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Video

Catalyst: E-waste, recycling, and sustainability

What happens to electronic waste (e-waste)? Watch this clip about the physics of recycling to find out the way that useful materials are captured from waste at a local materials recovery facility. Presenter Tanya Ha investigates e-waste, the products it comes from, and the sustainability challenges it poses.

Video

Understanding the causes of climate change

Did you know that climate change is not a recent phenomenon? In the past, natural events led to changes in the climate. Although natural events still affect climate, they're not enough to explain the big changes we've been seeing in the last 150 years. What changes on earth can account for such dramatic changes to our climate? ...

Video

Magical Land of Oz: Koalas and climate change

The koala population in rural NSW has been declining over the years due to drought and heatwaves. What causes some of the temperature extremes experienced in this region? Dr Mella believes koalas normally get most of the moisture they need to stay hydrated from eucalyptus leaves. What has changed in recent years that means ...

Online

MoneySmart: The fun begins: plan, budget, profit!

This is a unit of work integrating aspects of the year 6 mathematics, English, geography, and economics and business curriculums around planning a nature fun park. The unit is intended to take about eight hours. It consists of eight sets of student activities supported by teacher notes, including mapping, holding discussions, ...

Video

Bali and Sumba: Paradise versus poverty

We all know the idyllic paradise called Bali, but have you ever heard of its poorer neighbour, the Indonesian island of Sumba, where the people struggle to grow food to eat? Watch this clip to learn about environmental conditions and agricultural challenges there. Find out also what people in Sumba are doing to prepare ...

Video

ABC 7.30: Where do we build next?

Like many Australian cities, Melbourne has been growing rapidly. This clip from 2012 investigates debates about where Melbourne's urban growth should occur. While inner city areas are slowly being redeveloped, the outer suburbs continue to sprawl and their residents battle some serious issues.

Online

Farms and people's connections to them

This is a teacher resource containing a sequence of activities for investigating farms and the connections that diverse groups of people have to them. It contains material to assist planning, implementing and assessing a study of different Australian farms, the primary resources that come from farms, and connections that ...

Interactive

Biodiversity – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This biodiversity learning resource guides students through an extended school based investigation. Students develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate and reflect on their success and their learning.

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Electricity generation from geothermal energy in Australia

This is an online information resource that explains how electricity is generated from geothermal sources in Australia and includes three diagrams supporting and demonstrating the information provided in the text. It contains six sections: Geothermal systems; Potential advantages of geothermal power generation in Australia; ...

Online

Climate education guide, activity 3: trees and carbon

This is a teaching-learning resource containing teaching strategies and a student activity about the role of forests as carbon sinks and the effect of tree size on the capacity to store carbon. The resource has six tabs, five of which are relevant. The first tab provides information about the importance of forests in storing ...

Online

Climate educator guide, activity 2: the carbon cycle

This is a teaching-learning resource containing teaching strategies and a student activity about the carbon cycle and how carbon in the atmosphere is connected to living things. The resource has six tabs, five of which are relevant. The first tab provides information about the carbon cycle and the second provides an activity ...

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Case studies in urban design

This is a rich, multilayered resource that presents six case studies demonstrating the 12 principles of the Urban design protocol designed for Australian cities. The case studies include: a mixed use precinct in Darling Harbour; regeneration plans for Parramatta; reservoir gardens in Paddington; a youth activities area ...

Online

Activity: biodiversity is more than the sum

This is a web resource that provides a teacher guide for student activities about biodiversity. The teacher guide provides lesson plans for the activities involving research, presentation of findings and peer assessment, and includes background information about biodiversity as well as a list of suggested research topics. ...

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Protocol framework for urban design

This is a rich resource about the Urban design protocol for Australian cities. The resource describes the protocol, including the aims, the five pillars on which it is founded, and how the protocol relates to the National urban policy goals and objectives of productivity, sustainability, liveability and governance. The ...

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Ocean energy

This is a resource about ocean energy that includes sections on Tidal energy, Wave energy, Ocean thermal energy, World ocean energy market, and Australia's ocean energy resources. Links on the right-hand side of the resource provide additional related resources including publications and websites. The resource is part of ...

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What is urban design?

This is a multilayered resource about urban design in Australia. The resource includes: an explanation of what urban design is; the elements of urban design; definitions of terms commonly used in urban design in the Australian context; links to information about the principles of the Urban design protocol for Australian ...

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Design principles about place: productivity and sustainability

This is a multilayered resource that presents the 12 design principles of the Urban design protocol for Australian cities. The principles are presented in three sections and link to important information about the attributes of each of the principles. The principles about place are enhancing, connected, diverse and enduring ...

Video

Foreign Correspondent: Mesoamerican Reef threatened

The Mesoamerican Reef, just off the shore of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, is under major threat. Listen to oceanographer Roberto Iglesias-Prieto explain how untreated wastewater affects the underground river system and the reef.

Video

CERES Environment Park

This is a video about the sustainable not-for-profit agribusiness operated by the Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies (CERES) in inner Melbourne. CERES Environment Park runs an organic farm, fruit and vegetable delivery business, and delivers educational programs to schools. Presented by the ...

Video

ABC News: Population pressures in coastal towns

Stunning beaches and tourist-filled coastal towns are some of Australia's most important assets. But how do seasonal fluctuations in population affect these coastal communities? This clip focuses on a new push by the National Sea Change Taskforce to have visitor numbers properly counted in the next census, so that development ...