The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney is home to millions of seeds. They are all across our beautiful garden, and of course in the collection of the New South Wales Herbarium.
You can be a Seedling too!
In our Seedlings Nature School, we explore, discover and create outside in nature. We are looking at the big and small wonders of the garden, find bugs, build cubby houses, make beautiful nature art, and have heaps of fun.
Term passes now available
This is the recommended way to attend Seedlings Nature School.
By joining us for a full term, your child:
- forms a relationship with the space and looks forward to visiting 'their nature place'
- learns more about their body and capabilities by building on skills, with the help of our Educators
- observes changes in the environment over time, sparking curiosity and interest in the natural world
- makes friends with other Seedlings
...and it's the best value! (8 weeks for the price of 7)
Classes can also be booked weekly if not sold out prior.
Follow this link to book your session
Why should you become a seedling?
Our Seedling Nature School follows one of the oldest pedagogical principles.
We learn best if we learn with our head, heart, and hands and what better place is there to do it than outside in nature.
In an urbanising world, the need for children to connect to nature is becoming more and more urgent. Following the model of European Forest Schools, the Australian version of Bush Kindies are becoming more and more popular as parents realise that time spent outside is much more valuable than the ever-expanding screen time.
A Day at Seedlings Nature School
* This is what a Seedlings day can look like. Programs change weekly and timings may vary.
10:00am – families arrive and children partake in our free play activities which can include chalk rock painting, mud kitchen, log climbing and exploring our nature play space – all the while practising fine and gross motor skills and engaging in sensory experiences
10:30am – the group gathers around the log circle to greet each other and discover what we will be exploring that day
10:40am – today we’re going on a bug hunt! We discuss the different insects we may find in the Gardens, where to look for them, and what to do when we find them. We collect our equipment and off we go!
11:00am – We are playing the bug hunting game … which little bug runs the fastest?
11:30am – time for morning tea and story telling
11:45am – use some clay and some treasures that you found during the day and make your day’s beautiful artefact!
12:00pm – say goodbye to our rangers and take your mum, dad or carer for a stroll through the garden.
What the Department of Education Says
The Early Years Learning Framework describes childhood as a time of belonging, being and becoming.
Belonging is the basis for living a fulfilling life. Children feel they belong because of the relationships they have with their family, community, culture and place.
Being is about living here and now. Childhood is a special time in life and children need time to just ‘be’—time to play, try new things and have fun.
Becoming is about the learning and development that young children experience. Children start to form their sense of identity from an early age, which shapes the type of adult they will become.
Play is Learning!
Play is very important for children. Through play, babies and young children explore and learn to understand the world around them as they come to communicate, discover, imagine and create.
When children play they are showing what they have learned and what they are trying to understand. This is why play is one of the foundations of the Early Years Learning Framework.
For more information on Nature Play (or Nature School as it is known in Canada) see the Natural Start Alliance.