AFSA APPROVED PROVIDER:
Eco Explorers
Wominjeka from Naarm, the land of the Traditional Custodians of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong/Boonwurrung Peoples of the South-Eastern Kulin Nation.
We are Melinda and Adam, partners in life and business who founded Eco Explorers back in 2016 out of a need to offer families (like ourselves with two little one’s) the opportunity to connect with other families outdoors in stunning National Parks and bushland reserves.
We have been creating, travelling and learning (with our fabulous team) along the way and completed our level 3 Forest School leader training through FSLI in 2018 which inspired us to extend our programs all over Melbourne and be the first Forest School in Melbourne.
With our combined backgrounds in mental health, community services, outdoor education and play work, we make a pretty awesome team!
Eco Explorers provides child led, unstructured outdoor bush programs for children and families to connect in nature. We enjoy exploring, discovering and learning in wild bush spaces that are mostly National or State Parks here in Victoria. The children are encouraged and supported to take risks to help build their resilience, confidence and self-esteem.
Our weekly term based bush programs include bush playgroup, bush kids forest school and a drop off forest school where children get to immerse themselves in nature at some of Greater Melbourne’s most spectacular National Parks and State Forest. We incorporate hands on learning by connecting to country, learning about the flora and fauna and how to look after our precious environment.
We believe that all children should have access to uninterrupted nature play in wild bush spaces. Its where the magic really happens, and our facilitators support children’s curiosity and imagination by following their lead and providing a flexible learning environment that caters to each child’s individual needs and interests.
We also run funded programs in more urban areas with a strong focus on mental health for disadvantaged families so that our programs are accessible to everyone. We endeavour to always provide an inclusive, welcoming and warm space for our families.
Our facilitators actively seek out and attend workshops with Elders and Aboriginal People in their local areas to ensure that we embed Indigenous perspectives in a respectful way into our programs.
Eco Explorers is committed to Reconciliation by promoting an understanding of and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People and cultures through discussions and the use of authentic Aboriginal resources. Our vision is that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are valued, and their cultures respected throughout all of our communities.
At Eco Explorers, we foster sustainable practices and a connection to the land and hope to inspire future generations to love and care deeply for the earth.
Our environmental policy incorporates all aspects of our business, including the materials we use, and we encourage families to reduce, reuse and recycle where possible, as we do with our materials. We also take great care to tread lightly as most of our sites are protected conservation areas.
Our facilitators come from all walks of life and bring such diverse experience and knowledge to the team. We share, connect, learn and listen to each other’s ideas, as we do with the children who we are walking alongside on this journey. We do not see ourselves as the children’s teachers, instead their mentors and we recognize that they have just as much to contribute as adults do. Their curious and inquisitive minds are something we could all learn from.
