On 19 May our very own nature nurturers, Kate and Dimity spent the day with 15 primary school students from Tammin PS, years 3 to 6. In the morning, together with parent helpers, the students built bat and possum boxes and then were given education on threatened species and communities including the black cockatoos, malleefowl and Wheatbelt woodlands. They discussed various methods on how to manage bushland for biodiversity outcomes and then everyone boarded the bus to a local farm to work on their very own “Enviro-story”.
The local farm, about 5km South of Tammin, is owned by Gary Caffell and is home to a great range of flora and fauna which Gary takes great interest in. The students, teachers and parent helpers spent two hours exploring the TEC (threatened ecological community) woodlands and Gary, Kate and Dimity all shared their local knowledge of the species and communities which they observed. Then it was time for the installation of the nest boxes, which had been made previously, together with remote sensing cameras to monitor the native fauna. The students will manage the cameras for Gary and report their findings back to us here at the Wheatbelt NRM.
A highlight of the day was finding an echidna in the woodlands which thrilled the children and adults alike! Feedback from the classroom teacher, Miss Sara “My class thoroughly enjoyed it and retained so much information which they are transferring into the classroom and have taken home.”
Previous Enviro-stories we have completed can be found here.
We love enlisting our communities to become involved in education and research to create more healthy environments.
This project is supported by funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.