Ring the bell, it’s time for class. But this class is not in a classroom, it’s in the outdoors. This is home school education Munibung Hill style.
“We had the pleasure of spending the morning with Wendy Patrick exploring the area of Munibung Hill that Wendy and her husband Craig have been working to protect and regenerate with native plants for the last 20 years.
Wendy and Craig were so kind to take our small home school group of five children and three parents on a great walk! We learned a lot about the geography and history of the area of Munibung.Hill just to the east of Farm Street.
Different areas have been regenerated with native plants that they have propagated over much of this time. Several “before and after” pictures really brought to light how overwhelmed the hill was (and still is in many places) with a variety of invasive plants. The children and we adults were amazed by the difference between what was and what is – when you know what it was like before, it helps you better appreciate the work involved to create the after!
We were also taken by the variety of plants and “biomes” that we walked through….all on our little hill! We are inspired by the dedication of Wendy and Craig and the Landcare volunteers that work so hard to protect the remaining pockets of nature right at our back door!
Our two home school families – The Smiths and Edwards both live in our grandparents homes and my family in particular still live with and care for our great grandma, June Davidson (93yrs old). Both families go back many generations in Boolaroo/Speers Point, often hearing fond memories and stories about “the hill” from our older family members. We are excited to become more familiar with our Hill and start to build new memories of the Hill for our children.”
Words and pictures courtesy Hilary Smith, Speers Point. Wednesday 4 November 2020 (From MMM Issue #15, December 2020)