Award-winning author and illustrator Sarah Allen visited Bright P-12 College last week to share with students how she became a writer and illustrator.

The Melbourne-based artist ran workshops for students from prep to year 4, teaching them how to create an Australian bird artwork inspired by her book, Busy Beaks.

Bright P-12 College principal Jean Olley said opportunities like this incursion go far beyond simply enriching the curriculum for students.

"They spark curiosity, inspire creativity and activate new neural pathways in the developing brain," she said.

"When children connect with real-world experiences and meet professionals who are passionate about their craft, it nurtures a deeper love for learning and encourages them to imagine new possibilities for themselves.

"At Bright P-12 College we are proud to offer our students rich experiences that support them not only as learners, but as confident, curious and well-rounded individuals.”

Students certainly seemed to enjoy the visit.

Prep student Leo said it was fun "because we were making birds”.

Year 1 student Mackenzie enjoyed meeting the author and said it "was so cool when we were doing the drawing and the birds we made were very beautiful".

Year 2 student Riley liked learning how to draw birds step-by-step and enjoyed the author sharing how she came up with the idea for Busy Beaks.

"She was living in Melbourne but house-sitting for a friend in the country...she noticed how many birds there were in the country compared to the city and that’s how she got inspired to write her book,” Riley said.

Year 4 student Sean said it was fun to create a collage while the author talked about her book.

"She explained that it’s non-fiction, but that she also included facts about birds in her book,” he said.