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KEF organises workshops, when a need arises, to support the children expressing themselves by using art as a psychological healing tool. For example, after the 2001 Blue Mountains Bushfires, KEF coordinated a series of art workshops to support children to share their experiences of the bushfires. KEF also conducts annual traveling workshops where rural children have the opportunity to learn about art, differences in culture and the environment. The focus at each workshop is to exchange stories, in turn respecting and valuing the many ways that people experience the world. Over 6000 children have participated in KEF’s workshops, operating across rural, isolated and coastal communities throughout NSW, covering a distance of over 30,000km in the last three years. We also facilitate regular workshops in the major cities that are linked with KEF’s International exhibitions. 
OBJECTIVES Environmental - To educate children about the importance of protection and conserving their local environment
- To increase awareness, understanding and respect for the local environment
- To explore how their local fauna and flora can assist them in learning about cultural diversity.
| Personal - To provide an opportunity for children to develop communication skills through the medium of art whilst enhancing personal development skills
- The encourage positive emotional expression where children learn to express feelings in ways that are not aggressive or destructive
| Cooperation - To work together whilst exchanging ideas in order to create community projects such as large multi-layered canvases.
| Social - To learn, respect and appreciate cultural differences of children from around the world
- To provide a medium for children to communicate with each other
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LOGISTICS We approach our workshop as the first step in fostering a relationship between the school and KEF. Our workshops create an opportunity for KEF to support children and teacher's artistic experiences through providing professional artists as well as professional art material. We then initiate ongoing relationships with the schools by providing artistic support and information about where the children's artworks, which are donated to the KEF's collection, are either exhibited or reproduced. KEF also utilises our international connections to foster links between schools and KEF's homes to support the cultural understanding between communities. KEF provide the opportunities to learn, through participating in 'hands on' tree planting activities, learning about bush-care as well as utilising local resources and knowledge. This encourages a sense of ownership and instills a desire to revisit the planting sites. Children are provided with an opportunity to learn about global environment similarities and diversity. This is achieved through engaging them with activities linked with KEF's International Artwork collected. For example, Chinese Whispers where children share stories about various themes in the artwork to assist their cultural understanding and listening skills. Learning activities include 'Sensory Trail' whereby children are blindfolded and encouraged to interact with their environment through different modalities. Other activities will include a 'Flora Treasure Hunt' that encourages children to formulate ideas about texture, shape and colour for the art-workshop. Children are provided with the opportunity to work with artists individually and collaboratively to enhance their artistic techniques. Through art, they are encourages to communicated what was learnt during the early activities. KEF will organise a local community exhibition of the children's artwork, if space is available, on the Saturday after each week's workshops so the community can view the children's artwork. Children are invited to donate their artwork for KEF's exhibitions and share with other children what they think is special about their community.
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