Photos: Ellen Appleby		Arts Camps Inspire Greenbank Students Next to Greenbank State School are 20 acres of environmental reserve backing onto Oxley Creek owned by the army but dedicated for exclusive use by the school. Pullenvale Environmental Education Centre was asked to work with the school community to raise the environmental awareness in the school community. One component of this program was a series of year 5 Arts Camps. The goal was to give the students, and teachers arts skills and environmental understandings to help them appreciate, promote and care for their own bushland. The arts were the communication tool and the ecological and environmental understandings about their local bush was the underlying environmental curriculum. The Arts Camps' theme 'Hidden Messages' exposed students to the idea that the forest is communicating with us all the time and people can interpret the messages through their senses. The camp began with a visit to Nguatana-Lui, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Studies Centre where the students experienced some of the 'hidden messages' that indigenous people know, and how they translate and communicate these messages from the land through their art. At Pullenvale EEC the students built on the Nguatana-Lui experience as they made clay tiles and sculptures, insects from wire and bush materials, created bush weavings, wrote poems, made soundscapes and painted murals. They danced at dusk and sang about the earth, wind, fire and rain. These artistic moments were interspersed with inspirational and informative interludes in the forests at Pullenvale and in the Greenbank reserve. The students decided to hold a presentation for their parents and school community, where, through their own art, they showed the adults how to 'notice' and understand the forest and how to use it as inspiration for art. Through photographs, digital images, audio and video documentation as well as the children's artworks and teacher observations, the teachers captured evidence of the learning outcomes of the camp. These were highlighted by changes in the students' attitudes, knowledge, communication and confidence in understanding their local forest. As the Pullenvale teachers left, Chris Quinn, the Principal, commented that the increase in the environmental awareness in the school in one year had already exceeded her expectations. An extended Waterwatch program with Year 7 students was run during 1997, and will continue in 1998. The Oxley Creek Environment Group will implement this program. Ellen Appleby

			Dear Nanny and Poppy Last week when we went to the Oxley Creek I saw a turtle. We saw some people planting trees so that erosion will not happen. We saw some different trees that we have not seen before like the pepper tree and a lot more. We went on the jetty and wrote some things we saw. I saw some storm birds. Julia. Dear Mr Soorley STOP polluting Oxley Creek because there is so much rubbish it is not funny, and there is no rubblish bin. There was some people planting trees. Maybe our class would like to help too. From Beau Dear Mr Soorley The pollution is really bad, you can't go swimming the Oxley Creek. The Brisbane City Council is planting some more trees. The Oxley Creek is so polluted that some people should help other people clean it up. Some people should mow the grass and plant some more trees. From Naomi. Dear Dad When I went to Oxley Creek we went on the pontoon and we were quiet so we could hear noises. We drew what we wanted Oxley Creek to look like in the future. The grass at Oxley Creek was long and itchy and it itched all over. From Kahli. Students from Corinda State School.

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