When the charity Eucaluptus Australia formed in 2007 they nominated 23rd March as National Eucalyptus and published their three key priorities:

• Conservation: Projects that identify and address threats to eucalypt conservation
• Education: Projects that raise public awareness of eucalypt cultural and conservation values
• Research: Projects that increase scientific knowledge of eucalypts

You can read more on the history of the day & how it came about here but for now we’d like to introduce you to our ‘Life Around A Gum Tree‘ educational resource & Bingo Cards which is full of local content & perfect for anyone who wants to learn more about these beautiful trees in a fun & interactive way!

About our ‘Life Around A Gum Tree’ Resource.

Life Around A Gum Tree is an immersive, multi-sensory teaching resource centred around a ‘bingo’ style game. We’ve provided 8 bingo cards, each featuring 8 living things you’d find around a gum tree.

In the teacher’s pack there are three converstation starters to stimulate discussion plus a set of 20 biology fact cards detailing information about the life you’ll find around a gum tree. These can be read out in any order with students marking off their living thing as it’s name is mentioned. First one to complete the card shouts ‘trees’ and is declared the winner.

The teacher cards contain links to further supporting resources including videos, audio recordings, Citizen Science apps and more.

Finally, and what we like best about this resource is that it was developed locally for our community and can be used to support local field trips, surveys and other such excursions.

For educators, the resource maps well to the primary science syllabus:

Early stage 1: Ste-3LW-ST

Explores the characteristics, needs and uses of living things.

Stage 1: ST1-4LW-S

Describes observable features of living things and their environments

Stage 2: ST2-4LW-S

Compares features and characteristics of living and non-living things 

Stage 3: ST3-4LW-S

Examines how the environment affects the growth, survival and adaptation of living things.

Tip for those wanting to play the game with their class.

Print out then laminate your bingo cards so they can be wiped down and re-used. This also works well for anyone wanting to take the game outdoors in all weathers.

For the general public

We encourage you to download the PDF and spend an hour or so sitting under your favourite gum tree & contemplaiting the diversity of life it supports.