Testimonials and Quotes

See below genuine feedback and quotes from previous EES events
and support from our Geoscience Outreach Officer.

100% of teacher confidence increased after attending the ESS and Deconstruction and Design workshops held by our Geoscience Outreach Officer - 2025

ESS and Deconstruction and Design workshops - Teacher feedback

"Kelly's facilitation was spot on. She was able to lead discussions but also provide opportunities for in-depth and relevant conversation"

"Honestly this was such a great workshop, I like that it was a very open floor and had lots of room for asking questions and discussing what we were all doing"

Earth Systems Study Proposal workshop - Teacher feedback

"The most useful component is looking at student examples and having discussions with other teachers about the areas students struggle with or need extra support. Also having some ideas that might help students to come up with their own investigation is really helpful as a first time teacher."

"Kelly was very helpful and supportive in breaking down the task and helping to identify indicators that can help out easier to explain and teach."

Quotes from Teachers, Past Students and Parents

Carmel McLeod
(Parent of a former Stage 2 EES student)

It is such an important subject for our young people to learn about so that they can be knowledgeable future leaders, enabled to make the changes needed to sustain our planet after so much damage has already been done.

It is indeed a branch of the Sciences that needs to be placed with more prominence in the curriculum and I do believe the work you are doing is of vital significance and highly valued.

Bronwyn Dutch

Director of Outdoor Education

Pedare Christian College

"The support that Kelly Sharrad from Geoscience Pathways Project has offered me over the last 2 years has been invaluable. Introducing a new subject into a school is not an easy task, but she has provided all of the unit plans and teaching resources, taking away hours of preparation time for me, allowing me to focus on my class and teaching. She has also offered numerous PD opportunities which have been incredibly valuable. On top of that, she is always on hand to answer any questions I may have via email, and she also took the time to drive to my workplace to help me work through my Year 12 investigations, sharing her expertise, and allowing me to feel more confident with the feedback I can offer my students. Kelly is doing an amazing job at introducing Earth and Environmental Science into schools in SA, and I recommend that if your school has the opportunity to take on this subject, you should do so!

Michael Keough
Teacher - Middle & Senior School
Encounter Lutheran College

Kelly (GOO) has been fantastic in helping me implement our stage 1 and stage 2 Earth and Environmental Studies programs. She has been willing to provide the necessary resources and assessment tasks, which has made my life so much easier. For that I am truly thankful. For that I am truly thankful. Kelly has also managed to visit my school during our careers expo which allowed student to chat to her about the courses in stage 1 and 2.

Michael Keough
Teacher - Middle & Senior School
Encounter Lutheran College

Teacher Testimonials

"I am looking forward to many things – from the open discussion we have around environmental issues and news related articles to what external topics they produce and investigate. Students seem to enjoy how open the topics are. They enjoy discussing solutions and where we are going in the future."
Henley High School

"We found the sequence of resources and lesson notes valuable as a starting point to adapt to the cohort of students in my classes. I especially liked the data that was provided as it created multiple entry points for students to discuss possible climate issues, causes and solutions.

The data provided from reputable sources also allowed for explicit teaching of the importance of unbiased data. An area of growth identified across multiple learning areas was in students ability to represent data in graph and table form. This growth point was acknowledged to have started in year 10 science classes from the preparation for and participation in this unit.

We adapted part of unit to involve sustainable housing kits that Christies Beach High School has access to explore the greenhouse effect and albedo. This was an opportunity we identified due to the resources available at CBHS. "
Christies Beach High School

"I commenced my role at St Francis in January and took over from someone who had been in the role for 24 years. We had cupboards and cupboards of rocks and minerals, very little of which was sorted. To me, it was an overwhelming task as, prior to meeting Kelly, it was a topic I knew very little about, let alone where to start with organising all the specimens. I have been extremely fortunate to receive almost 3 days of assistance from Kelly, across terms 2 and 3.

Kelly patiently helped me sort through every box, container and bag in every cupboard. We started placing samples into temporary containers, with pieces of card identifying then. She also assisted me to group the similar samples together (e.g. igneous rocks). Kelly also identified specimens that were, previously, incorrectly labelled. Kelly provided advice on what to keep, what to discard and what to group together in display cases etc. Additionally, she explained things to me so know I understand the 3 different types of rocks, including having knowledge about particular specimens, as well as the importance of minerals, especially critical minerals. She also patiently answered my many questions.

We then planned which samples would be used for the year 8 topic that is coming up later this term, so that I will know what to prepare for the teachers. Kelly then provided explanations on all aspects of this teaching module to myself and the teaching staff so that we could all learn from her.

Now all I need to do is put the specimens into permanent, labelled storage containers and finish placing the sets in display cases and labelling each compartment. There will then be highly organised cupboards of our rocks and mineral specimens, enabling the teachers to educate students by way of examples and displays. We also discovered some amazing examples of fossils, rocks and minerals, that were tucked away in a cupboard and not known about. Now these can be shared with our students.

This was a task that I did not know where, or how, to begin, and it simply would not have been possible without Kelly. I am so very grateful for her time, patience and wisdom."

Jo Cregan - St Francis de Sales

Student Testimonials

I learnt about how to create a more sustainable house and could see this in how the space was built.

A highlight was learning about albedo and exploring this using temperature guns. I did not know that different objects outside would measure different temperatures in the sun.

I found this unit less boring because it was about things I can relate to.

I liked that we did more experiments not just book work. I enjoyed learning about ocean currents and using the fish tank to make them.

These lessons were better than others because it felt like we were learning things that could make a difference.

I learnt about the impact my lifestyle has on the environment and a few changes I could make to reduce my impact by being more sustainable. I found this more interesting as I could see how this relates to the real world.