GBRMPA Science Teaching Units cover a range of Reef related topics from Year 1 - 10

AUSMEPA is proud of it's partnership with GBRMPA in marine education and very pleased to share information on their wonderful units of work available for schools.

  

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Science Teaching Units

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) Science Teaching Units (Version 0.2), are now available on the GBRMPA web http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/resources-and-publications/student-and-teacher-resources/science-teaching-units.

The focus of these Units has been developed from the Key Focus Areas of the Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2009. The Units encourage students, teachers and their communities to follow the main aim of Reef Guardians – to be stewards of the environment.

The Science Teaching Units cover a range of Reef related topics from Year 1 - 10:

-       Year 1 - Habitat Investigations

-       Year 3 - Exploring the Reef

-       Year 4 - Endangered Species: Marine Turtles

-       Year 5 - Animal Adaptations

-       Year 6 - Let's go Fishing

-       Year 7 - Wetlands

-       Year 8 - Coral Bleaching

-       Year 9 - Ecosystems and

-       Year 10 - Climate Change.

The Early Years Activities (Foundation Year – Year 2) may be used as single science lessons or to create a series of lessons. The Year 11 and 12 Investigations Tasks may be used as either Extended Experimental Investigations or Extended Research Tasks to support the needs of students in science based units of work.

The content descriptors for these units are from the Australian Science Curriculum Version 2.0 www.australiancurriculum.edu.au. Following the inquiry based 5Es approach to teaching science, the units are based on the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) expectations of a minimum time per week assigned to science lessons for students in each grade level. The overall units or the individual lessons could be extended or shortened to cater for individual classes as deemed necessary by the class teacher. The Units include a resource section with a guide to making judgements and links to QSA Literacy Indicators.

The Science Teaching Units are revolving documents and will continue to be updated as new information becomes available on the Australian Science Curriculum.  

If you are using these Units or parts of the Units we would be interested to hear from you. Please contact reefguardians@gbrmpa.gov.au if you would like to provide feedback.

Regards,

Carolyn Luder

A/Project Manager

Reef Guardian Schools

Stakeholder Engagement and Stewardship

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

2-68 Flinders St Townsville |  PO Box 1379 Townsville QLD 4810

Phone:    (07) 4750 0792

Fax:        (07) 4772 6093

Mobile:  0418731989

Email:    carolyn.luder@gbrmpa.gov.au



www.ausmepa.org.au

5th International Marine Debris Conference 20-25 March 2011

The 5th International Marine Debris Conference will take place March 20-25, 2011 in Honolulu, HI, U.S.A.  here

Waves of Change: Global lessons to inspire local action

Date: March 20-25, 2011

Location: Honolulu, Hawai‘i, USA

Co-organizers: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United Nations Environment Programme

It is our hope that this conference will open a new chapter in the field of marine debris by reinvigorating our efforts, providing new tools and information, and inspiring innovation. This new era relies on sharing across borders—building upon successes, taking away lessons from others’ experiences, and working towards common goals. This conference is being designed with a variety of tracks, themes, and session types, with all paths leading to the shared goal of moving forward, globally and locally, in combating the economic and environmental impacts of marine debris.http://www.5imdc.org/program/abstracts/

ROCKPOOLS - A window to another world

Little wonder Rockpools are popular places to visit and explore. Being alert and gentle in this very harsh and demanding habitat can yield exciting and sometimes surprising discoveries. The photos included here are from a very low tide at the edge of a SE Queensland suburb. On this winters day corals and their relatives, tunicates (sea squirts) and an amazing variety of life provided a colourful tapestry.

Later in the year AUSMEPA is looking forward to presenting a unit of work on Rockpools that is bound to whet the appetite for later in 2010.

In the meantime be sure to make good use of the marine conservation information libraries that are available as integral parts of the AUSMEPA free online school marine study units for middle year students (click here).

Enric Sala: Glimpses of a pristine ocean (TED TALK)

"Working at the intersection of science and policy, Enric Sala searches for the last pristine marine environments on Earth — and brings back data to help governments protect them"

.......from TED TALKS -- click here

Woodbridge Marine Discovery Centre

If you are searching for marine education experiences in Tasmania, you should get in touch with Woodbridge MDC.

Woodbridge Marine Discovery Centre is run by Tasmania’s Department of Education and provides a diversity of shore and sea-based education programs for all year groups.

Located on the shores of the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, it owns a 13.5 metre research vessel fitted with a chart plotter, 3D seabed mapper and underwater camera and other new technologies.

The Centre representatives are Pam Elliott, Ros Asten and Tim Nossiter

ADVENTURE EDUCATION Marine Discovery in Hastings Point NSW

Kerrie Trees invited AUSMEPA guest Fred Happy Eye, the Ambassador for Keeping Our Oceans Clean, to visit the astonishing Marine Discovery Centre museum and base for Adventure Education on the north coast of New South Wales.

Situated neatly within the North Star Caravan Park in the coastal village of Hastings Point, the Marine Discovery Centre resides on the upper level of the Seascape building within the Park. The array of realia and artifact displays are quite astounding. The Centre is punctuated by several small jewel-like living tanks and the entire space is like a movie set. The coloured lighting shows off the impressive coral reef display to perfection and large projectors have a flow of fascinating underwater themes that tie into various school programs. The centre hosts school camps, field trips and diving adventures. Students are challeneged to understand threats and impacts to the marine environment. They also workshop things everyone can do to help preserve diversity and natural systems through personal action and lateral thinking.

After examining a mystery object found on the shore (above) Fred was heard to remark in his inimitable style "Where's the action!". To his delight Kerrie got him out and about amongst the mangroves, rockpools and into the surf. (We could have guessed that!)

To find out more about the Adventure Education Hastings Point Marine Discovery Centre click here.

To find out more about Fred and his world travels promoting ocean conservation visit his blog SOAR

Scientists say dolphins should be treated as 'non-human persons' - Times Online

photo from Dolphin Research Institute

Excerpt from the article by Times Online
"Dolphins have been declared the world’s second most intelligent creatures after humans, with scientists suggesting they are so bright that they should be treated as “non-human persons”.

"Studies into dolphin behaviour have highlighted how similar their communications are to those of humans and that they are brighter than chimpanzees. These have been backed up by anatomical research showing that dolphin brains have many key features associated with high intelligence."

"The researchers argue that their work shows it is morally unacceptable to keep such intelligent animals in amusement parks or to kill them for food or by accident when fishing. Some 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises die in this way each year."

As you might guess this article has pricked up the ears of more than a few folk. Do animals have to be intelligent to warrant our attention? Does being 'smart' provide a protection/shield for our flippered friends? Does intelligence define what needs to be conserved?

Whatever your opinion on dolphins it is important to remember that as long as we are committed to finding and using sustainable solutions for healthy oceans then we are protecting the environment that we both need in order to exist.

If you want to know more about dolphins you might like to contact the following marine education organisations in Australia:
Dolphin Discovery (Western Australia) Adopt a dolphin
Dolphin Research Institute (Victoria) Adopt a dolphin

End of the Line

Dr Sylvia Earle told the audience at her 2009 seminar in Brisbane that 90 percent of the big fish in the ocean have already been taken. What does it mean?

Perhaps the film End of the Line being presented by AMCS (Australian Marine Conservation Society) will provide some perspective on how this affects us and how what we do can make a difference.

"Imagine an ocean without fish. Imagine your meals without seafood. Imagine the global consequences. This is the future if we do not stop, think and act. The End of the Line is the world's first major documentary about the devastating effect of overfishing."

Brisbane Premiere:
When: Tuesday 8th December, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Where: The Regent, 167 Queen St, Brisbane City
Tickets: $15 - click here for more information

Darwin Screening:The Australian Marine Conservation Society in partnership with The Environment Centre Northern Territory present this internationally acclaimed film in Darwin.
When: 6:30pm Thursday 26 November 2009
Where: Darwin Museum Theatrette
Tickets: $10, to reserve tickets please call Prue Barnard on (08) 8941 7461 or email pruebarnard@amcs.org.au

What's special about the South West Coast?

Pretecting our natural treasures


Itchy fins? Have a look at this interesting clip regarding the south west corner of Australia. It was generated by Wild Australia and their website tells us that "Wild Australia is a program that recognizes that protecting Australia's significant biological resources means stemming the loss of critical habitat, managing competition from invasive species, re-establishing wildfire patterns, and curtailing the diversion of water and other development related factors that accelerate habitat loss."

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Ocean Defense provides excellent information and this talk is well worth watching!

We can help to stop this great diffuse aquatic garbage dump from growing. Adaptability and innovation are characteristics that made humans successful as a species. It's time to use both our brain and our brawn to accept responsibility for our own actions and clean up our mess.

Think: how can I reduce my consumption by 10% and reduce waste that can find it's way into the ocean

Ask: shop with the 'no plastic' option in mind and ask retailers to review their policies

Do: pick up and properly dispose of rubbish that has escaped into the environment and voice your concern to your politicians, media and community.

Teachers can find a free online unit of work that may assist your workplanning. It is Marine Stormwater Pollution at AUSMEPA www.ausmepa.org.au/marine-conservation-education-for-schools.htm

Is the climate changing? Watch for yourselves -- ClimateWatch

The first project of its kind in the southern hemisphere, ClimateWatch allows the community at large to get hands-on in the science of understanding climate change through simple observation of the world around them.

ClimateWatch is a monitoring program being opened up to Australians so that they can be involved in collecting and recording data to help shape the country’s scientific response to climate change.

There is an urgent need for large scale data harvesting to evaluate how natural systems are responding to climate change. There are 2 marine species nominated. The photos are taken from the website to illustrate.

One of those is the Blue Mosaic jelly or Blue Blubber,Catostylus mosaicus (above).The other is the Blue Bottle Jellyfish, Physalia utriculus, a siphonophore. Personally I can't think of a better excuse to go for a walk than to assist in this project. How easy is that? If you see either of these animals make a note and record it on the website. You will find that you educate yourself as you contribute and communicate. Find out more about the project...

www.climatewatch.org.au/about/what_is_cw.aspx

NOTE: ClimateWatch was developed by Earthwatch Australia, with the support of the Bureau of Meteorology, Land and Water Australia, The University of Melbourne, corporate and government partners, and scientific collaborators.

"How We Know What We Know: Looking at Climate Change Through Polar Science"

Friday 16 October 2009 - 9 am Alaska Daylight Time.

To join you must register online at PolarTREC. Once registered an email is sent out and downloads will be available on the website. If you can't join you should have a look at the IPY Polar Week classroom activities

Contact: info@polartrec.com
http://www.polartrec.com

What are Live events?
* These are real-time, interactive events that utilize the Internet
and phone for presentations.
* These events allow participants to learn about the research being
conducted in the polar regions.
* Events are free to the public and at minimum require a phone or
Internet access.

NOTE: To see what that time is where you live visit World Clock
For Australians(Qld)this is 3pm Sat 17th October

Mariners and Masters: DVD about Australia for your information

Dateline: WORLD MARITIME DAY 2009

WELCOME TO AUSTRALIA, protecting our marine environment

The Australian Marine Environment Protection Association (AUSMEPA) has marked World Maritime Day 24 Sept 2009 by announcing the launch of the 2nd edition of its seafarer educational DVD, Welcome to Australia protecting our marine environment.

The DVD describes the importance of Australia’s unique marine environment and reminds ship masters and their crews of their obligations under The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).

The DVD was jointly produced by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and AUSMEPA. A copy of the DVD will be placed on every ship, when it first arrives in Australia, by its agent. Supplies of the DVD will be available through the Australian Shipowners Association (ASA) and Shipping Australia Ltd. (SAL) and in selected ports from the Apostleship of the Sea’s Stella Maris Seafarer Centres.

The English version (one of seven language variations of the DVD) can be viewed on the AUSMEPA website by following this link http://www.ausmepa.org.au/australian-marine-environment-protection-association-dvd.htm

Giant Cuttlefish

Why do the big cuttles like South Australia so much? For more info have a look at this Catalyst article.

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2695601.htm

The narration begins..."At first glance, this rocky coastline in South Australia doesn’t look all that special. Fringed by gas refineries, lead smelters, and steel works, it’s more industrial landscape than pristine wilderness. Perched at the top of the Spencer Gulf, even its name - Point Lowly - doesn’t hold much promise.But in the eyes of the giant Australian cuttlefish, there is nowhere else on the planet to be."