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Testimonials for the work of Richard Rowland over the years plus, at the foot of the page, some comments from students who worked with him in Western Australia.

I wanted to put on record our profound thanks for all you have done........almost 163 schools and probably upwards of a quarter of a million young people will have benefitted in some way from your work. Your attempts to bring wider learning opportunities to young people by encouraging them to "get outside" is very laudable.
2023

It seemed impossible, when I first looked at Owlbut's website a few years back, that one person could be responsible for such a mountain of work. As I read on, I knew I was wrong. I have known and worked with Richard for far too long and he has a unique ability to write words that speak to you and in a way that you enjoy reading them and always want more. The fact that he can do that for adults and children is, I would say, almost unique. If I can persuade him to divert his writing skills toward another book, I shall do so.
Greg Jackson - retired Literary Agent, 2021

The children who worked with me on the Coastline resource got an amazing amount from the project. It was a pleasure to work with Richard who was thoroughly professional yet brought some fun to our learning. He was, as I told him recently, ahead of his time with that resource and I am delighted to hear that he plans a repeat using the internet as his output tool. I have no doubt it will be as good and I look forward to having a small amount of input again.
the late Doug Brown - ex-principal Engaines County Primary School 2011

We will most definitely make use of the Coastline resource next year as it has been a superb resource for our students.
Diane Braverman – Chalkstone Middle School – Suffolk, 1995

The project allowed us to be creative in our teaching by providing our pupils with a unique resource which they all enjoyed using without it being too prescriptive.
Val Saberton – Clare Middle School – Suffolk, 1995

You were of great assistance to me during our Christmas celebrations. In a volunteer capacity you worked with two school groups and a group of refugee children to write and perform songs which celebrated world harmony. You worked well with teachers and students and developed a great rapport with children with limited English. You brought an international sensibility to our celebrations, which was appreciated by a large crowd......... I find you to be an intelligent, generous and compassionate person who will reward all with whom you engage.
Phil Thomson - Cultural Development Coordinator, Fremantle Council, WA., 2005

I have been impressed by your humanitarian attitude in raising awareness of cultures of the world through the links that children could generate via the internet. That you could include Australia as a major part of your work was creative and I felt that you should have been encouraged to pursue this. The natural extension of having this level of communication is that it will develop on a global scale, as the name of your company implies.
Keith Potger, member of The Seekers and Australian of the Year 1967, 2005

As Head of Department of English, I was personally very impressed by the various aspects of your project which enabled our students to participate and achieve skill-development and self esteem as well............ The project has definitely been a wonderful way to motivate our students to work on their writing skills. Thank you for launching this project and working with our school.
Swarnamali Seneviratne - Head of English, Newman Senior High School, Western Australia (WA), 2005

The concept of engaging our young people in a soundly-based educational tool such as an interactive website has tremendous merit. In every instance the success of these ideas requires sincere and dedicated people to change ordinary situations into simply extraordinary ones. It takes people like you to inspire positive change, so please continue with your efforts.
Yvonne Sharp – then Mayor of the Far North, NZ, 2006

Your upcoming odyssey sounds like a dream come true to anyone inclined toward adventure. Learning while doing is the best form of education there is……….. I would love to follow you on your journey and after reading your letter I’ll bet a lot of my readers feel the same way. Be sure and send me your web address and I’ll pass it along…………..but from one rambler to another I loved your letter and I certainly appreciate what you’re doing with your life, Affectionately Rod.
The late Rod McKuen – one of America’s greatest poets replying to a letter Richard sent explaining what he was doing.

These are just some of the comments I was sent after working with a school in Australia some years ago.

Believe me, it's worthwhile working on these things, despite all the traumas and set backs, when you get comments like this and I'm absolutely certain we can still produce this type of enthusiasm if you GET INVOLVED.

Hi Richard

Here is one very happy student sending her thanks on behalf of my class last year. As you can see, they really did love it and learned so much. They learned how to use different software and use equipment effectively (digital camera, scanner, printer etc). It was great to see the children collaborating and working towards a common goal to achieve success both academically and socially/emotionally. I am looking forward to working with you again this year with my new group, and am so thankful that your project has enhanced my program so much. I hope you get back to Australia soon, so we can finally meet and the kids will meet the man they have been writing to for the last six months! So thanks again, good luck for the year and we will be in touch soon.

Kind regards,
Claire Barrett-Lennard

Dear Richard
I am writing to thank you very much for the cool projects we were able to do and send to you last year. They were so fun and interesting and I learned a lot. Everyone worked really hard on the project and when it was finished, it looked awesome. I learned how to use a scanner and learned some new things about Microsoft word that I didn’t know before I did the One World Project work. I’m glad I learned how to use the scanner because we can use it when we make our year seven graduation booklet at the end of the year. I also loved doing the drawing project because even though I can’t draw very good, it was really cool to see my work on the website after we sent it to you. I showed my mum at home on our computer and she thought it was really good. I wish that we could do the One World Project in year seven, but we are doing other things. I think this years year sixes will love it too, so I hope they get the chance with Miss Barrett-Lennard. Thanks for everything you did for us.
Room Eight

Elle and Montanna think this website is a very very good idea because people all over the world can see the different cultures. Elle and Montanna feel very FAMOUS! to be on your website. Montanna and Elle enjoyed the website very very very much because we got to learn about the little students in our school. Elle and Montanna would love to continue this program as we only have one year of primary school left. Good luck and bye love
ELLE AND MONTY XOXO – pupils – St Joseph’s School Busselton – Western Australia

We liked to look at all the other schoolwork and compare it with ours. It feels really great to see our work on the internet we feel very proud. You should try to get a school from almost every country to do a project.
Luke and Ivan – pupils – St Joseph’s School Busselton – Western Australia

Dear Richard,
My friend Emma and I agree that your site is excellent! We felt honoured to have our work published on your site. We enjoyed working on our project “A Day in the Life Of” because we found out some great information on Jessica Piggot. We think that it is wonderful that you are creating a site like this and that you should keep up the great work!!! Emma and I also agree that it is great that people from other countries can, in a way, “experience” Australian life.
Nicole Croxford – pupil – St Joseph’s School Busselton – Western Australia

I bet that every person is excited. It is incredible how you can create such success. The project was so fun. It didn’t take as long as I thought that it would go on for. Typing it was easy and fast. Finding a way to organise it was harder. Maybe next time you could include some pictures with the writing to show the people who the person is.
Well thanz again!!!
Sarah Gratwick – pupil – St Joseph’s School Busselton – Western Australia

I think the site is a complete success. Thanks for putting our projects on the site. We are amazed with work you have done to get this. To see our work on the site is a real thriller and Mrs BL says we are famous. We enjoyed finding information about Nikki Slee and trying to put it all together. Thanks for letting us be a part of this experience
from Amber & Angie

I thought the site was really, really cool. It gave people the chance to put their work on the internet for other schools to see. I loved doing the project. It was really fun. Thanx for doing the one world project.
Sarah – pupil – St Joseph’s School Busselton – Western Australia

I THINK THAT THE SITE IS GREAT. IT IS ALL SET OUT NICELY AND YOU ARE ALL ORGANISED. WHEN I GO ON THE INTERNET AND I SEE MY WORK THERE I FEEL SO HAPPY. IT IS JUST SO COOL. I THINK I AM FAMOUS.
DID REALLY ENJOY THE PROJET. IT WAS FUN AND VERY THRILLING TO DO. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN.
ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT IT IS A VERY GOOD PROJECT AND WONDERFUL SITE.
KAITLYN (who sent me her comments in upper case letters) – pupil – St Joseph’s School Busselton – Western Australia

We think the site is really good because you get to know more about other people's backgrounds around the world. We Like it because it's good to have your own website. We enjoyed the project because we got to know more about the person we chose. We think the project was a good learning experience.
Ashley – pupil – St Joseph’s School Busselton – Western Australia