Australia: Sustainability and Environmental Action

Homestays

Read an article about Lismore homestay families and their experience with SIT students.

Homestays are an essential part of SIT Study Abroad’s commitment to providing students with meaningful study abroad experiences that help them understand the realities of living in a particular country. Following orientation in Byron Bay, students in the SIT Study Abroad program in Australia move into a two-week homestay with a family in Lismore or a nearby rural location in northern New South Wales. The homestays provide students with insights into Australian culture and allow them to establish ties in the community.

Lismore is a typical Australian country town with a population of 30,000 and home to Southern Cross University. In the rural areas near Lismore, students stay with host families on farms or in small villages and hamlets. Many of these communities were settled by people seeking “alternative lifestyles” in the 1970s and more recently by "tree changers" relocating from cities.

While in their homestays, students attend lectures and workshops and undertake day-trips in the surrounding area. Lismore is best known as the gateway to the rainforests of northern New South Wales and the center of the alternative lifestyle movement in Australia. Many homestay families are very knowledgeable about the environment and sustainability, and students find the homestays very rewarding and benefit from gaining a first-hand perspective on the efforts of citizens to meet Green challenges.

Other accommodations during the program include apartments, hostels, lodges, and campsites