Environmental Website

We have been busy creating some new Environmental and Sustainability articles for our education themed website barinya.com  

They are full of great information, ideas and questions to get kids (and big kids!) thinking, researching and doing!  You could use individual questions or themes, or use them as a good starting point for an in depth project.


Here's a brief look at what is included in a few of them.    Follow the title links to read the whole article.


Animals and their Environments

 This article looks at animals, the way we utilise them and the effects it has on the environment.  It invites readers to ask a lot of hard questions and really delve into WHY we are doing things the way we do... and should we?

Some of the aspects looked at are animals as food, factory farming, CAFO's, free range, transporting animals,  environmental effects, pets, animal testing, animals as entertainment, animal products effects on health, vegetarian and vegan diets and viewing animals as fellow Earthlings.


Kids and the Environment

Kids and the Environment is about encouraging kids to learn about what is happening in the environment and to take a hands-on role, in many aspects of their lives, in helping counteract the damage we have caused.

The article discusses ways they can help at home, in the garden, at school, in the neighborhood, out and about, and wider world issues.

As they go about doing various research and activities, they can adopt names such as Leak Detective, Environmental Chef, Energy Efficiency Expert, Garden Guru, Water Wizard, School Environmental Warriors and Environmental Discoverers.  They can even turn Trash into Treasure!


Abundant Productive Gardens


In this article, we explore all kinds of aspects of creating abundant, productive gardens aimed at increasing self sufficiency, as well as added physical and mental health aspects.  There's information as well as lots of questions to get them thinking and planning!

We discuss the benefits of gardening, growing food, organic gardening and permaculture, creating healthy living soils, composting and worms, animals in the garden and manures, water in the garden, attracting beneficial insects and creatures to your garden, using plants for shade and creating micro-climates, and community gardens.


Resilient & Sustainable Communities

This article is all about transitioning from resource wasting, more separatist living, into thriving localised communities, with a real focus on sharing and co-operation.

We talk about the challenges facing society and some of the ways which we can help ease the transition.  We discuss the Transition Town initiative, eco villages & intentional communities, localisation, important considerations for each community, community based projects, reskilling, honouring the knowledge of our elders and indigenous people, and ways we can engage sommunity spirit and engagement. Green Products

Green Products is an environmental issues starter pack designed to get people really thingking about all of the products and services they use, and how might they do so in "greener" ways.  It includes dozens of questions to stimulate inquiry.

Some of the topics discussed are cleaning, energy, food, water, garden, technology, clothing, waste, travel and business.


Educating for the Future

Educating for the Future is an interesting article for educators, of any kind, especially those who recognise that we need to specifically educate our young people, and communities at large, for a different future world than the one we live in today.  Change is happening fast, and in different directions than any time in history.  We need to prepare people to live productive and happy lives, able to take on the challenges that will lead us into the future.

Some of the points of discussion are educating for the real world future; how we can do this in various learning environments such as schools, universities and the home; home education; learning in the community; learning via the internet; learning on the job; learning through recreational activities; learning from our elders and indigenous people; life skills and reskilling, educating for "future-proof"
jobs; and the importance of environmental education.


I hope some of these articles give you some great ideas for homeschool projects and discussions!

Check back on barinya.com from time to time, as there will be more articles coming soon!