You don’t need to travel to distant jungles to see spectacular wildlife. We are surrounded by fascinating animals, beautiful plants and diverse ecosystems, even in our city centres. Local Safari offers over seventy easy, safe and ethical ways to discover the nature of your local area, and better understand and care for the world in which we all live. Created in partnership with Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots youth groups, this 160-page book is intended to encourage young naturalists to have their own local safari adventures! The opening pages provide an overview of Dr Jane Goodall’s personal story, an account of the history of Roots & Shoots youth groups, and a foreword by Jane. The remaining 145 pages are divided into three sections: ‘what lives in my local area’, ‘activities and experiments’ and ‘make the world a better place’. The ‘what lives in my local area’ section explores ways to find and observe nature at home or at school. Key animal and plant groups are documented and explained, along with ethical observation methods. Every page is filled with facts, activities and stunning imagery. No matter where you live in Australia, this book contains activities that you can undertake: from becoming a wildlife detective, to bird watching, going on a mammal safari, spotting reptiles, identifying wildflowers, pond dipping, beach combing, rock pooling and more! The ‘activities and experiments’ section showcases carefully designed methods to help youngsters ethically and safely understand key natural processes. Many of these activities and experiments are specifically designed to inspire children to get away from computer screens and into the ‘field’; to drive learning through real experiences, often with grubby hands! These fun, easy and ethical activities and experiments include growing avocado seeds to understand seed germination, making clay creatures and shell mobiles, watching crystals grow and having a sunflower seedling race! The final section, ‘make the world a better place’, showcases a wide variety of ways in which we all can bring about positive change and create a better future for the natural world. From planting native trees, to making a pollinator garden, building an insect hotel for ‘good bugs’, setting up a wildlife pond, a nesting box and building a bird drinking point! Or simply picking up litter and recycling. The carefully crafted, age-appropriate text is concise, easy to understand but detailed and rich with interesting information. The use of colourful imagery throughout is intended to explain the subjects and activities that are covered. Local Safari will drive the passion, enthusiasm and interest of children across Australia, to help nurture and encourage the next generation of young conservationists, naturalists and environmentalists!
