Great Victorian Fish Count 2013

Victoria's Reef Watch and VNPA are hosting another community monitoring event to see how the fish are going in the south east. Here's your invitation.

Saturday Nov 23 to Sunday Dec 8 Grab your fins, wipe your snorkel, take a deep breath and start your count down. The VNPA's Great Victorian Fish Count 2013 is nearly here. Last year more than 350 divers and snorkellers from 25 groups throughout Victoria made the Fish Count a fabulous success -- help us make 2013 the biggest event yet! The Fish Count is a fabulous way to explore Victoria's beautiful sea and a practical way to make our oceans healthier and happier places for our unique marine plants and animals to live.

> Fact sheet > Reef Watch > Watch video > Fish Count manual > Fish Count ID guide

We'll post details soon on how to get involved, but until then if you have any questions please contact Wendy Roberts on (03) 8341 7446 or email wrobert@museum.vic.gov.au.

We look forward to seeing you beside the seaside.

Divers taking part in the Great Victorian Fish Count monitor reefs all along our coastline.

www.ausmepa.org.au

What is it about corals?

We love our corals, those tiny animals who build such big colourful and heavily armed homes. Australia is well known for it's tropical coral reefs and some of our corals live in deeper waters and in cooler southern waters.


Stinging seajellies and anemones are related to corals so be careful not to touch them.

Hard corals make large constructions (reefs) of calcium carbonate so it is a surprise to find out that coral polyps that live as single animals that can be agile and move around. The mushroom coral can flip itself right over as it forages on the bottom.

Corals like their own space too. If a neighbour gets too close it means war. Stinging cells are sent out and the coral with the greatest fire power wins.

But what makes coral so important to us?

In earlier days sailors greatly feared coral seas and ships that strayed too close risked becoming wrecked. Navigation and pilotage systems are far advanced and now keep vessels on a safe course.

Increasingly we value these very old, diverse reef ecosystems for the environmental services they provide. Coral reefs are homes and breeding grounds for marine wildlife and diversity is essential in keeping the ocean healthy. Plants and animals of coral reefs not only provide abundance they are also important sources of new medicines.

Some coral reefs can be so vast that they can be seen from outer space. They attract visitors and bring dollars for the communities who look after the reef values.

Coral reefs join other coastal buffering zones like mangroves, seagrasses and salt marshes in protecting our shorelines against waves and storms.

There is a lot to love about corals. Students and communities can become involved in looking after our magnificent corals by becoming citizen scientists with Coral Watch here and by checking out AUSMEPA's unit of work for middle year students, the Effect of Climate Change and Coral Bleaching here.
 

Coral Workshop, low tide at N Stradbroke Island, Qld

 


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REEFSearch Marine Education Kit by Reef Check Australia

The REEFSearch Marine Education Kit is now ready for purchase, and is being offered at $230, including postage within Australia.  The Kit is full of engaging, colourful, hands on activities for educators to engage students in reef health monitoring, reef appreciation, and reef conservation. 

The Kit is designed to complement the REEFSearch program here in raising awareness about reef conservation, promoting community engagement in reef health issues, improving knowledge about reef ecosystems, and inspiring responsible environmental behaviours.  It helps to bring reefs to the classroom and students to the reef, providing practical and engaging data collection tools. 

 

Included in the REEFSearch Marine Education Kit:

 

·         32 page Teacher Support Guide
·         2 X REEFSearch Field Kits (52 Page REEFSearch Field Guide, reusable underwater REEFSearch slate with pencil and hand strap, plus an awesome calico bag to keep everything safe!)
·         CD with 2 PowerPoint presentations: Introduction to Coral Reefs, and Threats to the reef
·         Activity: Classroom Reef Walk (80 double sided full colour image cards to simulate various reef scenarios)
·         Activity: Who Am I fact sheets and cards (16 double sided full colour photo cards plus fact sheets)
·         Activity: Who’s Eating Who (3 magnet sets: 24 magnets in total)
·         Activity: Fact the Facts (20 marine debris mix and match cards plus fact sheets)
·         Activity: Trivia (30 questions for 3 rounds of trivia plus answer sheet)
 

The number of Kits are limited, so if you are interested in purchasing one, please check Sea Store for details. 

 

If you have any questions or comments, please email our good friends at REEFSearch@reefcheckaustralia.org

 

www.ausmepa.org.au

Have you ever watched a sea anemone move?

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Can there be a coordinated approach to Coastal Management?

AUSMEPA notes that a new group has formed with just that in mind. Members of the new Australian Coastal Advocacy Alliance incorporate Coastal Council groups from South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales as well as the National Sea Change Taskforce, Queensland Regional NRM Groups Collective, Surf Life Saving Australia and the Surf Rider Foundation Australia have decided to take the task on. 

As result of this initiative we are seeing some documented articles arising on their website http://coast.org.au/ which will be interest to students and teachers.

                                            . ·             
"The Australian Coastal Advocacy Alliance has been formed to call for a coordinated approach from all levels of Australian government to planning and maintaining our coast. "
July 12, 2013 · by stokes2013 · in   Coastal Councils, Planning

www.ausmepa.org.au

LOVE EVERY DROP; St Macartans Primary School



Receiving their AUSMEPA cheque with Bob Winters

AUSMEPA is incredibly proud of so many of our Australian schools for their endeavours to find sustainable solutions both in the classroom, in their communities and on school grounds.  One of our favourite schools is St Macartans Primary School.
 
Macartans recently received and AUSMEPA grant of $1500 to assist them with the Mangrove component of their brilliant 'Love Every Drop' project. The students are collaborating  with another school to grow mangrove seedlings that are to be planted in Victoria's Western Port Bay later this year.

Mangroves, nursery and buffering zones

The school has already achieved a 5 Star Resource Smart School accreditation. They lead, mentor and support many other schools by hosting student conferences, teacher conferences and a Sustainability Fair. The students write a weekly newsletter that is posted on their dedicated sustainability website at www.smmornington.com.au.


Planting a swale with native plants

On school grounds students have created ponds and planted swales with native and indigenous plants. These water sensitive urban design features reduce run-off from untreated stormwater. A rain garden collects, filters and treats stormwater before it enters the stormwater drainage system. Their wetland also improves the local catchment by using natural depressions to enhance water absorption into underground aquifers.
 

By managing rainwater locally, there is a reduction in the need for larger infrastructure projects downstream from the school. The native animals are also winners. Swales and wetlands improve the environment for frogs, a key species in identifying the health of waterways.  
Students assess water quality by measuring pH, nitrate and phosphorous levels and report to the school community through their newsletters and other media.


Water Sensitive Urban Design

All of these careful considerations and actions not only protect the environment on the school grounds but also the catchment leading into the coastal waters where essential buffering zones such as Mangroves, struggle against the increasing impacts of catchment changes and pollution.

Another great school doing great things. Learn more about Marine Stormwater Pollution on AUSMEPA's student research pages      here
 
www.ausmepa.org.au

BrisbaneTeacher Workshop: Environmental Education and Sustainability in the Australian Curriculum

AUSMEPA friends, the Global Learning Centre, are assisting teachers to satisfy their professional development commitments under the AITSL National Professional Standards for Teachers by holding a one day workshop.

Where: Bulimba State School, Oxford Street, Bulimba

When: Saturday 21st September 2013
Time: 8:00 am to 3:00 pm
Cost: $60 Non-members $40 GLC members/students

Keynote: The importance of Environmental Education for Global Citizenship

Please register your interest at
 http://www.glc.edu.au



www.ausmepa.org.au