VELS Levels 3, 4 & 5 

The Biodiversity in Your School program is a partnership between Greening Australia Victoria and Zoos Victoria. It has been developed to support the Biodiversity module in the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative - Victoria (AuSSI - Vic) but can also be used in other contexts.

Program overview

To achieve certification for the Biodiversity module of the Aussi Vic program schools need to complete actions under the following areas;

School Grounds
Curriculum
Whole School Engagement
Community Links

This program has been designed to enable schools to complete actions under each of these areas. Zoos Victoria and Greening Australia have certified AuSSI- Vic facilitators that can sign off on these actions.

Zoos Victoria provides a zoo visit to inspire and engage the studednts with full curriculum support. Greening Australia Victoria (GAV) will provide access to community links and on-ground actions.

Habitat audit of your School Grounds

A habitat assessment tool is used to rate the quality of remnant habitat present, to determine the likelihood of indigenous species still being present within the study area and the action that we can take to contribute towards the conservation of these species. This habitat audit is  completed with the students (commonlly with the environment team or with a class).

This includes a visit by either GA or ZV staff to work with your students to complete the audit - ( about 2 hours), development of the action plan and assistance in getting actions underway.

Students Fieldwork

Students participate in a fieldwork experience at the zoo and are provided with an opportunity to develop an understanding of the biodiversity issues surrounding the loss of local habitat and establish a connection with native wildlife. We will use a habitat assessment tool to rate the quality of remnant habitat present, to determine the likelihood of indigenous species still being present within the study area and the action that we can take to contribute towards the conservation of these species.

The knowledge and skills gained during the zoo learning experience are applied upon the return to school by either auditing the school grounds for habitat or for monitoring current actions. Students are encouraged to use a variety of resources to determine the fauna indigenous to their local environment, investigate their requirements for survival, and include this information in a habitat assessment.

Further information about the curriculum package can be found in the program Stewards for Sustainability

A School Icon

Through research and consensus the school selects one indigenous species to become the school's icon. An action plan needs to be incorporated into the whole school Sustainability and Environment Management Plan (SEMP) that moves towards restoring/creating and maintaining a habitat that meets the needs of the school's faunal emblem. Links to community groups working in the field and access to other programs working towards similar aims will be developed as part of this approach.

To become involved or to find out more please contact Donna Livermore on (03)9285 9335 or by email  

		Stewards for Sustainability Teacher Notes (Healesville Sanctuary) S4S teacher Notes_smaller.pdf  ( 702.4 KB )
		Stewards for Sustainability Student Trail - Healesville Sanctuary S 4 S ST HS.pdf  ( 509.9 KB )
		Stewards For Sustainability Teacher Notes ( Werribee Open Range Zoo/ Melbourne Zoo) S4S TN 3 prop.pdf  ( 2.1 MB )
		VELS Table Level 5 S 4 S Lvl 5.pdf  ( 32.9 KB )
		VELS Table Level 4 S 4 S Lvl 4.pdf  ( 32.4 KB )
		VELS Level Table 3 S 4 S Lvl 3.pdf  ( 15.5 KB )
		Assessment Rubric Healesville Sanctuary Stewards for sustainability.pdf  ( 98.4 KB )