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Australian Curriculum. (2017). The Arts: Sequence of content F-10 Sub-strand: Exploring ideas and improvising with ways to represent ideas. Retrieved from: https://acaraweb.blob.core.windows.net/resources/The_Arts_-_Sequence_of_content.pdf

Burke, G. (2005). Me and My Place: How nature, art and play draw out and value a child’s unique view of the world. Retrieved from:
http://images.lib.monash.edu.au/edf3181/04213821.pdf

City of Casey. (2017). Indigenous Plants. Retrieved from: file:///Users/HalimaShariat/Downloads/City-of-Casey-Indigenous-Plant-Guide.pdf

Coder, R.D. (1996). Identified Benefits of Community Trees and Forests. Retrieved from:
http://www.nfs.unl.edu/documents/communityforestry/coderbenefitsofcommtrees.pdf

Department of Early Childhood Education and Care. (2009). Early Years Learning Framework. Retrieved from:

https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf

National Tree Day. (2014). Why Love Trees. Retrieved from:
http://treeday.planetark.org/documents/doc-1430-why-love-trees.pdf

Pitts, G. (2002). A Brief History of the Community Arts. Retrieved from:

https://web.archive.org/web/20121209015218/http://www.abc.net.au/arts/fertile/essay_2.htm

United Nations. (2017). Climate Change. Retrieved from:

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/climatechange

Wenger, E. (2006). Communities of practice a brief introduction. Retrieved from:
http://education.qld.gov.au/staff/development/performance/resources/readings/communities-practice.pdf

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The last activity is based on an inquiry approach which will also encourage children to be involved. It involves exploring the environment and discovering natural materials to create an artistic piece based on the preference of the individual. Recycled cardboard – reused from home items will be used as ‘paper’ to paste their work on if required. Upon finding natural resources, the local arts teacher from ‘HS High School’ will suggest ways to perceive natural resources in relation to art. This will entail examining the artistic elements such as the colour, lines, shapes, texture or form and thus be creative about what can be designed using these materials.

Exploratory images:
http://www.firefliesandmudpies.com/wp-content/uploads/Nature-Art-for-Kids-4.jpg

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As this event has options of activities, following the tree plantation, individuals will then look deeply into trees for other insects or mammals such as birds they may see. The purpose of this is for the community to apprehend the importance trees have in life - not just for humans but essential to provide homes and shelters for other living organisms.

Clay tiles, stensils and toothpicks will be provided by the council whereas additional materials such as sticks, stones and other natural natural sources will be found within their environment. Individuals will use the clay tiles to make 2 sets of images by molding the clay with the materials provided to design their images. One of which will be the chosen tree and any insect or mammals seen and the other tile would be based on the animals the individual would hope to see within their community. This enables individuals to create goals for their tree and the community environment to then determine in time which animals they are attracting from their tree and providing shelter to. These tiles will then be placed on a ‘community appreciation wall’ in a landscape mode to present the scene of the park based on both sets of tiles to demonstrate the community’s progress.

Clay stones:
https://au.pinterest.com/pin/218002438186929171/
Tooth pics:
https://goo.gl/images/RB9hp0

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Even though Erinsborough council is located in a local suburban area and not many native animals are commonly seen, it is essential to preserve and support biodiversity which can be achieved by planting Australian native and indigenous plants which can benefit the community members. Hence, through planting trees which indigenous Australians utilised in the past and edible plants, it will demonstrate value & respect to cultures. As a result, the art event will reflect on the Discipline Based Approach as proposed by Trust (1980) through an aesthetic experience through their senses required to plant the trees as well as draw their surroundings and create an art piece using natural sources  (Burke, 2005). It also enables individuals to critique the environment and the art that it created using these natural sources (Burke, 2005).

In contrast, this event will promote community based art education as all members of the community come together to care, explore and maintain their environment with the individual set of knowledge and experiences each member encompasses which in turn influences the world and those around us (Pitts, 2002). Additionally, this event creates a community of practice as community members engage with the activities with the intention of increasing their awareness about the benefits of trees (Wenger, 2006). As a result, individuals will have the opportunity to express themselves through art (Burke, 2005) .

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Welcome, in light of International Tree Day (14th May), Erinsborough Council in association with the Department of Education will be proudly hosting a FREE - Victorian government funded community event to gather together in order to plant necessary trees in our environment and participate in activities suitable for children and adults to understand the importance and benefit of trees to our environment, present life and to future generations. Following the event, we will celebrate our work and efforts with a lunch provided by our local bakery 'H.S Bakers'.

Event details:

When: 14th May, 2017
Time: 12pm - 2pm
Address: Erinsborough fields,  Victoria.

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The following ACE event would include a local indigenous guest speaker to educate individuals on the various ways we can use the land, how their ancestors lived and how the natural world around us is critical for future generations. Once again, the event will be open for all members of the community although the activities will reflect on the different trees which indigenous Australians utilised not only for edible purposes but also to create weapons, bags or materials (City of Casey, 2017). As many indigenous plants do not require watering, it is a sustainable way of planting trees to enhance our environment without the fear of the tree drying out. In turn, through the exploration of the natural materials from indigenous plants, it can strengthen the community’s understanding on the benefit trees have on individuals in society as well as a range of animals.

Although, participants within the ‘save our trees, save our land’ event will be given a feedback form to provide suggestions on how to improve the event as well as provide suggestions on where they believe significantly requires more plantation of trees. Thus, the council will then examine different local lands to determine which landmark is a priority and then aim to retain this tradition of planting trees and raising awareness about its importance each year. Finally, this tradition can be extended to participating at schools or even at home.

Use of indigenous plant:
http://spi.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/1-1.jpg
Indigenous shields:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/49/5b/fa/495bfac5015ac26eff7d9d5b91ca91c6.jpg

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Individuals who choose to attend will meet at the new local Park estate which requires tree plantation. The trees required to plant will be donated and brought to the specific location by the local nursery ‘H.S Nursery’ for all members of the community to choose a plant of their preference. The purpose of providing preferences for trees is so individuals can value cultures of flora or plant edible trees such as lemon trees to promote sustainability as individuals will be permitted to use the lemons from this tree. Hence, taking only the amount that is required. Three botanists will attend the event to provide professional advice, answer any questions or assist individuals with the plantation process. Whilst individuals are planting their trees, I intend on asking which tree they chose and whether there was a particular reason why. Asking these simple questions will allow me to have an insight about the individual’s interests or background. The materials provided will be iPads given by the council to be used for the activity to draw their images of the tree and the surroundings on the application called ‘Sketchbook’. Individuals will be given a quick introduction on how to use the application and then given time to explore it themselves. The application allows individuals to draw using paint or paste a range of relatable stickers or paste an image captured on the page and add to that image. Finally, these images will be collected to present as a slide show at the council's office and website to document the continuous progress of our environment.

Sketch pad:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/sketchpad/lkllajgbhondgjjnhmmgbjndmogapinp?hl=en
Planting of tree:
https://goo.gl/images/SNnvEq

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This event will entail the following activities:

My Tree

Planting a tree including edible trees. By doing so, individuals will explore the soil they plant, explore their surroundings and learn to utilise an ICT devise in order to portray the landscape view of the tree they planted. For those who plant edible trees, it will promote sustainability through the community growing their own fruits and vegetables which can be shared across the community. The images created will allow individuals to acknowledge their natural environment and feel a sense of calmness once they have been given time to explore the environment which in turn will promote appreciation for the trees and its role for us humans on earth.

(ACAVAM115)  (ACAMAM059) (ACPPS005) (Early Years Learning Outcome 2, 5.3, 5.5)

Our Tree, Our World

The next activity also involves exploring the natural world around them but rather than observing their surrounds from an ‘outside-inside’ form, individuals will observe previously planted trees for any animals or insects on the tree or its surroundings to begin forming an understanding about biodiversity and the loss of habitats for animals as a result of the reduction of trees in the world. Through this, individuals will sketch 2 images using clay, stencils, sticks and other natural sources. The first image would be an image of what they see – whether its insects on the soil or plants and/or another clay image would be of the insects or mammals they would want to see hence, creating community goals to discover which trees they would need to plant in order to invite other safe species such as bees, grasshoppers etc.  (ACAVAR130) (ACAVAR113) (Early Years Learning Outcome 1.4, 2, 3, 4)

Working with Trees

The final activity is prominently a playful experience which focuses on individuals working with the environment to extend their imagination. Individuals will explore the environment to find materials in which they can evaluate the natural sources in association with trees. For example, if they chose a leaf, they will analyse the artistic elements and principles of it and create an image or object using only the materials they discover around them. In turn, this experience enables individuals to understand and acknowledge our natural world and the benefits it has on our lives and children’s as it promotes imagination and sustainability by using natural resources to demonstrate art.
(ACAVAM125) (Early Years Learning Outcome 1.3, 2 4)

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Trees are known as the longest living organisms therefore, in additional to the beauty it serves on the land, it is also an asset to the earth we live on due to the numerous environmental benefits it contains (Save a tree, 2017). Trees contain oxygen within them which enables humans to breath clean air and reduce the amount of polluted air we inhale due to the trees ability to absorb an increasing amount of carbon (Save a tree, 2017). Trees save and improve the quality of water as it reduces the speed of evaporation (Coder, 1996), reduces soil erosion as new trees are being built as well as reduce the ‘greenhouse effect’ as the trees cover the surface of the earth, hence preventing the formulation of greenhouse gases, preserving biodiversity as well as meeting the sustainability goal 13 in relation to climate change and raising awareness (National Tree Day, 2014; United Nations, 2017).

In addition to environmental benefits, trees have an increasing impact on our lives as it can be a source of food or medicine, necessary resources for living such as the way Indigenous Australians created their food and shelter and finally, benefits individuals economically. Evidently, trees are supplied for paper, wood and fuel (National Tree Day, 2014). The use of multiple trees can also reduce the rate of asthma as well as provide relief to children who have Attention Deficit Disorder symptoms (National Tree Day, 2014). The purpose of this event is also to gather community members regardless of their age, sex, culture or background to socialise and make a difference to the community in which they reside in.