Spirit of the Story at Cumberland State Forest

Cumberland State Forest will become the outdoor classroom for 130 primary school students participating in the ‘Spirit of the Story’, a new event being held on Monday 21 June.

“The event uses narrative and other forms of creative communication to convey messages about wildlife and forest management that might otherwise be too complicated for children to understand,” State Forests education officer, Mr Gerard Nolan, said.  “It’s a great way to teach and a fun way to learn.”

Mr Nolan said the event includes a range of exciting forest activities for students to get involved in, including wildlife surveys, bark painting, and an interactive play.  The kids will also get the chance to meet some of the injured native wildlife being looked after by the Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Service.

“The students will spend the day in the forest, which will enable them to physically experience the bush while they learn,” Mr Nolan said.  “The kids have much more fun learning how scats (poo) and bones can help wildlife surveying when they can actually see and touch them.”

“This is the very first time the day-long program will be held, and we hope to make it an annual event for school groups to attend,” he said.

The ‘Spirit of the Story’ is a cooperative effort of State Forests, Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Service and Mt Annan and Wollongong Botanic Gardens.

Cumberland State Forest is located at 95 Castle Hill Road West Pennant Hills.

Media contact: Gerard Nolan on (02) 9871 0050.