BEACH FRIENDS – MARRANG GAMARADA NATURE PLAY PEDAGOGY AT KU WOMBARRA PRESCHOOL
BEACH FRIENDS – MARRANG GAMARADA NATURE PLAY PEDAGOGY AT KU WOMBARRA PRESCHOOL
“ We can sense real joy and liveliness in our pedagogy, both at the beach and back at preschool. The curriculum is alive and interesting for all, a culture of enquiry and an intimate knowledge of our place has been fostered and we are all so much richer for this experience. We know that we are a valued part of our community and are part of the unfolding history of our place. We are grateful for the opportunity to share the work we love with others, that they may deepen their own ecological understandings and bring their children on a similar journey within their own communities.”
Fiona Harris – KU Wombarra Director
KU Wombarra Preschool, located in the Illawarra region of NSW on the shoreline of Wombarra Beach, has created space for thinking, research and discussion and has recognised the benefit of nature play pedagogy on the development of children’ s ecological identities. This focus prompted the implementation of a beach play program, known as Beach Friends – Marrang Gamarada.‘ Marrang Gamarada’ means beach friends in the language of the Dharawal people with permission given by a local elder and language holder. At Beach Friends – Marrang Gamarada, children are supported to observe, explore, question and examine rock platforms, beach and tide lines, marine life and materials, as well as the bush and cliff top headland nearby. Through an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning, the children are encouraged to ask complex questions about complex issues including endangered animals, pollution and human impact on the earth which has helped to shape a growing disposition towards activism and afforded opportunities for educators to connect theory to practice.
The Beach Friends – Marrang Gamarada program has been significantly influenced by post structural theorist Ann Pelo:“ To nurture ecological identity in young children, we invite them into relationship with the world beyond walls and with the creatures that live there. We invite them into ethical thinking anchored by the compassion that comes from caring and engaged relationships. We invite them to come home to the earth and to live honourably in that home.”( Pelo, 2013)
www. ku. com. au MAY 2017 Page 3