Project summaries - 2005 Environmental Education - community grants
| 2005 Environmental Education - community grants |
|---|
| Organisation | Project title | Amount $ |
|---|
Birds Australia | Birds in Backyards guidelines for enhancing urban bird habitat | 63,897 |
Dual Sport Motorcycle Riders Association Inc | Forest users education project | 24,900 |
Sapphire Coast Marine Discovery Centre | Mobile marine environment survey project | 70,348 |
Fuel Cell Institute of Australia Pty Ltd | Hydrogen and fuel cell science/engineering education program | 11,966 |
| Holy Family Centre | Mt Druitt land water and environmental education centre | 83,818 |
| National Parks Association of NSW Inc | The Strom Environmental Education Centre | 23,754 |
NSW Early Childhood Environmental Education Network | Seeds for the Future NSW ECEEN | 42,500 |
Ocean Watch Australia Ltd | Recreational fishing line recovery project | 89,231 |
Rotary Club of Albury Incorporated | Rotary Murray-Darling school of freshwater research | 50,000 |
WIRES, NSW Wildlife Information and Rescue Service | WIRES wildlife carers workshop | 48,000 |
| 10 projects | TOTAL | $508,414 |
Birds Australia
Birds in Backyards guidelines for enhancing urban bird habitat
Grant: $63,897
This program has helped fund 4 graduate and post graduate research projects related to urban birds (eg. Superb Fairy Wren, Noisy Miner), produced general educational materials, run workshops, established links with environmental educators and will launch a comprehensive website on 5 September 2005. In response to needs expressed by local government and community, in particular through an online needs analysis survey undertaken in May 2005, the BIBY program is seeking funding to employ a project officer to create a set of best practice guidelines which would explain and demonstrate the application of current research findings for urban land managers. The guidelines would be directed specifically at LGA environmental officers, community educators, planners, bush and landscape manager and bush regenerators. Project partners will also help deliver 6 related workshops regionally (Sydney, Central Coast, Illawarra) to present the guidelines to key stakeholders and provide them with community education materials for home gardeners.
Dual Sport Motorcycle Riders Association Inc.
Forest users education project
Grant: $24,900
This project is directed towards forest recreation enthusiasts, specifically trail motorcycle riders, who are using forestry and other similar lands. There is little credible information available to motorcycle riders and the other forest trail users. Increasing popularity of motorcycling and other forest trail recreational activities, and fewer areas available to riders leads to conflicts between user types, and safety, environmental and regulatory issues. The project will consult with forest use stakeholder groups/clubs/associations, land mangers and other affected communities/groups about their issues and perceptions. Specifically, the project aims to address the impacts of irresponsible use of the environment and other users by establishing useful criteria for environmentally and socially responsible practice and behaviour. Promotion to the motorcycle riding community would be achieved through magazines, rider networks and in print through motorcycle dealerships and accessory outlets and on ground signage at entrances and parking/unloading areas.
Sapphire Coast Marine Discovery Centre
Mobile marine environment survey project
Grant: $70,348
We wish to build and equip two car trailers as mobile marine research laboratories. These will contain all equipment required to conduct research into the marine environment, including (but not limited to) microscopes, salinity meters, temperature probes, plankton nets, coarse and fine dip nets, a digital underwater camera, folding tables and chairs, a reference library, collecting and storage equipment. We have begun the process of developing research and education programs for all age groups which will require the use of the mobile laboratories. We are working closely with marine studies teachers from Eden Marine High School to ensure that our programs encompass subjects included in the NSW High School Marine Studies curriculum. Programs will also be developed for children at primary school level as well as broader outlines for use by community members of all ages. Educational programs will be delivered throughout the Bega Valley Shire, with a focus on the local cool temperate waters of the Sapphire Coast. Data collected will be used to increase community understanding and awareness of the environment as well as the information base for the Marine Discovery Centre resource section which is currently being developed.
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Fuel Cell Institute of Australia Pty Ltd
Hydrogen and fuel cell science/engineering education program
Grant: $11,966
The project will utilise hydrogen and fuel cell science/engineering education, to establish before students and the community, that the current inefficient and polluting combustive processes involving fossil fuels, are going to be replaced by efficient and "green" electrochemical processes in the near future. The program will provide a school cluster (up to 15) with reversible educational fuel cell kits, which will allow for multiple applications and environmental projects to be created by the selected classes from each school, solving real environmental problems. Competitions within the cluster will take place, ensuring innovative teaching and learning patterns become established.
Holy Family Centre
Mt Druitt land water and environmental education centre
Grant: $83,818
Mt Druitt land and water community learning centre will be located in the heart of Mt Druitt, in Western Sydney. It will be a pulling together a number of organisations around a number of community gardens/nurseries. It will run active teaching and environmental learning experiences for people in partnership with the communities involved. These communities include Holy Family Centre (disabled group, arts in the garden groups, mental health groups, Aboriginal community groups, probation and parole community service orders, students/work experience placements, community gardeners and weekly trips to garden by Holy Family Preschool); local primary schools (15 in the immediate Mt Druitt area and more in wider Blacktown LGA); the UWS Men's Suicide Prevention Program run out of the Men's Shed (on Holy Family site) which includes labelled educational bush tucker gardens, reflection gardens and the Bidwill Community Nursery (partnership between Christian Brothers, Department of Housing, Royal Botanical Gardens and Blacktown Council). It will be a dynamic hands on learning experience based in our community gardens, with a community development focus which will seek first to develop a sense of place within the individuals, and then seek to influence attitudes and behaviour changes.
National Parks Association of NSW Inc.
The Strom Environmental Education Centre
Grant: $23,754
Allen and Beryl Strom have been involved in the environmental movement on the Central Coast since the 1960s, amassing an enormous amount of environmental information and archival material. The Strom's house is situated within Bouddi National Park. The Stroms are deceased and have bequeathed their house and archives to NPWS for use as an environmental resource centre. the project will involve employing a librarian to catalogue the large amount of resource material and setting up the resource centre with shelving, filing cabinets, and map files to make the resources accessible. The resources will be continually built upon. The project will promote and enhance environmental education across NSW.
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NSW Early Childhood Environmental Education Network
Seeds for the Future NSW ECEEN
Grant: $42,500
Having successfully employed an experienced project officer with NSW ECEEN, a website has been designed as part of the national ECA website and progress continues towards fulfilling project goals for 2005. NSW ECEEN is now equipped actively to promote and facilitate the effective integration of education for sustainability within the early childhood field. NSW ECEEN has identified a wide range of existing organisations and resources, and plans to utilise the new website as a platform to deliver a valuable environmental education network for individuals and groups in both regional and city areas in NSW. The website will provide a supportive and informative forum for early childhood professionals and families with young children to find advice and resources necessary to implement sustainable ways of living and working.
NSW ECEEN will also continue to:
- Work with existing organisations to provide professional development on early childhood education for sustainability
- Link people to organisations with environmental expertise
- Develop new resources and provide current information on relevant early childhood education for sustainability
- Liaise with networks in other states and overseas to share expertise
- Utilise the existing ECA regional network to initiate promotion, training and support for regional groups of NSW ECEEN
- Identify, support and showcase those early childhood services in NSW following environmental 'best practice' via the website and present the SPROuts Practice Award to the winner at the end of the year.
Ocean Watch Australia Ltd
Recreational fishing line recovery project
Grant: $89,231
Coastal wildlife suffers injury and death though ingestion and entanglement of discarded recreational monofilament fishing line. In response, anthropogenic debris in marine and estuarine environments has been declared a key threatening process under NSW and Commonwealth legislation. In association with the Noosa Shire Council, Ocean watch recently trialled Australia's first recreational fishing line recovery project with great success. Approximately 17% of the NSW population participates in recreational fishing each year (BRS 2003). As a result, many birds, fish, turtles and other marine wildlife suffer injury and death through ingestion and entanglement by discarded monofilament recreational fishing line (and through being hooked). We propose to extend the project throughout NSW in partnership with DPI, local councils, CMAs and peak recreational fishing bodies.
Rotary Club of Albury Incorporated
Rotary Murray-Darling school of freshwater research
Grant: $50,000
The Rotary Murray-Darling school of freshwater research is a five day residential school held in Albury during April next year for Year 11 students who live in and around the Murray-Darling Basin (M-DB). The school encourages students to increase their awareness and understanding of the environment and conservation issues by enabling them to experience activities inherent in the fields of freshwater research and management. The school provides students with the opportunity to have direct involvement with scientists, lecturers, and industry; and experience practical field work and the process of scientific research. Students are encouraged to develop hypotheses relating to their observations of the environment, choose and measure parameters to test those hypotheses and present their results to scientists, lecturers, Rotary, industry and their peers at the completion of school.
WIRES, NSW Wildlife Information and Rescue Service
WIRES wildlife carers workshop
Grant: $48,000
The object of the workshop is to connect representatives from our 30 branches and 2,000 members with the work previously funded by the Trust in establishing best practice standards and training for wildlife rehabilitation. The workshop will take the form of a conference with expert inputs and break away groups in the specific classes and orders of animals we deal with (the animal teams). These teams are in the process of being established and will form the ongoing structures to maintain training materials and monitor animal care standards. A particular focus of both the presentations and workshops will be the bigger picture of habitat and particularly the skills required to restore and protect potential release sites. This links to another WIRES initiative of cooperating with other agencies (e.g. Cleanup Australia and local government) on identifying sites in our branch areas and jointly restoring these as natural habitat. The event will be open to all wildlife carers regardless of whether they are members of WIRES and it has always been our intention to invite outside expertise onto our animal teams.
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Page last updated: 27 February 2011
