Coral reef charity improves Queensland kids’ Reef IQ
Students throughout Australia can now conduct a coral reef health check without getting wet.
Queensland-based coral reef monitoring organisation, Reef Check Australia launches its
new education program for young people at Sea World, Gold Coast, on 18th June. The
program has been two years in the making with piloting and reviewing of the program taking
place at schools across the state.
Among the activities played-out in the course are classroom-based "surveys" of the reef. All
of these virtual reefs, in the form of photocards laid out along tape-measures on the ground,
are actual photographs taken from underwater surveys as part of the Great Barrier Reef
Community Monitoring Program.
Final drafts of the complete education program have been enthusiastically received by key
players in marine-based education, such as Project AWARE Kids; Sea World, Marine
Teachers Association of Queensland (MTAQ), and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority (GBRMPA). Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority acting Director of
Communication and Education, Fred Nucifora, said Reef IQ would be made available to
more than 150 Reef Guardian Schools throughout the Great Barrier Reef catchment: “This is
a fantastic educational resource for schools and will help foster a greater appreciation for the
Reef.”
The program is aimed at children from seven to 14 years and is linked into key curriculum
outcomes for all states. The complete program, including teachers' guide, factsheets,
powerpoint presentations, activity materials and a fun Reef IQ game, will be available on the
Reef Check Australia website and can be downloaded free of charge after the initial launch.
Children will enjoy the unusual activities, such as finding out how a crayfish finds his dinner,
using drinking straws as antennae: learning how to assess the health of a coral reef through
simulated surveys; and thinking about a "My Sustainability Action Plan" that they can carry
out through the term.
Reef Check Australia hopes that the program will roll-out to a national audience within the
next twelve months. Jo Roberts, Education and Outreach Officer at the charity believes, "It is
our vision to raise awareness of coral reefs, their ecology, the threats they face and how
humans can mitigate these threats on a daily basis, for a sustainable future. It is crucial that
all Australians become more enlightened about these issues from a young age, not just
those living in coastal areas."
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Contact:
Jo Roberts
07 4724 3950
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