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School Involvement in Biodiversity Conservation

A variety of opportunities exist for schools that are interested in helping to conserve our biodiversity. School communities can get involved in activities like:

  • growing and planting native trees and shrubs
  • controlling weeds
  • surveying plant and animal populations
  • promoting biodiversity conservation in the local community
  • saving threatened species from extinction by restoring habitat and conducting surveys.

The Discover Nature on Eyre Peninsula Education Resource offers:

  • integrated learning approaches that allow links to science, society and environment, maths, english and geography
  • opportunities to join the schools across Eyre Peninsula and the Far West that are already involved in helping our environment.

Together we can make a difference! If your school is interested in being involved in biodiversity conservation activities, please contact us.

Local Schools - Saving Our Future
Native Plant Dreaming Trail - Ceduna Area School Biological Surveys - Lock Area School Saving threatened wattles - Cummins Area School Saving the cockatoos - Port Lincoln Special School Land care activities - Ungarra Primary School Saving Whibley's Wattle - Tumby Bay Area School
Quandong fruit, one of the bush foods included in Ceduna Area School's native plant dreaming trail
Quandong fruit, one of the bush foods included in Ceduna Area School's native plant dreaming trail

Native plant dreaming trail - Ceduna Area School

The Ceduna Area School community is working with local Aboriginal people to create a native plant dreaming trail including bush foods, medicinal plants and other indigenous flora like Quandong and Sandalwood trees, Desert Raisins and Muntries. The project will help maintain traditional Aboriginal plant knowledge. The school received a Grow a Great School grant from the SA Urban Forest Biodiversity Program for plants and an Ark on Eyre grant for signage on the trail.

Saving threatened wattles - Cummins Area School

Cummins Area School students translocating threatened wattles
Cummins Area School students translocating threatened wattles

Three threatened wattle species (Fat-leaf (100Kb PDF), Imbricate and Jumping-jack (100Kb PDF) Wattles) have been grown and planted by Cummins Area School students to secure the species' future. The school is also promoting conservation with a threatened wattle display garden in its grounds.

In 2002, students helped plant threatened wattle seedlings to link existing threatened wattle populations on roadsides. In August 2006, students from Year 3 and Year 11 translocated another 230 nationally Endangered Fat-leaf Wattles and 100 Imbricate Wattles. These additional seedlings were planted at three new locations away from roadsides on private property where they will be less vulnerable to disturbance. The students were assisted by teachers, land-holders, the Cummins Landcare Officer and the local Threatened Flora Officer.

Lock Area School students see first hand some of the animals caught in the traps at Hambidge Conservation Park
Lock Area School students see first hand some of the animals caught in the traps at Hambidge Conservation Park

Biological surveys - Lock Area School

In 2003, Year 4-5 Lock Area School students visited Hambidge Conservation Park as part of the Biological Survey of Eyre Peninsula. Biologists from the Department for Environment and Heritage explained the importance of the survey as a benchmark for monitoring future changes. The students learnt first-hand how biologists survey animals using pitfall, Elliott and cage traps. Students were shown animals caught at sites earlier in the day, including a Western Pygmy Possum, Common Dunnart, Knob-tailed Gecko and Bearded Dragon.

 

Saving the cockatoos - Port Lincoln Special School

Port Lincoln Special School students propagating plants for habitat recovery
Port Lincoln Special School students propagating plants for habitat recovery

 

Hakea seeds are a favoured native food resource of Eyre Peninsula's Critically Endangered Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos. In 2004, Port Lincoln Special School was involved in growing Wrinkled and Elm-seed Hakea seedlings. Students filled plant tubes with soil and regularly weeded the seedlings, held in the Greening Australia nursery in Port Lincoln. The students planted the seedlings within the Koppio Hills, increasing cockatoo food supplies in the birds' breeding area.

Tumby Bay Area School students translocating the endemic Whibley's Wattle
Tumby Bay Area School students translocating the endemic Whibley's Wattle

Saving Whibley's Wattle - Tumby Bay Area School

Whibley's Wattle (150Kb PDF) is found nowhere else in the world but in four isolated populations near Tumby Bay. Tumby Bay Area School and the town's Landcare officer are helping to increase numbers of this nationally Endangered wattle and work towards reducing the species' risk of extinction.

Since 2003, the school has grown Whibley's Wattle from seed and strategically planted (translocated) the seedlings on roadsides and private property. Students monitor tagged plants for survival and growth. More recently seedlings of plant species associated with Whibley's Wattle have been planted to act as a protective buffer for the wattles.

The project reaches across different curriculum areas including science, art, english and information technology. Community awareness is raised through media and the school featured on national television when it won a conservation competition run by WWF Australia and Network Ten's Totally Wild program.

Land care activities - Ungarra Primary School

Ungarra Primary School students tagging a Jumping-jack Wattle plant for monitoring
Ungarra Primary School students tagging a Jumping-jack Wattle plant for monitoring

Year 4-7 Ungarra Primary School students are involved in a variety of land-care activities in their local area, helping to increase community awareness of environmental issues.

The school is growing native plants for revegetation projects in a new shade house, funded by an Ark on Eyre grant. Students have also conducted threat assessments and monitoring for threatened Fat-leaf Wattles (100Kb PDF) and Jumping-jack Wattles (100Kb PDF). As part of the region's Asparagus weed control initiatives, the school is helping distribute rust fungus, a biological control of the significant weed Bridal Creeper.

Other sustainable school activities at Ungarra include a composting program and the installation of water tanks through an Australian Government Community Water Grant.

Youth Environment Council

The Youth Environment Council (YEC) of South Australia advises government on the environmental perspectives of young people. It includes young people from all education systems in SA and peak youth organisations.

The YEC supports young South Australians in caring for the environment, promotes awareness of environmental issues, assists and complements environmental education programs, and communicates with young people through a range of media. One of the YEC's key activities is running workshops to support young people to develop knowledge and skills to create environmental action projects.

Discover Nature on Eyre Peninsula Education Resource

The Discover Nature on Eyre Peninsula Education Resource is designed to help teachers on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula increase students' understanding and passion about the natural environment and biodiversity conservation. By helping students understand the processes that underlie environmental problems, the resource aims to empower students to take action and make a positive contribution to the future of Eyre Peninsula.

The Discover Nature on Eyre Peninsula Education Resource covers six main topics, each divided into several parts including themes, background information for teachers and suggested activities. It has been developed for use with students in years 4, 5 and 6, however activities are easily adapted to suit other age groups.

Discover Nature on Eyre Peninsula Education Resource
Discover Nature on Eyre Peninsula Education Resource

Copies of the Discover Nature on Eyre Peninsula Education Resource are available to Eyre Peninsula teachers at no cost. If you are a teacher working on Eyre Peninsula, please contact the Department for Environment and Heritage's Port Lincoln office on (61 8) 8688 3111 to order your own copy.

Other Education Resources

Biodiversity Education Resources

Biodiversity is all the biological diversity (or life) on earth. This includes all the species of plants, animals (including humans), fungi and micro-organisms. It also includes diversity or variations within populations, species and their genes.

A range of biodiversity related education resources are available covering topics including native animals and plants, threatened species and habitats.

See Biodiversity Education Resources.

Sustainability Education Resources

We can all play a part in ensuring a sustainable future for South Australians by addressing social, economic and environmental elements together. Education, awareness raising and training that leads to changes in attitude and behaviour will strengthen our commitment to environmental sustainability.

A range of sustainability related education resources are available covering topics including waste, energy use and water use.

See Sustainability Education Resources.