Welcome to the Two Valley Trail Educational Resources

What is the Two Valley Trail (TVT)?

The TVT is a 13 km walk extending along the Wolli Creek and Cooks River Valleys from Bexley North to Campsie, through areas of bushland and parkland, within easy walking distance of many schools.

Who is developing it?

It is being developed by an alliance of five local environmental organisations: the Cooks River Valley Association, the Friends of Ewen Park, the MudCrabs (Cooks River Eco-Volunteers), the RiverLife Interpretive Tours and the Wolli Creek Preservation Society, with funding from the Catchment Management Authority.

Why should I be interested?

As a teacher, the TVT will provide opportunities for your students to explore and observe features of the natural and built environment in a unique outdoor setting. The educational resources provide curriculum support for these activities.

But I don’t have time

Yes you do. It is divided into four separate walks, of varying difficulties so you can select what’s most appropriate for your students and their curriculum needs. A Curriculum Framework, Teacher Notes, student Activity Sheets and Maps have been prepared for you.

Each walk takes approximately five hours.

The walks are:

• Turrella Reserve to Girrahween Park via Wolli Creek
• Turrella Reserve to Gough Whitlam Park via Wolli Creek
• Tempe Station to Gough Whitlam Park via the Marrickville side of the Cooks River
• The Cooks River from Ewen Park to Cup and Saucer Creek return.

Maps of the walks are available by clicking Map & Trails in the top menu.

Teacher Notes and Activity Sheets

Teacher Notes provide background information and suggested commentary during the walks. You can find them by clicking on Teacher Notes in the top menu.

In addition, twelve activity sheets have been designed with the curriculum in mind and outcomes and indicators for Stage 2 HSIE, Creative Arts, SciTech and PDHPE KLAs have been documented in the Curriculum Framework. Literacy and Numeracy activities are embedded in the materials. Teachers can choose what best ‘fits’ with the units of work being studied back at school. Click on Activity Sheets in the top menu. The Curriculum Framework is found in Other Resources.

What Other Support Is Provided?

Two Sample Risk Management Plans are provided for teachers to amend and use with their student groups. These are found in Other Resources.

What Do Students Need?

Students should wear a hat, sunscreen, comfortable clothes and walking shoes. They will need at least one bottle of water each and morning tea and lunch.

In addition, each student should bring a clipboard, 4 x A4 sheets of paper, pens and coloured pencils or crayons.

All rubbish carried in must be carried out.

What age group?

These notes have been prepared for Stage 2 students but are easily adapted for older or younger age groups.

Finally

By encouraging people of all ages and from all sections of the community to walk the Trail, we hope to promote an awareness of the natural and built environment and encourage the preservation as well as the enjoyment of this precious resource in south-west Sydney.

Note

These resources are available to schools for use with an acknowledgement of the Two Valley Trail project. Photos provided courtesy of Canterbury and Marrickville Councils are for personal use only and are not to be copied for a third party.

If you would like to make comment on these resources, please complete the Evaluation Sheet and return to Wolli Creek Preservation Society, PO Box 270, Earlwood, NSW 2206.