Our Big Backyard St Agnes / Modbury - South Australia
Come on an adventure with ‘Our Big Backyard’ (OBBY) and discover lesser known natural spaces in St Agnes in the City of Tea Tree Gully. Resources available include:
- A map of the local area identifying three natural spaces to explore: Berri; Gifford and St Agnes Reserves.
- A checklist of 35 free things to do in the outdoors including making things from nature and looking for local animals. Activities that will keep you engaged from sunrise to sunset, and beyond!
- Three nature adventure sheets with activities and ideas to do at each location including interesting facts and local Kaurna knowledge.
Where can I pick up a free hard copy?
Ardtornish Children’s Centre, Modbury South Primary School and City of Tea Tree Gully Library, 571 Montague Road, Modbury.
St Agnes / Modbury
Our Big Backyard was first introduced to the St Agnes and Modbury area to help connect locals with their natural surroundings and each other.
The project was initiated by the City of Tee Tree Gully and the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board (now the Green Adelaide Board), the partnership expanded after a call out was sent to organisations in the area.
Project Partners
About The Project
The Location
We used an online demographic tool to help us choose which area to focus on. The area we selected has a diverse socio economic profile with a high proportion of families.
We also tapped into the council’s local biodiversity knowledge to identify which reserves might be hidden gems for the local community to get to know.
Starting The Conversation
We used a series of surveys and talked to people ‘in person’, to find out:
- children’s favourite places to play
- favourite things that families like to do
- where children play near their homes
- what stops children from playing outside.
We also asked how often they spend time:
- with friends and others in their local area
- in nature at home
- in nature in their local area
- looking after their local outdoor areas.
These questions were asked of both children and adults. The adult questions were framed around their own childhood – about what they liked to do as children.
What We Discovered
We found that children of the past enjoyed less structured play in nature and a very wide variety of activities.
Children of today have more structured activities, in more structured locations such as Civic Park, and with less variety in activities.
Our Project Team also learnt about the St Agnes/Modbury area (which they live and/or work in), discovering reserves that some did not even know existed!
Our trial ‘Come and Try’ days
We held three trial Come and Try sessions with local schools and preschools in late 2019. After watching how children played in the natural spaces, we were equipped to develop a series of activity sheets to take to the wider community.
Where we are up to now:
The resources have now been developed and include a map of the St Agnes area with the three reserve locations together with 30 things to do. Each Reserve has an activity sheet: Berri Reserve: Creek Adventure; Gifford Reserve and Butterfly Garden Adventure and St Agnes Reserve: Forrest Adventure.