My South Arm
I was fortunate to teach at South Arm Primary for 10 years from 2003 to 2012. I loved teaching there; in fact they were the best years of my 42-year teaching career. It was special to me because of the fabulous children, staff and parents. The wider community was full of generous and talented people who were willing to embrace new ideas and share their skills. During this time I developed a love for the beautiful 400-acre reserve known as Arm End. This area has an amazing history going back to the first Australians and then later European settlement. As well it presented the opportunity to show children the impact of man over time and the pros and cons of human interaction with the environment. With the help of Parks and Wildlife, the local coast care group, and the understory network the school embarked on a project of planting trees at Arm End. We applied for a grant from the Clarence City Council and with this funding and generous donations from politicians as well as financial support from SAPRA we were able to start planting. This happened during class excursions and the annual Arm End Day. The appreciation of this beautiful piece of land seemed to be contagious and some of the children painstakingly took care of their trees over the hot summer months. I hope that when these children revisit Arm End and see how much their trees have grown, they will acknowledge the wonderful part they played in making a difference.