Woodrising Natural Learning Centre Inc

21/01/2026

We’re seeking a full-time Certificate III Educator to join our team.
At Woodrising Natural Learning Centre, we value time, relationships, and learning with nature. We are a small, community-based service offering a calm, play-based and inquiry-led program, with daily opportunities for outdoor learning, bush school experiences, and connection with the natural environment.
This role would suit an educator who enjoys working collaboratively, building strong relationships with children, and learning alongside them in nature. We offer above Award pay and conditions, monthly RDOs, paid breaks and paid professional development.

14/01/2026

Are you an Early Childhood Teacher looking for something a little different?
At Woodrising Natural Learning Centre, we value time, relationships, inquiry, and learning with nature. We’re currently seeking an ECT to join our team in a 12-month maternity leave position (full-time preferred, part-time considered).
If you’re longing for slower, more meaningful practice, strong relationships, and time to truly listen to children, along with above Award pay and conditions, monthly RDOs, paid professional development, paid breaks, and non-contact time to plan collaboratively, this could be the position for you.
If you’re curious, we’d love you to have a read. Feel free to reach out to have a chat about the position.

An opportunity for an Early Childhood Teacher seeking deeper, more meaningful practice within an exceeding-rated, nature-based service.

04/12/2025

A fantastic opportunity has presented itself at our exceeding rated service for a full time certificate 111 educator.

The unique service Woodrising Natural Learning Centre, has an opportunity for FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT FOR A CERTIFICATE 111 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR.

07/10/2025

We were so honoured to have the opportunity to present at the Early Childhood Australia National Conference in Perth last week.

This year’s theme - Universal, not Uniform: Leading change, strengthening unity, and honouring individuality truly reflects our values and the work we do each day. We were thrilled to share how our community-driven approaches respond to the unique needs of children and families in our local area.

The conference was an inspiring experience that was full of connection, shared learning, and celebration of the incredible work happening across our profession. We especially loved seeing the creativity and dedication of others in the nature pedagogy field.

We’ve returned home feeling grateful, energised, and inspired to keep leading with heart, community, and a deep respect for the natural world.

11/09/2025

Inspiring Young Minds Through Nature and Creativity!

There is something profoundly empowering about watching young minds engage with the world through bushcraft. When our children are given the opportunity to design and construct models of their ideas using natural materials, and join natural materials together with pine pitch glue, they are not simply playing; they are learning, creating, and growing. Bushcraft provides an unparalleled space for discovery, resilience, and imagination. As children collect branches, leaves, bark, grasses, shells, and rocks, and learn the ancient technique of making pine pitch glue, they develop invaluable skills that go far beyond the classroom. Each model they build is a testament to their creativity, patience, and problem-solving abilities.

With careful planning, research and their own creative expression, children experience the satisfaction of making something truly their own, crafted by hand, inspired by nature, and limited only by the reaches of their imagination.

Let us nurture this spirit of exploration and ingenuity. By empowering children to learn from the land and to build with their hands, we are cultivating not only future creators and problem-solvers, but also guardians of our planet.

02/07/2025

We have a part time position available and are looking for a passionate educator to join our team.

The unique service Woodrising Natural Learning Centre, has an opportunity for PART TIME EMPLOYMENT FOR A CERTIFICATE 111 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR.

19/06/2025

🌿 Learning in Nature: Building Knowledge, Skills and Connection at Munibung Hill 📚🦉

Our regular visits to Munibung Hill are much more than a bushwalk—they are powerful learning experiences that nurture curiosity, critical thinking, and connection to Country.

Each time we return, the children deepen their understanding of the environment through hands-on, inquiry-based learning. They’ve been:
🔍 Practicing citizen science by measuring plant growth, monitoring wildlife through trail cameras, and identifying animal signs like tracks, s**t, and "white wash"—possible evidence of powerful owls nearby.
🧠 Developing scientific thinking as they make predictions, ask questions, and consider the impact of weather, animal activity, and human choices on the natural world.
📖 Building literacy skills through nature journaling—recording observations, creating detailed drawings, writing reflections, and even mapping their adventures. These maps are now evolving into a shared project that supports spatial thinking and symbolic understanding.
🗣️ Expanding vocabulary and communication as they discuss discoveries with peers, educators, and community volunteers, and use field guides to research native species like the swamp wallaby and tawny frogmouth.

From making bush soap with flat leaf wattle to reflecting on animal interactions captured on camera, the children are not just learning about nature—they are learning in nature and from nature.

These experiences are strengthening their sense of belonging, responsibility, and respect for the natural world—setting a foundation for lifelong learning and environmental stewardship.

28/05/2025

We are seeking passionate casuals to join our team

https://www.seek.com.au/job/84526078?ref=direct-share-hirer-jobs-list

24/02/2025

We are SO excited to have had our exhibition UPHOLDING THE IMAGE open at last weekend!
Some of our artists attended and delighted in showing their families their work.

It is incredibly important that the children see the work that represents their thinking and opinions hanging professionally, and being viewed by adults and their peers.
FROM THE GALLERY :
"The general thinking by society is that children's art is inferior, thoughtless and one dimensional. Yet, with a closer look the process of making shows that the creator, at any age engages with a medium that best tells their story.
The artwork of children becomes highly personal, where ideas form and creative decision are made.
In Upholding the Image, artwork produced at Woodrising Natural Learning Centre based just a stones throw from MAC yapang, show these competent and capable learners who design their own learning with support from educators. Through this exhibition in a professional gallery setting, the art of these young humans looks to change the perceptions of how adults view the art of children and respect it."

The Atelier (art room) at Woodrising is a dynamic yet calm space where all ages are supported by Jen who views the children as her peers. This thinking means the expectation of achievement is high and the capabilities are real.
Jen programs the curriculum in the art room around the children's ideas and the unique way literacy skills are leant via visual art.

Thanks so much to everyone at for your support and inspiration! We look forward to visiting and collaborating more with you in the future! 🎨

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE ARTISTS! 🙌🏼💐
Please go and view the exhibition which is on until the end of March!

20/01/2025

WE WON!! We are super proud to announce the children's artwork, "Save Me", is the winner of the People's Choice poll for the Sustainable Neighbourhoods' Waste To Art Exhibition (Toronto). The winner of the Swansea exhibition was whose amazing work was made completely from found waste from the ocean.

It is so important to be conscious of the environment in which we live and how we can better care for it through conscious decisions around what we WANT verses what we NEED. Our decisions directly impact our flora and fauna and we can all do better with our waste by not accumulating it in the first place.

This project has been a terrific vehicle to highlight to the children how their own actions can impact the environment and what they can do to live in it in a sustainably conscious way. 💚

Thanks so much to and for this initiative and to for our exciting gift voucher!

Finally a big thanks to everyone who voted and for those whose supported the children in the making of their artwork. 🙌🏼🎨

P.S. The critically endangered Swift Parrot really does need our help. If you would like to know more please reach out to the and get involved in his advocacy for these beautiful birds. 🦜

18/12/2024

We started our final trip to Munibung Hill for 2024 by revisiting the area we have been helping to maintain. We have seen so many changes to this area each time we visit. It has been amazing to observe this space in each different season and after periods of heavy rain. This visit we wanted to check on the progress of the native plants that we had planted during our last visit. We were so surprised to see how much the space had been overtaken by weeds, some were even taller than us! Our guide Gavin explained that now that the natives have had a chance to adjust, these weeds will support them by helping to retain water in the ground. We can continue to remove the weeds over time allowing the native plants to thrive. It has been incredible to observe how quickly this space can change in such a short amount of time.
The overwhelming volume of the cicadas along with the liquid we saw falling from the trees sparked our interest. Our guide Andy posed some questions about cicadas that really made us want to know more about them. The children had their own questions- Do cicadas eat? Do they drink? Do they get hot? What trees do they go on? We had so many questions to find the answers to! Thankfully the cicadas were on almost every tree we passed so we had plenty of opportunities to observe them and learn more about them. Through observation and further research, we were able to learn so much about these creatures that really make it feel like summer in Australia. Cicadas have developed the technique for evaporative cooling where they constantly drink the liquid sap from the tree and pass the fluid through their bodies just like a water-cooling system for a computer. They do this so they can remain out in the hot sun whilst their predators (birds, bats, spiders, wasps) are sheltering from the heat.
We then played a game where everyone had to find the most unique and interesting natural thing they could see. This helped us to slow down and focus as we used our ‘owl eyes’ to explore and look deeper at nature to really notice the extraordinary.
We finished our visit by everyone sharing their favourite memory of their time at Munibung Hill across the year. It was amazing to reflect on all of our adventures, all of the changes we have observed and to realise how much we have grown too. We are so grateful to our wonderful guides Gavin and Andy for everything they have done for us during this project but also for everything they continue to do for the community.

20/11/2024

We had an amazing time visiting Toronto Library to see the artwork entry made by the children using their collected waste materials earlier in the year. The Sustainable Neighbourhood’s Waste To Art Lake Macquarie exhibition competition is an initiative to help make the community aware of the devastating impact that human waste materials has on the environment.

We were lucky to meet a group of book club attendees who were very interested to hear about the artwork and meet the artists who made it! The children were able to explain their message about protecting the habitat of the threatened Swift Parrot from human housing development before they go extinct like the dinosaurs. 🦕

We saw other ways waste materials have been used in artworks and were reminded of the importance of plastic recycling in an artwork about a trapped turtle.

We were also very fortunate to be the first children to hear Sherah from the library, read a brand new book about Lake Macquarie called “Lake Macquarie Adventures For Kids” written by the staff at the library and beautifully illustrated by Chrissy McYoung.

📌
One last thing….the exhibition is a competition so..
IF YOU GET THE CHANCE, PLEASE VISIT THE TORONTO LIBRARY AND VOTE FOR US BY PLACING A STICKER NEXT TO “Save Me!” ON THE LIST TO HELP US WIN!