Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Network

Bookings are now open for bush kinder training for terms 1 and 2 in 2026.

This 2 day course is facilitated by experienced early childhood outdoor learning professionals and funding is available through the School Readiness Funding menu.

To find out more get in contact via email, phone or through
https://ecolearningnetwork.org.au

As the end of year approaches, and we all start to get busy, we’d like to remind you that tickets are onsale now for the 2026 ECOLN conference, with online and in-person workshops over 2 days.

Checkout of some of our excellent presenters in the pictures below.

Dates:
Friday March 20 - online (9am-4pm)
Saturday March 21 - Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne (9am-4pm)

Investment:
$75 (Friday online only)
$195/$95 conc (2 days - online and in person)
If you require assistance with funding please get in contact

Tickets:
https://www.trybooking.com/DFSXGon

Please save the date for the 2026 ECOLN conference! Online and in-person workshops over 2 days, tickets are onsale now!

Hey friends, we are thrilled to be looking forward to our next gathering.

This is a wonderful FREE professional learning and networking opportunity not to be missed!

Our Term 3 gathering will be a special one as we hear from 3 different services who all share and use the same parkland for their nature programs.

Please use the link below to register, hope to see you there

https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1443004

We are pleased to let you know that a national Risky Play Position Statement was successfully launched by Play Australia on 24th June 2025.

The position statement is now available on the Play Australia website https://www.playaustralia.org.au/national-risk-position-statement
This message supports the importance of risky play for all children. It’s a helpful resource for starting conversations with families, educators, and the community about what risky play means and why it matters for young children.

We hope to see you on Saturday for our next gathering at the Royal Botanical Gardens Cranbourne.

If you missed out on attending our conference, Fridays virtual sessions were recorded and available to purchase for $65 get in touch at
[email protected]

Wow! What an excellent conference we had last weekend.

Friday’s online sessions were viewed by teachers, educators and managers from across the country, and included presenters from Australia and abroad.

On Saturday it was such a special experience to be welcomed on to Country by Mandy Nicholson with the Djirri Djirri dancers performing and engaging us in an amazing keynote dance workshop.

The afternoon was then filled with fabulous workshops on topics ranging from starting Bush Kinder, to specialist knowledge about trees, birds and insects.

We hope you all had a wonderful time and look forward to you joining us next year, and at our next gathering at the Royal Botanical Gardens Cranbourne. See details in upcoming posts.

Fridays online sessions were recorded and tickets are still available to be purchased for viewing for a limited time.

The Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Network Conference Pedagogy and Practice is fast approaching.

This year the conference program features an online keynote with Wurundjeri Woiwurrung artist, language expert and Traditional Custodian of Naarm, Dr Mandy Nicolson and a stellar lineup of online seminars on Friday May 9.

On Saturday May 10, Dr Mandy Nicholson will welcome conference participants to the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne as we kick off the day with a Djirri Djirri Dance Workshop, followed by outdoor sessions presented by teachers and researchers engaged with place and outdoor pedagogy and practice related to: STEM sonic ecologies, learning with place, collaborative communities of practice, relationships with First Nations elders, seasonal mapping and biocultural knowledge, biomimicry, meeting wildlife and trees in urban places and much more!

The program is available here ECOLN Full Conference Program 2025
https://www.canva.com/design/DAGmKWq0UM8/_kRKB67EXq0wo12iN8uUhw/view?utm_content=DAGmKWq0UM8&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=ha345be39f2

Tickets can be purchased for 1 or both days: https://www.trybooking.com/CWSCT

ECOLN PEDAGOGY & PRACTICE IN NATURE EDUCATION CONFERENCE '25 A two-day professional learning conference with day one online and day two at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, Naarm. The presenters will share...