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  • Climate action for families in Australia

    Climate action for families in Australia

    Australia’s landscapes are breathtaking — from ancient rainforests and coral reefs to sunburnt deserts and alpine peaks. But our climate is changing fast, and families across the country are feeling the effects: hotter summers, unpredictable weather, more bushfires, and biodiversity loss.

    Here’s how Australian families can take meaningful climate action — together.

    1. Start Conversations at Home

    Climate action begins with awareness. Talk about climate change with your children in age-appropriate ways. Nature documentaries, books like The Lorax, or visiting local parks and wildlife sanctuaries can spark curiosity and concern.

    💬 Ask questions like: What do you love most about nature? What do you want to protect?

    2. Eat more mindfully

    Food is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Simple swaps can have a big impact:
    🥦 Add more plant-based meals to your week
    🛒 Choose locally grown, seasonal produce
    🍴 Avoid food waste by planning meals and using leftovers creatively

    3. Reduce, Reuse, Repair

    Australia’s waste per capita is among the highest in the world. Teaching children to be conscious consumers builds lifelong habits.
    🧸 Organise a toy swap with friends
    🛠️ Fix broken household items together
    👕 Buy second-hand or opt for quality over quantity

    4. Green Your Travel

    Transport is a major emissions source in Australia. Even small changes help:
    🚲 Walk, ride bikes, or take public transport when possible
    🚗 Carpool with other school families
    ✈️ Try to avoid flying, consider closer destinations for holidays and more creative ways to get to your destination (a train trip with kids can be such an adventure!)

    5. Get Into Nature — and Protect It

    Spending time outdoors fosters a love for the environment. It also improves wellbeing and resilience.
    🌱 Join a local bushcare group or conservation event
    🦋 Start a Native Oasis in your backyard to support pollinators
    📸 Participate in citizen science projects like FrogID or the Aussie Backyard Bird Count

    6. Join a Local Action Group

    You don’t have to do it alone. Connect with other parents who care about the future by joining a local group through Parents for Climate.
    👣 Whether it’s attending a school climate event, advocating for better policies, or simply meeting other families on the same journey, community brings strength — and joy — to climate action.

    7. Support Climate Education

    Knowledge empowers action. Encourage schools to integrate climate and sustainability topics.
    📚 Join a local a local Climate Fresk For Kids workshops
    🎨 Creative nature-based learning through art, storytelling, and games

    8. Use Your Voice — Together

    Teach kids the power of civic action. Write to your local MP, attend community events, or join school campaigns for better recycling or tree planting.

    🗳️ Vote for leaders who prioritise climate
    📢 Support organisations that protect nature and educate communities

    Why Family Climate Action Matters

    Children today will inherit the decisions we make — or fail to make. Taking action as a family shows that caring for the Earth is a shared responsibility, and that every choice counts.

    It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just start where you are, with what you have.

    Because when families lead, communities follow. And when communities act, systems can change.

    Believe in a better future? So do we.

    At People For Nature, our mission is bold: to educate 27,000 Australians by 2027 on climate and biodiversity, empowering them to take meaningful action for our planet.

    Your donation fuels citizen-powered education that turns knowledge into action—and action into lasting change.
    Donate today and be part of the change.

    💚 Together, we can shape a planet-boundaries literate Australia.

    Sources & References

  • How citizen-led actions support Australia’s Nature Strategy

    How citizen-led actions support Australia’s Nature Strategy

    Australia’s Nature Strategy 2024–2030 outlines a bold vision for halting and reversing nature loss, reconnecting people with nature, and fostering a future where both our natural environments and communities can thrive. While the strategy presents ambitious national goals, citizen-led actions play a crucial role in turning these policies into reality on the ground.

    One of our key initiatives helping to advance this vision is Nature Oasis—a citizen-led movement that empowers individuals to take action in their own backyards, communities, and beyond. By becoming Nature Oasis Ambassadors, Australians can make a direct contribution to preserving and restoring our unique ecosystems. Let’s explore how these grassroots efforts align with the priorities of Australia’s Nature Strategy.

    Engaging All Australians in Conservation

    One of the main priorities of the strategy is to engage all Australians in caring for nature. The Strategy highlights the need for a culture of environmental stewardship, where people take active responsibility for the natural world around them.

    Citizen-led actions, like those championed by Nature Oasis, are integral to this objective. By providing accessible tools, resources, and workshops, initiatives like Nature Oasis bring environmental action into everyday lives. Whether it’s restoring a local patch of bushland, planting a native garden, or creating wildlife habitats, these small yet significant actions have a ripple effect, inspiring others to get involved.

    Nature Oasis encourages people from all walks of life to sign the Nature Oasis Charter, commit to best practices for supporting native wildlife, and contribute to a growing map of nature-positive spaces. This fosters a collective, national effort that aligns directly with the strategy’s call to empower Australians to take care of their environment.

    Protecting and Conserving Nature in Partnership with Communities

    Australia’s Nature Strategy places great emphasis on conservation efforts that are community-driven. It recognizes that the power to protect nature lies not just in policy but in the collective action of people working together.

    Citizen-led projects, such as Nature Oasis, contribute directly to this goal by creating spaces where individuals and communities come together to restore and protect local habitats. Every citizen-led restoration, whether it’s regenerating a small garden or protecting a local wetland, is a direct step toward halting the decline of biodiversity.

    Through programs that focus on building community involvement, these initiatives support Australia’s broader conservation goals. By planting native species, restoring vital ecosystems, and creating safe havens for wildlife, citizens become active participants in conservation, working in tandem with local and national efforts.

    Bridging the Gap Between Policy and Practice

    One of the biggest challenges in achieving national environmental goals is ensuring that policies translate into meaningful actions at the local level. The Nature Oasis initiative helps bridge this gap by providing a platform for individuals and communities to act in line with the national strategy.

    Each citizen-led action—no matter how small—contributes to the collective effort to enhance biodiversity and achieve the targets set out in the strategy. From urban backyards to regional parks, these grassroots actions make environmental policy tangible and accessible. By empowering citizens to become part of the solution, Nature Oasis fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility, helping to close the gap between policy ambition and practical outcomes.

    Why Citizen-Led Action Matters

    Australia’s Nature Strategy sets the stage for a future where nature is safeguarded and restored, but achieving its vision requires the participation of every Australian. Citizen-led actions make this vision possible. Initiatives like Nature Oasis demonstrate the power of individual and collective action in achieving national conservation goals. These grassroots movements ensure that conservation efforts are not confined to policy but are integrated into everyday life, bringing people closer to nature and ensuring the survival of our unique wildlife for generations to come.

    Ready to Get Involved?

    Nature Oasis invites you to become a Nature Oasis Ambassador and help us create a network of citizen-driven conservation efforts across the country. By signing the Nature Oasis Charter, you can commit to best practices that support the flourishing of native wildlife and flora in your own backyard.

    Let’s work together to make Australia’s Nature Strategy 2024–2030 a reality.

    Sign the Charter today and start your journey as a nature ambassador! 🌱

    Sign the Nature Oasis Charter

    Your donation supports citizen-powered change for nature.

    By contributing to People For Nature, you’re helping us empower everyday individuals to take meaningful action for the environment. Your support enables us to deliver education, foster community-driven conservation initiatives, and inspire a movement of citizen scientists and conservationists.

  • The role of climate and biodiversity education in the future of sport

    The role of climate and biodiversity education in the future of sport

    Through a Systems Thinking Lens

    In stadiums, on fields, and across oceans, sport unites people like few other forces can. It transcends borders, cultures, and generations. But beneath the roar of the crowd and the thrill of the game lies a growing realisation: sport does not exist in a vacuum. It is deeply connected to the climate and biodiversity crises – and has a unique role to play in shaping solutions.

    The Challenge: Sport Is Both Impacted by and Impacts Nature

    Climate change is already affecting the sports world. Heatwaves are disrupting tournaments, wildfires are cancelling matches, and rising sea levels threaten coastal venues. At the same time, the global sports industry—through travel, infrastructure, apparel, and sponsorship—has its own environmental footprint.

    Biodiversity loss also poses hidden threats. From deteriorating air quality to water scarcity and increased risk of pandemics, the systems that support healthy ecosystems are the same ones athletes and fans rely on every day.

    The Opportunity: Sport as a Force for Change in Australia

    Sport holds a unique place in Australian culture — it unites communities, shapes identities, and inspires action. With millions of Australians involved as players, fans, and volunteers, sport provides a powerful platform to champion environmental responsibility and spark meaningful change.

    But to harness this influence effectively, action must be informed, deliberate, and grounded in education.

    That’s where systems thinking comes into play.

    Seeing the Bigger Picture: Systems Thinking in Australian Sport

    Systems thinking is about understanding the whole picture. It helps us see how climate and biodiversity are deeply connected to economics, health, infrastructure, social equity—and yes, sport.

    Applying a systems lens to environmental education in Australia’s sports sector means going beyond one-off actions (like installing recycling bins at footy grounds) and tackling the root causes of environmental challenges. It prompts us to ask:

    • How does the supply chain for sports gear contribute to deforestation or water stress in Australia and our region?
    • What climate risks threaten local community clubs and grassroots sport—from floods to extreme heat?
    • How can we design sporting events to support biodiversity and regenerate local landscapes?
    • What influence can Aussie athletes have in shaping public attitudes toward climate and nature?

    Education grounded in systems thinking equips sporting bodies, leaders, and fans to shift from reactive to proactive—from small changes to bold, systemic impact. from reactive to proactive—from incremental to transformative.

    What This Looks Like in Practice

    At People for Nature, we believe in making complex science accessible and actionable. Through facilitated workshops and collaborative learning experiences, we help sports professionals connect the dots between climate, biodiversity, and their everyday decisions.

    We focus on:

    • Understanding interdependence – between humans, nature, and the systems that govern sport.
    • Empowering leadership – by building capacity in clubs, leagues, and athletes.
    • Fostering innovation – encouraging regenerative practices and nature-positive design.
    • Creating ripple effects – so that what starts on the field spreads into communities, policies, and businesses.

    A Call to Action

    The time to act is now. The climate and biodiversity crises are not distant threats—they are here, and they’re affecting the sports we love. But with knowledge, courage, and collaboration, sport can be a force for regeneration.

    Let’s reimagine what it means to play, compete, and win—on a thriving planet.

    Your donation supports citizen-powered change for nature.

    By contributing to People For Nature, you’re helping us empower everyday individuals to take meaningful action for the environment. Your support enables us to deliver education, foster community-driven conservation initiatives, and inspire a movement of citizen scientists and conservationists.

  • Teaching sustainability at home: simple everyday actions that matter

    Teaching sustainability at home: simple everyday actions that matter

    Discover playful, powerful ways to nurture eco-conscious kids using tools like Climate Fresk Kids, Nature Oasis, and everyday nature-inspired learning at home.

    In a world where climate headlines and ecological tipping points can feel overwhelming, many parents and carers are asking:

    “What can I do to help my child grow up with hope, empathy, and a strong sense of responsibility for our planet?”

    The answer starts close to home — in our kitchens, gardens, conversations, and storytimes.

    Sustainability begins with everyday choices, and teaching it doesn’t require a textbook. It’s a way of life that can be modelled, explored, and celebrated through curiosity and connection.

    Why Start at Home?

    Children learn not just by being told, but by doing, seeing, and feeling.

    Home is where values are planted and nurtured. By weaving sustainability into your daily life — through nature play, storytelling, or small rituals — you empower your child to grow into a thoughtful, eco-conscious human who understands their place in a living, breathing system.

    1. Make Big Ideas Playful: Try Climate Fresk Kids

    We often underestimate just how much children can grasp — especially when we invite them in through play.

    Climate Fresk Kids is a hands-on workshop that helps young people understand the basics of climate science in an engaging, age-appropriate way. Using images, stories, and systems thinking, it connects the dots between human actions and environmental consequences — without creating fear.

    🌿 Find a Workshop Near You — and Become a Facilitator: https://events.humanitix.com/host/people-for-nature

    Alternatively, put us in touch with your child’s school — we offer engaging climate and biodiversity workshops in schools across Australia: info@blog.peoplefornature.org.au

    2. Create a Wild Welcome: Build a Nature Oasis

    Not every family has access to a forest or farm — but we can all bring a little wildness into our homes.

    A Nature Oasis is any space — a balcony, garden bed, windowsill, or schoolyard — designed to invite biodiversity. Think native plants, insect hotels, butterfly-friendly flowers, or a frog-friendly corner.

    Children love observing change. Watching bees visit a flower they planted or hearing frogs return builds a living relationship with the natural world.

    Try This at Home: Plant native species or rewild a corner of your yard. Keep a nature journal with your child — what do they notice each day?

    3. Use Storytelling to Spark Reflection

    Tools like Gunter’s Fables offer more than entertainment — they invite children to reflect, imagine, and act.

    Rooted in Montessori and Steiner principles, these illustrated fables help children explore systems thinking, emotional intelligence, and environmental responsibility. They’re a gentle yet powerful way to introduce biodiversity, empathy, and nature’s complexity through story.

    ✅ Try This at Home: After reading a story, ask: “What would you do if you were the animal in the story?” or “How can we help animals like this in real life?”

    4. Turn Your Child Into a Mini Scientist

    Citizen science isn’t just for grown-ups. From spotting birds in the backyard to counting insects or testing water quality, many organisations welcome children’s contributions to real scientific data.

    This not only supports environmental research, but gives children a sense of purpose and belonging in something bigger.

    ✅ Try This at Home: Join a local BioBlitz, frog ID project, or backyard bird count. Check out NatureMapr, iNaturalist, or local citizen science groups in Australia.

    5. Lead by Living It

    Children are natural observers. The best way to teach sustainability? Live it yourself.

    • Involve kids in composting or choosing local produce.
    • Fix things instead of throwing them away.
    • Talk openly about your values and choices.
    • Celebrate small wins together — “We saved water today!” or “We helped a bee!”

    Sustainability becomes less about sacrifice and more about joy, care, and connection.

    More Than Just “Green Habits”

    Teaching sustainability at home isn’t about being perfect. It’s about planting seeds of care — for people, places, and possibilities.

    Whether you’re using tools like Climate Fresk Kids, building a Nature Oasis, reading eco-fables, or simply walking barefoot in the grass together — you’re shaping a future where children don’t just understand nature, but feel part of it.

    Because when children fall in love with the Earth, they’re more likely to protect it.

    Together, let’s raise a generation of nature-connected changemakers — one home at a time.

  • Climate science made simple: Climate Fresk for kids

    Climate science made simple: Climate Fresk for kids

    At People For Nature, we’re passionate about empowering the next generation with the knowledge and tools to understand our changing world. That’s why we offer Climate Fresk for Kids—a fun, interactive, and age-appropriate version of the internationally acclaimed Climate Fresk workshop.

    What is Climate Fresk for Kids?

    Climate Fresk for Kids is a playful, science-based workshop designed to introduce students aged 10 and up to the basics of climate change. Using colourful illustrations and a card game format, students explore:

    • What causes climate change
    • Its effects on people and the planet
    • How we can take action

    This kid-friendly version has been developed by teachers and climate experts to make complex science engaging and accessible for younger learners—without overwhelming them.

    Why Bring It to Your School?

    Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders. Climate Fresk for Kids helps them build:

    • Science literacy based on the latest IPCC findings
    • Critical thinking and systems awareness
    • A sense of hope, agency, and teamwork

    It’s a perfect fit for curriculum topics in Science, Geography, and Sustainability and offers a unique way to enrich learning through group discussion and creativity.

    How It Works

    📚 Age group: Best for ages 10–14 (Years 5–9)

    ⏰ Duration: 2 hours

    👥 Format: In-person

    🎓 Facilitators: Trained educators experienced in working with children

    🎨 Approach: Hands-on, visual, and collaborative

    What’s Included?

    Each workshop includes:

    • All materials (cards, worksheets, facilitator guidance)
    • Customisation to your classroom or event goals
    • A wrap-up session to help students reflect and imagine solutions

    Book a Workshop

    📍 Available across Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth

    📆 We work with your preferred dates and school calendar

    To enquire or book, just get in touch and tell us:

    • Your location and year level
    • Preferred dates and times
    • Any specific topics or goals you’d like us to include

    📧 info@blog.peoplefornature.org.au

    Believe in a better future? So do we.

    At People For Nature, our mission is bold: to educate 27,000 Australians by 2027 on climate and biodiversity, empowering them to take meaningful action for our planet.

    Your donation fuels citizen-powered education that turns knowledge into action—and action into lasting change.
    Donate today and be part of the change.

    💚 Together, we can shape a planet-boundaries literate Australia.

  • Meet our ambassador: Stéphane Schneider

    Meet our ambassador: Stéphane Schneider

    Climate Fresk Facilitator, NSW

    Stéphane became a Fresker in March 2024, with his first workshop held at International Grammar School in April.

    Motivated by curiosity and a desire to put his professional skills to use, Stéphane transitioned to ClimateTech after a 10-year career in Customer Success, where he honed his ability to convince organizations and people to change.

    One of his proudest moments was launching the concept of Fresk at the pub. In search of a venue to host a workshop with friends and contacts, he remembered that public houses are community hubs, where the atmosphere of food and drinks fosters connection and conversation.

    What keeps Stéphane inspired is the “light bulb” moment he witnesses in every workshop – that powerful instant when someone fully grasps the scope and consequences of climate change. Being the catalyst for that realization is what keeps him going.

    “There is not a single workshop without a light bulb moment for one or several attendees. That special moment when someone “gets” the full picture of climate change and the consequences. Being the trigger of that moment keeps me going!”

    🤝 Connect with Stéphane on LinkedIn 💚

  • How to create a Nature Oasis

    How to create a Nature Oasis

    Every Nature Oasis—from a few square metres on a balcony to sprawling hectares of regenerating bush—is a small act of hope for biodiversity.

    What unites them all?

    A commitment to the Nature Oasis Charter and a shared vision for restoring Australia’s rich ecosystems, one patch at a time. 💚

    A platform for Everyone

    Soon, anyone will be able to register and share their oasis through our interactive map! Here’s how it will work:

    🌿 Sign the Nature Oasis Charter — a voluntary pledge to support native flora and fauna through nature-positive actions.

    📬 Wait for an email with your next steps.

    🗺️ Add your oasis to our map and become part of a growing community.

    💬 Inspire others by sharing your journey and becoming a Nature Oasis Ambassador.

    Empowering Citizen Conservation

    Nature Oasis is more than a project—it’s a citizen-led movement, aligned with Australia’s Nature Strategy 2024–2030, that empowers everyday Australians to take meaningful action where they live.

    “97% of Australians want more environmental action, but fewer than 5% volunteer in conservation. Nature Oasis flips the script—bringing conservation home and inviting everyone to get involved.”

    Together, we’re reconnecting people to nature through accessible tools, inspiring workshops, and local action that counts.

  • Join the Nature Oasis initiative 

    Join the Nature Oasis initiative 

    Nature is disappearing around us – quietly, rapidly, and often unnoticed. But together, we can reverse this trend.

    To bend the curve before 2050 and reduce biodiversity loss, we must pair ambitious conservation efforts with sustainable practices and behaviour change.

    That’s where the Nature Oasis initiative comes in

    The Nature Oasis network empowers all Australians to create and celebrate all vibrant spaces for native wildlife.

    What is Nature Oasis?

    Nature Oasis is a citizen-led initiative by People For Nature that enables Australians to turn any space – balconies, gardens, schoolyards, private properties, parks – into habitats supporting native biodiversity.

    Whatever the size, a Nature Oasis is a space where biodiversity flourishes, where nature is respected and allowed to thrive.

    A few flowers are enough to bring back Christmas beetles, native bees, and butterflies!

    So, say goodbye to uniform mowed lawns, long hedges of yew, and other ‘green deserts,’ as well as pesticides and other harmful practices… 

    Nature Oasis is not a gardening platform, it’s a network of people-powered actions to halt the decline of local biodiversity. 

    Join the Nature Oasis initiative

    1. Start here by signing the Nature Oasis Charter. This is a voluntary commitment to adopting best practices that support the flourishing of native wildlife and flora.

    2. Register your Nature Oasis (new or existing) and share its location on the map (coming soon!).

    3. As you expand your Nature Oasis, update the details (for example, if you currently have a pollinator garden, in future you may update to include you have also created a bee hotel).

    4. Inspire others to follow your lead – embrace your role as a nature ambassador!

    The Nature Oasis Charter

    Follow these 6 principles and help restore Australia’s rich ecosystems, one patch at a time 💚

    About the Nature Oasis network and app

    We’re building a national network of Nature Oasis spaces, creating the largest repository of citizen-powered conservation and regeneration spaces. 

    Inspired by French NGO, Humanité and Biodiversité, Nature Oasis aims to build a global network of these spaces. We’re creating a platform to connect citizens’ environmental actions to national conservation outcomes, powered by accessible, user-friendly tech.

    People For Nature is creating an app that will:

    💚 Build community through shared stories, actions, impact stats, and local nature challenges

    🗺️ Map and visualise each oasis across Australia

    📸 Foster and enable user participation. People will be able to register their oasis and share photos, data, or actions taken

    🌳 Gather ecological data to support research, species tracking, and restoration goals

    By leveraging technology and collaboration, we will connect individual actions to a national effort, gathering data to support scientific research, restore ecosystems, protect species, and foster a deeper connection to nature.

    Why it matters: Empowering Citizen Conservation

    Nature Oasis is more than a project—it’s a citizen-led movement, aligned with Australia’s Nature Strategy 2024–2030, that empowers everyday Australians to take meaningful action where they live.

    “97% of Australians want more environmental action, but fewer than 5% volunteer in conservation. Nature Oasis flips the script—bringing conservation home and inviting everyone to get involved.”

    Together, we’re reconnecting people to nature through accessible tools, inspiring workshops, and local action

    🌿 Join us and create your Nature Oasis today! 🌿

    Read some of our other blogs on this topic:

    🐨 How Citizen-Led Actions Support Australia’s Nature Strategy 2024–2030

    🧑‍🌾 Citizen Conservation in Australia

    🪴 How to teach sustainability at home