LEARNING ACTIVITY
Love Letters to the Land
Climate Region: Arid | Temperate | Tropical
State or Territory: All States/Territories
Age Range: 0-7 | Age Range: 7-13

Mrs Smith was reading over the students’ shoulders as she roamed the classroom. Something in Jarrah’s ‘Love Letter to the Land’ caught her eye.
“Jarrah,” asked Mrs Smith, “what do you mean here where it says ‘one thing I can do to help the land is…’?”
“Stop littering, Miss!” said Jarrah.
“But do you litter, Jarrah?” asked Mrs Smith.
“No…” said Jarrah, “Oh, I see what you mean.”
“Try thinking about things you are doing or can do to benefit the environment, even something right here at school.”
“Maybe I could plant some more Midyim berries in the bush tucker garden!” exclaimed Jarrah. “I love Midyim berries!”
“Now that sounds like a win for you – and the environment. Like Uncle Adam explained, bush tucker plants are naturally suited to the soil and climate of the land, so they need less water and that’s a precious resource we need to conserve,” explained Mrs Smith.

ACTIVITY OVERVIEW

You’re going to write a ‘Love Letter to the Land’. In this activity, you and your learners will participate in an observation and record-taking activity.

This will be the inspiration for your ‘Love Letters’, which are a celebration of the land, water, flora and fauna all around you – and the small actions you can take to protect your local environment.

This activity is an opportunity to get children to sit, reflect and connect with the natural world around them because, for children to want to step up and protect the environment, they must first be able to connect, understand and appreciate the environment.

Outcomes

For children to:

  • connect to being outdoors in nature
  • celebrate their local landscape
  • identify and take small actions that will make a difference in their local environment
  • share their commitments to the land with their friends, families and community.
SEASONAL NOTES

The timeframe for the ‘Love Letters to the Land’ campaign is from September to October 2023, to coincide with National Biodiversity Month and National Mental Health Awareness Month – but you can engage your students in letter-writing, record-keeping and observations of the local environment at any time of the year.

Did you know?

People didn’t always send letters. Before letter writing was common, messengers on foot or on horseback, smoke signals and even pigeons, dogs, camels and reindeer were used to deliver messages.

Did you know?

In the past, paper was so expensive that instead of using an envelope, people would save money by folding their letters and sealing them with wax.

Did you know?

Before paper was invented by the Chinese in 105AD, people drew on cave walls or wrote on stone tablets, bark, pottery or papyrus. Papyrus is an old form of paper. The Egyptians would make sheets from the papyrus plant that grew alongside the River Nile.

Did you know?

People didn’t always send letters. Before letter writing was common, messengers on foot or on horseback, smoke signals and even pigeons, dogs, camels and reindeer were used to deliver messages.

Why not try one of our other Junior Landcare learning activities?

Creating an Indigenous plant-use garden: plant list

First Nations Perspectives

Creating an Indigenous plant-use garden: resources from the bush

First Nations Perspectives

Creating a butterfly garden

Biodiversity

Creating a sensory garden

Biodiversity