XATURE-STUDY AXD FIELD WORK 



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This year the Victorian Education Department has appointed 

 an "Organizing Inspector of Xature-Study" so that we are in 

 hopes the work will develop. The first work set in hand was the 

 training of a special class of fourteen selected teachers (10 

 Victorians, 2 South Australians and 2 West Australians). These 

 men started work last April and concluded their course in 

 December. Besides the originally planned scheme of nature- 

 topics, they have attended university lectures in zoology, 

 physiography, and botany from Professors Spencer, Keats and 

 Ewart respectively. They have also had a special series of 

 lectures from Dr. Cherry, Director of Agriculture. A special 

 feature has been the field work and two or three or four days have 

 been spent each week in the field in practical work. The Satur- 

 day excursions were accompanied by leaders of the Field Xatura- 

 lists' Club and the leading scientists of the state. Then the 

 members of the class have had a varied experience and have 

 seen experts of many different branches at work. 



These men go out next year to take charge of country centres 

 for three months at each, to show teachers what there is to deal 

 with in their localities, how to find it and how to deal with it in 

 their nature-study work. They also give sample lessons to 

 children before the teachers. It is expected that teachers will 

 then be in a position to deal to much better advantage with 

 nature-study. Of course many of our teachers have been doing 

 good work in this subject, but some were without special know- 

 ledge and special interest and so had no power of seeing anvthing 

 in their surroundings. 



Another branch we have found very successful this year was 

 the holding of very large excursions at prominent geographical 

 features throughout the state. This work is developing very 

 rapidly and promises to arouse much local interest amongst 

 parents and general public and to result in much good to educa- 

 tion generally. 



Starting with 350 pupils and teachers at Daylesford, we found 

 the public much interested and the local press gave considerable 

 space for a full report. These children mostly walked the eight 

 miles involved in reaching the selected locality and then viewing 

 the desired features. 



Our second excursion saw 520 scholars and teachers on twenty- 

 five buss cabs, etc., traveling twenty miles from point to point. 



