Successful three-day environmental camp for Elliston students

Elliston Area School years four and five students recently donned their park ranger caps at the Venus Bay Conservation Park to partake in an environmental education extravaganza.

As part of their school camp students enjoyed three days of field work with Natural Resources Eyre Peninsula staff Libby Hunt and Tayla Bowden.

The students participated in education sessions involving the Park’s reintroduced native species the Brush-tailed bettong or Woylie (Bettong ogilbyi) and the Greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis), whilst polishing their research skills by undertaking wildlife spotlighting surveys, feral cat trapping, track and scat surveys and GPS navigation.

Elliston Area School Teacher Ian Dudley said it was inspiring to see the students participating in activities to protect wildlife and conserve our natural resources.

“The students came away from the program with a greater knowledge of, and appreciation for the many unique components of Australian biodiversity,” Mr. Dudley said.

Students also saw a demonstration of the new ‘Felixer’ innovative feral cat control trap, designed by Dr John Read, which has come to national attention as a new wildlife conservation tool that was first trialled at Venus Bay Conservation Park.

Natural Resources Eyre Peninsula staff member Tayla Bowden said she was inspired by the enthusiasm of the students and their thirst for knowledge.

“We were impressed by the student’s eagerness to learn and willingness to dive into every activity over the three days, particularly the tracks and scat surveys that had the students counting and identifying a variety of different animal scats and tracks ,” Ms Bowden said.

Students were presented with an honorary ranger certificate at the end of the camp.