undertail are rufous.  Eyes are a spectacular golden yellow. These birds build flimsy nests for their eggs which number between 2 and 4.  Incubation is also around 4 weeks but by both sexes.  These young fledge in 4-5 weeks.

I hope the Universe continues to smile upon me with these lovely sightings, but more importantly, I wish for Universal benevolence towards all wildlife:  They do it tough most of the time.

Lydia

The only warning I would give is to make sure you have some time on your hands when you delve into it as you could be there awhile!!

http://www.playbasedlearning.com.au/

Feedback was overwhelmingly positive with students citing the experience as inspiring and having a profound effect on their learning.  PEEC was also very excited to have the opportunity for the second year running to work with passionate and enthusiastic pre-service teachers and focus on sharing what we love to do!  We look forward to similar future partnerships with University of Queensland.

“I notice the birds calling, insects buzzing, clouds moving overhead… Much more than I did before this experience”

“I enjoyed the methods used to engage students, the types of learning employed and the enthusiasm of the PEEC teachers involved”

“It’s great to see such wonderful and knowledgeable people interacting with children in a positive way!”

“(In my teaching I would like) to include stories as a way to develop more connected and therefore more effective learning”

“I definitely intend to use the entire school grounds to teach as opposed to locking ourselves in one little room!”

I Wonder........

Get in quick so you don’t miss out!

What: A short workshop about PEEC’s experiential pedagogy (story, drama, attentiveness, reflection)

Where: Pullenvale Environmental Education Centre 250 Grandview Rd Pullenvale

When: Wednesday 8th February 3-5pm

Who and Why: These workshops will be practical and transferable and may be especially helpful to new staff members. The skills shared at these workshops will enhance your storythread experience!

Please register your interest at bookings@pullenvaeeec.eq.edu au

WoodLinks State School - Recycling Room

Due to demand from 2011 Earth Smart Science Schools, I arranged a site visit to two of Queensland’s leading sustainable schools.  The PD was designed for any school staff or parent volunteers actively supporting the school’s sustainability projects (including Earth Smart Science facilitators, groundsman, administrators, teacher aides, etc).

This event provided an informal and hands on opportunity to see Education-for-Sustainability (EfS) in action and to have questions answered. The program provided practical ideas and curriculum connections for the development of a School Environmental Management Plan (SEMP).  Participants also received certificates of attendance.

About WoodLinks State School

Our school centres on Brain Focused Learning through our Sustainable Learning Environment.  We are establishing organic, edible gardens throughout the school forming an integral part of the children’s learning environment. Through the gardens, chook pens, worm farms, composting and recycling structures children will be able to take their learning outside of the traditional classroom and apply skills and knowledge learnt to real life situations.

Our school is different, it is unique and it is squarely focused on Everyone providing Only Our Best for your children, Everyday.  Welcome to our school

Cathy Lindsay – Principal

WoodLinks is a 4 Star Green Star – Education Design school and is part of Education Queensland’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative and opened January 2011.

About Bulimba State School

Bulimba State School values and promotes sustainability as a core component of our school philosophy and mission. This means that support for the mantra, ‘enough for all, forever’ is embedded in both our curriculum and activities.

We demonstrate daily support for this belief through our students, staff and our school community through:

• Active School Travel (Walking, Wheeling Wednesday & Fun, Fit Friday);
• Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program;
• Management of water waste and vegetation;
• Solar panels; and
• The Sun Smart School program.

Over the past 8 years Bulimba State School has won numerous awards through its sustainability focus and in 2010 Michael Zeuschner was the Year of Environmental Sustainability (YES) Champion Principal.

The day culminated in a key-note presentation from Professor Tim Flannery (author and well respected climate scientist).

Participants came from:

Riverview State School, Grand Avenue State School, Ipswich East State School, Jacobs Well and Numinbah Valley EEC, Pallara State School, Bunyaville EEC, Indooroopilly State School, Pullenvale EEC, Earnshaw College, Eudlo State School, Lawnton State School, Nudgee Beach EEC, St Bernard (Tambourine Mt), Brisbane Urban EEC, Carole Park State School, Pallara State School, Boyne Island EEC, Bardon State School and finally Toowong State School.

Our WoodLinks SS part of the tour was filmed and notes from the day are being typed up and sent to participants via email.

Thanks to all who made the day such a success!

David

So he did an experiment. Using the same number of solar cells, he built two working models. One was a traditional, flat array will all of the panels on a single plane. The other used the Fibonacci Sequence to create the same spiraled pattern he observed in the trees. The results? The little man himself reports:

” The tree design made 20% more electricity and collected 2 1/2 more hours of sunlight during the day. But the most interesting results were in December, when the Sun was at its lowest point in the sky. The tree design made 50% more electricity, and the collection time of sunlight was up to 50% longer!”

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2011/08/genius-13-year-old-has-a-solar-power-breakthrough/

This 13 year old gives me hope that with the help of the children of this world we might just be OK!

NB: Adult scientists have tested his theories and discovered that there may be some flaws in his experiment and thus his conclusions. It is important that we continue to encourage our young people to learn,play, explore, discover, create and never give up. While this experiment may not have ‘worked’ who knows what he will discover next!

http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/thinking-tech/why-13-year-olds-solar-power-8216breakthrough-wont-work/8261

I came back from the UK just recently and I had bought myself a well-known brand of  small, touch-screen multimedia player (not an Apple).  I was very pleased with my purchase and showed my husband with glee (he’s a computer whiz) and so together we set about trying to upload some music, videos and pictures so we could try it out and be really cool.  Well 2 days later we had managed to get some music and a video on there but no pictures!!!!  We were stumped:  It was supposed to be so portable and ‘easy’!

I must say that I find the vagaries of digital technology (this includes DVD players, HD set top boxes, cameras, mp3 players and computers) fascinating but why isn’t everything compatible? Why do you have switch this to A and that to B and that to C and plug this in and unplug that and ….. just so that you can watch a DVD or listen to some music – incredible.  Just as you have come to terms with the vagaries of a computer they sneakily update the Operating System so that everything has to be upgraded in some small way, because the printer now doesn’t work so you have to download the latest software from the printer site but the printer, poor thing (which has been in the family for almost generations but still plugs away) doesn’t know whether it’s Arthur or Martha so totally turns its heels up – so you go and get a new printer which needs half an hour to plug in and load new software  meanwhile asking interminable questions about where to put what – well  I don’t know – you choose!!

So – you know what?  I’ve decided to unplug everything, including my earphones, and listen to the local life whether it be wild or manmade. Listening to the song of Brisbane – cicadas, birds, frogs and the wind through eucalyptus leaves, what could be more relaxing!  Watching the drama of a magpie being chased off by a bevy of noisy miners, black ants taking over a termite’s nest – what could be more gruesome!  A pair of pigeons billing and cooing at each other – how romantic!  Being privileged to see a bird of prey zooming on the thermals and looking very relaxed with not a care in the world – Yes! so much less tension in my life!!!!!

 Pippa

We are excited to say that we’ve made some significant changes to programming in line with the introduction of the Australian Curriculum.  Please see page 7 of the 2012 prospectus for alignment to C2C units and SOSE Essential Learnings. You can also view information  regarding specific programs online under our Programs or Curriculum Alignment section.

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