News & Events

It’s been another great year here at ForestLearning, with a range of new comprehensive resources released to support educators to teach about sustainability with Australia’s forests and wood products.

ForestLearning’s commitment to providing innovative, curriculum-aligned resources has once again supported teachers and students across Australia. In 2024, five standout resources captured the attention of educators, helping to bring sustainability, forests, and forestry education to life.

Here’s a look at these top resources:

1. Cardboard Construction Techniques – Banyule Nillumbik Tech School

Subject:  All
Year: All

This resource has been created by the Banyule Nillumbik Tech School and contains all the resources schools need to create their very own Cardboard Construction Techniques board that demonstrates some excellent techniques to use during cardboard prototyping sessions.

2. Environmental Change and Forest Management – Year 10 Geography (2022 AGTA Award Winner)

Subject:  Year 10
Year: Geography

Forests are of enormous importance to all species on earth. They provide shelter, food, and other resources. They help to clean our water and protect our soils. They are the guardians of the climate and are economically important. They provide us with inspiration and enjoyment. We need forests.

ForestLearning has developed this unit in conjunction with the Geography Teachers Association of Victoria (GTAV) to assist
geography teachers to explore Australian forests using innovative spatial and virtual reality technologies including ForestVR^TM (forestlearning.edu.au/forestvr).

3. Tree Carbon Storage Tape Measure

Subject:  All
Year: All

Explore how much carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) your eucalypt and pine trees have offset so far in their lifetime by measuring a tree at chest height with the ForestLearning Carbon Storage Tape Measure.

This tape measure has been developed by Forest Learning in partnership with CSIRO using their scientific data on tree carbon storage, and Lifecycle’s analysis of of average everyday products and energy use.

4. The Sustainable Seating Project D&T Years 7-8

Subject:  Design & Technologies
Year: Years 7-8

ForestLearning and the Design and Technologies Teachers Association of Victoria (DATTA Vic) have developed this eight-lesson resource to align with Version 9.0 Australian Curriculum Years 7-8 Design and
Technologies.

Students will investigate the properties and sustainability of materials including cardboard and explore the importance of sustainable forest management to produce wood pulp for the manufacture of cardboard. Using ForestVR 360o videos, students go on virtual excursions to an Australian pine plantation and paper mill to experience the cycle of growing sustainable wood fibre and how it is processed into paperboard.

5. Sustainable Schools: Going Green in your Canteen – Geography / D&T years 5/6 (AGTA Highly Commended Award)

Subject:  Design & Technologies and Geography
Year: Years 5-6

As Australians and global citizens, we all have a part to play in our planet’s future. Choosing more sustainable options when it comes to buying everyday products, such as the clothes we wear, packaging materials, to the energy sources we use every day, can all play a part. Choosing renewable resources such as solar, wind, or wood and wood fibre from trees offers one solution to reach our sustainability targets. In choosing renewable resources over non-renewable resources such as coal, crude oil and gas, we also gain a benefit of using less of these non-renewable resources that work to increase global carbon emissions.