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For more than 10 years, the relationship between Up2Us Landcare Alliance and Mansfield Kindergarten has shown what can happen when early childhood education and community environmental knowledge come together in a genuine, long-term partnership. Rather than a one-off visit, it has become an ongoing connection that helps children learn about the natural world through repeated, local, hands-on experiences.

That relationship is also personal. Up2Us Project Officer Rhiannon has worked closely with the kindergarten over the years, and her connection to the service runs deeper than her professional role: her own children attended Mansfield Kindergarten. That shared history adds another layer of trust and familiarity to the partnership, and reflects the way strong local relationships often sit at the heart of meaningful environmental education.

Up2Us Landcare Alliance works across Mansfield Shire to protect and restore local landscapes, with education playing an important part in that work. Through its programs with kinders and schools, the organisation helps connect children with local plants, animals, waterways and habitats, while supporting educators to make sustainability learning relevant to the places children know.

At Mansfield Kindergarten, that has meant children seeing the same Landcare faces over time, building familiarity and confidence as they explore birds, bugs, plants and waterways. For educators, this kind of continuity matters. Rich learning rarely comes from a single incursion; it grows when children can revisit ideas, deepen their observations and connect one season’s learning to the next.

Across the year, Up2Us visits Mansfield Kindergarten four times a year, always at Mullum Wetlands, with a few additional incursions to the kinder site. Children are encouraged to observe closely, ask questions and notice patterns in the living world around them. Over time they have spotted tawny frogmouths and chicks, possums, red wattlebirds, kingfishers and spotted pardalotes, turning local wildlife into memorable learning rather than abstract classroom content.

The sessions bring together inquiry, storytelling and practical action. Children search for bugs and water creatures, draw native plants, investigate habitats and hear Taungurung stories such as Bunjil the Eagle and Wa the crow. They also take part in planting and habitat projects, helping them see that caring for the environment is not only about learning facts, but about contributing to the wellbeing of a place.

For educators, the Mansfield example offers a practical model. Local Landcare groups can bring place-based knowledge, restoration skills and community connection, while educators provide continuity, curriculum insight and an understanding of how children learn through play, repetition and care. Together, they can create learning that is grounded in place and meaningful to children.

The lesson for other services is simple: start local. A conversation with a nearby Landcare group may lead to nature walks, planting days, habitat projects or child-led inquiry inspired by what is happening just beyond the fence. In Mansfield, the partnership between Up2Us Landcare  Alliance and the kindergarten shows how local environmental organisations and educators can enrich one another’s work and give children something lasting: a real sense of connection, responsibility and belonging.