Dr. Jane Goodall kindly provided an overview of the contents of the 2020 Roots & Shoots Resource Box.

Author: Stewart McPherson
ISBN: 978-1-908787-35-4
Pages: 160
Images: 400
Page size: 240 x 285 mm
Cover format: Hardcover

Australia is home to an amazing diversity of native wildlife.

Over 200,000 species of animals, at least 34,000 kinds of plants, and 250,000 types of fungi and lichen have been recorded so far.

Most of our native biodiversity occurs nowhere else on Earth.

This book takes you on a journey to explore our continent’s habitats, to understand native ecosystems, and to discover the Amazing range of life that calls Australia home.

Over three hundred native (and often little known) species are depicted in spectacular imagery and described in concise text, each with conservation status ratings.

Author: Stewart McPherson
ISBN: 978-1-908787-34-7
Pages: 160
Images: 400
Page size: 240 x 285 mm
Cover format: Hardcover

You don’t need to travel to distant jungles to see spectacular wildlife.

We are surrounded by fascinating animals, beautiful plants and diverse ecosystems, even in our city centres.

Local Safari offers over seventy easy, safe and ethical ways to discover the nature of your local area, and better understand and care for the world in which we all live. Created in partnership with Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots youth groups, this 160-page book is intended to encourage young naturalists to have their own local safari adventures!

The opening pages provide an overview of Dr Jane Goodall’s personal story, an account of the history of Roots & Shoots youth groups, and a foreword by Jane.

The remaining 145 pages are divided into three sections: ‘what lives in my local area’, ‘activities and experiments’ and ‘make the world a better place’.

The ‘what lives in my local area’ section explores ways to find and observe nature at home or at school. Key animal and plant groups are documented and explained, along with ethical observation methods. Every page is filled with facts, activities and stunning imagery. No matter where you live in Australia, this book contains activities that you can undertake: from becoming a wildlife detective, to bird watching, going on a mammal safari, spotting reptiles, identifying wildflowers, pond dipping, beach combing, rock pooling and more!

The ‘activities and experiments’ section showcases carefully designed methods to help youngsters ethically and safely understand key natural processes. Many of these activities and experiments are specifically designed to inspire children to get away from computer screens and into the ‘field’; to drive learning through real experiences, often with grubby hands! These fun, easy and ethical activities and experiments include growing avocado seeds to understand seed germination, making clay creatures and shell mobiles, watching crystals grow and having a sunflower seedling race!

The final section, ‘make the world a better place’, showcases a wide variety of ways in which we all can bring about positive change and create a better future for the natural world. From planting native trees, to making a pollinator garden, building an insect hotel for ‘good bugs’, setting up a wildlife pond, a nesting box and building a bird drinking point! Or simply picking up litter and recycling.

The carefully crafted, age-appropriate text is concise, easy to understand but detailed and rich with interesting information. The use of colourful imagery throughout is intended to explain the subjects and activities that are covered.

Local Safari will drive the passion, enthusiasm and interest of children across Australia, to help nurture and encourage the next generation of young conservationists, naturalists and environmentalists!

Author: Stewart McPherson
ISBN: 978-1-913631-02-4
Pages: 160
Images: 400
Page size: 240 x 285 mm
Cover format: Hardcover

The geography of Planet Earth is incredible.

From lava lakes, rainbow mountains, auroras, lost world mountains, glowing bioluminescent waters, blood falls, mud volcanoes and blue holes in the ocean.

Over 160 pages that are filled with breath-taking imagery, this book explores the world’s most spectacular and unusual landscapes, geographic features and phenomena.

Incredible Earth opens with a brief overview of the paleo-history of the formation of our planet, followed by an overview of the geological structure of our world, an introduction to the vastness of geological time and a summary of amazing facts about Earth.

The remaining 145 pages are dedicated to exploring 36 extraordinary geographic subjects and showcasing the secrets, beauty and wonder that they hold. Many of these geographic subjects that are featured remain little-known and little-documented in other works.

Filled with facts and up-to-date with recent discoveries, findings and research, Incredible Earth showcases many of the greatest wonders of Planet Earth.

This book was created for a single purpose: excite curiosity, awe and wonder in young minds, to inspire the next generation of explorers, geographers, geologists and naturalists.

Author: Stewart McPherson
ISBN: 978-1-913631-00-0
Pages: 160
Images: 400
Page size: 240 x 285 mm
Cover format: Hardcover

What is your favourite animal? A rabbit, a cat or a dog? Maybe an elephant, a lion or a tiger?

…or perhaps an okapi, a jerboa or a pangolin… or one of the 1.5 million other animal species that call this world home?

Discover the amazing animals you have never heard of! From iridescent-rainbow snakes to transparent ‘glass fish’, metre-long giant salamanders, flying frogs, poisonous birds, fish that crawl onto land, sea slugs that photosynthesise and mammals that lay eggs!

What on Earth? explores over 90 groups of unusual but amazing creatures that will astound young readers. Each animal group is depicted through beautiful imagery and documented through easy-to-read by detailed text that is filled with interesting facts and information.

The opening pages of this work provide an overview of life on Earth, its context in paleo-history, the taxonomy of organisms that exist today, an overview of the main terrestrial and aquatic biomes, and detailed sections on the key animal groups covered here (amphibians, birds, fish, invertebrates, mammals and reptiles).

What on Earth? will fascinate young readers interested in nature, geography, biology and conservation. It is intended to inspire awe at the diversity of the natural world and the variety of the organisms that call our Earth home.

Also included in your 2020 Roots & Shoots Resource Box:

• A cover letter from James Forbes, Chief Executive Officer of Roots & Shoots Australia.
• Information about the WOODiWILD project (to replant native trees); and
• Links to the website for the Teacher Guide, Action Plan, Learning Sequences and Lesson Plans.

After a full year of development and planning, the 4,000 * 2020 Roots & Shoots Resource Boxes were shipped to schools across Australia.

Each box weights approx. 5 kg, so in total, around 20 tonnes (20,000 kg!) of educational resources were sent!

Roots & Shoots Australia and the Don Hanson Charitable Foundation team really hopes that students and educators will enjoy the resources in the 2020 Roots & Shoots Resource Box!

To request next year’s Resource Box, click here