The Possum Trail

Although South Coogee PS lies within the densely populated eastern suburbs of Sydney, the school boasts a unique possum trail which is made up of pockets around the school grounds developed for specific environmental purposes.

The Banksia Heath, Bushtucker Garden, The Grasslands and the Forest areas encompass the school grounds. Within these areas, natives grasses, shrubs and trees have been planted with the kind help of Guy Knox and Landcare Australia, who have worked tirelessly with students over the last eight years to develop the Possum Trail. As a result of the greening of the school, these areas are now habitats for many fauna including brush tail possums and micro bats.

In 2004, a new dimension to the Possum Trail was introduced - The Outdoor Learning Area. This area is situated in the Forest area. This is essentially an outdoor classroom where students can enjoy a lesson from any key learning area in this environment. More importantly, however, it is an area where students can study, monitor and maintain the school environment.

The Outdoor Learning Area consists of an amphitheatre, a food garden (which supplies yummy herbs and greens to the school canteen), informal seating areas, a worm farm, a frog pond and a weather station which is computerised and students will check data daily. This area also is the home to thousands of native bees (that don't sting, of course!) In fact, this area will soon be its own ecosystem within the school and will be studied and maintained by all students. Currently all stages have in place a plan to use the Outdoor Learning Area, incorporated into a key learning area of the curriculum and Environmental Education.