Waste & Wildlife workshop in a habitat hotspot
Beaches, sand dunes, forests, rivers, streams, waterfalls and caves. Riana Primary School in Tasmania’s north-west is a generous ‘stone’s throw’ from them all. This had an important bearing on the Waste and Wildlife workshop we ran at the school in mid-May, because the students were already familiar with a large range of animal habitats, and the creatures that live in them.
It was Grades 3 ,4, 5 and 6 that joined us for two deliveries of the workshop, which we had additional expert help in presenting. Sarah Facey, a tour guide with Friends of Burnie Penguins at the Penguin Observation Centre attended the workshop to recount cases of little penguins entangled in waste being discovered and treated on the North West coast by local wildlife carers.
The students in both workshops were full of ideas about how the waste-related problems for wildlife in their area could be reduced, with their proposed solutions ranging from everyday measures such as asking people to not feed wildlife bread, to world-changing initiatives like manufacturing new biodegradable shoelaces, necklaces and hair ties (to reduce platypus entanglement).
Grade 5/6 teacher Ms Coulson who attended the workshop, said its content perfectly aligned with the work her students had been doing in class.
"We’re doing an inquiry on sustainability… in science and all of this links in really well," she said. "It’s inspired one of my students to change his inquiry to see how he can reduce marine waste, and because [his family] are fishermen, it’s influenced his personal choices as well."
Thank you to the teachers and students of Riana Primary School!
The Waste and Wildlife program was developed with the support of the Tasmanian Government and the Tasmanian Waste and Resource Recovery Board. This workshop delivery is funded by Southern Waste Solutions as part of Landcare Tasmania’s Education Program.
The program includes a teacher package with pre and post lessons linked to the V9 Australian Curriculum. Educators interested in bringing the program to their school can contact [email protected]
