Costa wants to know: what’s in your backyard?

COSTA Georgiadis wants children across Australia cooped up at home to grab a camera or mobile device to snap photos of what’s in their backyard.
Joining forces with Junior Landcare, the popular TV star and Landcare champion launched the ‘What’s In Your Backyard?’ campaign to encourage the next generation to get into their backyard, onto their balcony or even look outside their window to see the amazing flora and fauna right on their doorstep.
Children can submit photos to Junior Landcare and tell us why the photo is important to them to be in with a chance to win one of ten $250 cameras. When conditions allow, the major school prize will be a visit from Costa to check out the school’s environment projects. Closing date is May 1.
Photo competition entrants select one of the four categories in biodiversity, food production, Indigenous perspectives and waste management and tell us why it is important to them.
‘What’s In Your Backyard?’ has seen hundreds of incredible entries showcasing the astonishing variety of Australian biodiversity – but Costa wants to see more.
“Right now, kids across the country are stuck inside but there’s a whole world of nature right outside their window, waiting to be discovered,” he said. “So grab a camera, get snapping and enter ‘What’s in Your Backyard?’
“Junior Landcare knows children can’t protect the landscape if they don’t love it and the only way for them to love it is to open their eyes and see what’s out there in their own backyard.”
‘What’s in Your Backyard?’ is a key activity in Junior Landcare’s new Learning Centre. Perfect for kids bored at home – and parents needing a well-deserved break – this resource has 30-minute learning activities developed by education professionals to help children be aware, empowered and active in caring for their local environment.
Junior Landcare manager Jo Stentiford said the Learning Centre will help children understand how they can be aware of biodiversity, where their food comes from, Indigenous perspectives and recycling and waste management.
“Just learning about the unique Australian environment is the first step to protecting it and while being fun and exciting, the Junior Landcare Learning Centre also helps kids to understand sustainable land use and why undertaking on-ground action helps protect, enhance or restore an area on behalf of the community.“
Head to juniorlandcare.org.au/campaigns/whatsinyourbackyard.