Term 4 Highlights
Firstly, please join us in welcoming our new Casual Education Officer, Kim Byrne.
Kim is very experienced working in the marine environment, with her previous roles as an instructor for scuba diving, surfing, snorkelling and stand-up paddleboarding within a range of places, including Ningaloo, the Great Southern Reef and the Great Barrier Reef.
These roles allowed her to share her passion for conservation and education of participants on the positive actions they can take to care for our coastal and marine environments. In addition, in her role as Coasting Program Officer at Surfing Victoria, Kim spearheaded a new program to engage inactive women to become more active through Stand-Up Paddleboarding. She also has a strong background in administration and experience using ArcGiS for spatial analysis and extracting data imagery.
Kim is also in her final trimester of completing a Bachelor of Marine Science at Deakin University.
The dynamic year of intense weather has continued into Term 4, with heavy rains and strong winds. The resulting coastline erosion has been an important talking point for many environmental science students that have come to visit the Surf Coast.
Year 10 Girton Grammar students witnessed erosion impacts from these weather events first-hand during a session at Anglesea. Students learnt about the importance of managing and conserving our coast for both environmental and cultural heritage conservation, exploring the significance of local ochre and bush tucker for the Wadawurrung.
Year 8’s from Sirius College also built upon their classroom learning during our coastal interpretive walk. We explored the range of impacts affecting our coast, including changing weather cycles and increased run-off, and the management practices that we undertake as the governing authority. The level of technical knowledge from these students in GIS systems on how monitoring occurs was exceptional. It is always powerful to provide real-life examples and experiences of coastal issues to students, deepening their understanding of the complexity and real impacts these have on the environment, communities and visitors to these places.
Many local kindergartens have also visited us this Term, braving the weather to learn more about their coastal backyard. These young students explored Deep Creek, Torquay Common and Point Roadknight.
Students learnt how this wet weather changes the homes of our local animals, with an abundance of mosquitos and singing frogs in most sessions. It was also a great time to explore why and how birds shake the water off their feathers.
As the team reflects on the year, we are grateful to have engaged with over 2,500 students, instilling our passion and wisdom along the way.
We wish you all a safe and fun Summer break, and we look forward to meeting the new cohort of students 2023 brings!