Teaching resources

Information, ideas and activities for the classroom or at home.

Australia's vulnerable birds

Australia is lucky to be home to so many beautiful and charismatic birds, but not all our bird species are thriving.

Three birds among The 12 Birds of Christmas are endangered, including the gang-gang cockatoo, glossy black cockatoo and gouldian finch, while the regent honeyeater is critically endangered and is sadly at risk of extinction.

​Their decline is mainly due to habitat loss caused by bushfires, climate change and deforestation.

What can we do to help?
 
There are many ways you can help save the habitat of Australia’s vulnerable birds and make it easier for them to find food and a place to live:
  • ​Plant trees in which threatened bird species like to eat and nest.
  • Build a bird bath so birds have access to water.
  • Write to your state Member of Parliament (MP) to ban forest logging, deforestation and land clearing.
  • Sign petitions that support the protection of threatened birds’ habitat, such as this one from BirdLife Australia.
  • Join a group – a bird group, bush regeneration group or fauna protection organisation – because working with others has a greater impact than trying to do it all by yourself.
  • Join a bird count in your local area. There are some bird counts that follow specific birds, like the Great Glossy Count.
  • Get inspired by young environmental activist Spencer Hitchen ​who is on a mission to save the vulnerable glossy-black cockatoo. 

Wollemi pine

Another critically endangered species included in The 12 Birds of Christmas is the ancient Australian tree: the Wollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis).

​It’s sometimes called the ‘dinosaur tree’ because it’s as old as the dinosaurs! There are fewer than 100 Wollemi pines growing in the wild, but scientists are working hard to grow this number and protect the Wollemi’s future.

Learn more

The Botanic Gardens of Sydney has created an online unit for primary school students called Wonders of Wollemi, where you can learn all about this treasured tree, including how they are being saved by scientists. 
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NSW National Parks and Wildlife also has useful information and videos, plus a list of where to see Wollemi Pines safely in Australia.

Did you know?

The 12 Birds of Christmas is published by Wollemi Press – which is named after the Wollemi pine. 

​The Darug word wollemi means “Stop, look around you; be aware of your environment,” which I also feel is one of the main functions of children’s books – the way they invite children to pause for a few minutes, absorb a world of words and pictures, and then re-look at their own world with a renewed sense of themselves and their surroundings.  

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Picture
Wollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis). Source: S. Rae, Creative Commons Licence.