CURRICULUM
Explaining Coaching Conservation
CC is an environmental education program that has evolved organically since 2004 into a holistic values based curriculum. The focus is on creating empathy for, and an awareness of wildlife and wild spaces while building an understanding of core ecological principles around connectivity. The primary goal of CC is to inspire a generation of kids that care about themselves, others and the natural world around them. The use of sport as the vehicle for change in conjunction with the unique Learning from Wildlife model has proven to be an effective way of teaching about critical conservation issues through a process of learning about animals, from animals, and eventually how to help them. CC understands that empathy cannot be taught directly, but has to emerge. Through the various interventions and experiences children have, CC is able to move children from being kids who are told to care, to kids who really do care about animals and the natural world around them.
Learning from Wildlife Model
CC’s learning from wildlife model presents the animals we aim to protect as animal icons.
All Coaching Conservation lessons, regardless of the program, have the same core structure.
PROGRAMS
HELP THE MENTOR
Kids ‘HELP’ their wildlife mentor by
understanding its conservation challenges and learning what activities they can carry out to aid their survival. Ultimately kids understand that we are all connected, and learn to ‘respect themselves, each other and the natural environment
BE THE MENTOR
Kids ‘BE’ their wildlife mentor, imitating its skills and behaviours within customised games, before thinking about how they can adopt the animal’s
behaviours both in daily life and on the soccer field.
MEET THE MENTOR
Kids virtually ‘MEET’ their wildlife mentor and learn about its characteristic behaviours that make it successful in the wild.
Current programs include short and long-term interventions for individual students, classes and entire schools. Long-term data collection has shown the programs to positively influence attitudes towards wildlife, a pro social mind-set, appreciation of value, and self-worth. The belief is that by improving understanding of how our actions impact on the environment in a variety of communities, through a variety of
mediums, we have the potential to reduce the human impact on wildlife by changing the core values and attitudes of whole communities.
6 week After School Program
This is the most comprehensive program offered by CC. It includes a full day trip to the bush for a personal wildlife experience along with 6 x 2 hour lessons. Conservation concepts develop like building blocks on top of one other each week as do life lessons. Learning outcomes are achieved through a process of i. knowledge acquisition, ii. action and participation and iii. synthesis and innovation. The soccer skills start with individual skills and lead into team work and also develop along up the ‘pyramid of player development’.
BushRAP
(Rapid Awareness Program)
BushRAP is a full one day program that includes a wildlife experience in the bush and a learning from wildlife lesson focused on a single animal.
Gr 5 RAP lesson
(Rapid Awareness Program)
RAP reates awareness of the core conservation issues. This is a once-off 2-hour lesson from a single animal mentor and typically delivered at a school.
Gr 6 Continue to Care
is a 2-hour lesson building on the lessons learned in any of the Gr 5 programs. Is a means to have a continued engagement while accounting for the fact that kids are a year old and more in touch with global/bigger ideas.
Gr 7 We are All Connected
aimed at kids who attended both the Gr 5 after school program and the Gr 6 follow up. This aims to empower kids to move into high school as environmental champions, with a full appreciation for the Benefits of a Healthy Environment. It also allows us to learn how to support them further.
