More than 50 students from several local primary schools recently joined North Central Waterwatch for a day of environmental education and exploration. Students from Welton Primary School, Elmore Primary School and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (Elmore), were taken for a tour of the Gunbower State Forest and the surrounding region as part of National Water Week 2007 celebrations.

"This group of students have been busily involved in the North Central Waterwatch River Detective program since the start of the school year. They're three of the most dedicated schools who conduct important water quality monitoring as part of the River Detectives program; so we decided to reward them with a special 'Big Day Out'" said Loddon Campaspe Waterwatch Facilitator, Jennelle Carlier.

As part of the tour, students were taken to Torrumbarry Weir for an exclusive presentation from the 'Weir Keeper', who explained the purpose of the structure and how it operated.

"Part of that tour included a discussion of the 'fish ladder', which really captured the interest of the students, many of whom were also keen fishermen/women. It was great for the students to see some of the work that is being done to help ensure that on of their favourite pastimes remains sustainable" said Jennelle.

They also got to meet Heidi Magner and Katherine Stanislawski, Environmental Flow Officers from the North Central Catchment Management Authority, who discussed the issues of river regulation, the affects of limited flooding on wetlands of Gunbower State Forest and the ways the forest and wetlands are being assisted.

"One of the most popular stops for the day was Reedy Lagoon at Gunbower State Forest. The students especially loved the bright green 'Starwort' that carpeted the ground. They even stopped for a moment, laid back, closed their eyes and silently listened to the birds calling in the surrounding red gum trees for one magical minute" said Jennelle.

The tour then continued on to the Treetops Scout Hall for a yummy sausage sizzle put on by the Cohuna Lions Club. After lunch each school put on a 10 minute presentation of the work they had been doing over the past as part of the River Detectives program.

After the presentations, Bernadine Kelly, a Landcare volunteer from Echuca, set up 11 water experiments and activities for the students to take turns participating in. Young Rachel Fabbri from Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Schools particularly liked these activities, "My favourite was where you shake the bottle and made it a tornado to show how water goes down the drain".

"Finally, the students had a friendly competition to see which school could accurately determine the turbidity of specially prepared water samples. All schools had almost the same result, so they each received a fun bug investigators kit as a prize," said Jennelle

"North Central Waterwatch has been actively engaging with the communities of this region for more than a decade now. Our focus is on connecting local communities with river health and sustainable water management issues".

"The interest and enthusiasm of thousands of community members like these special young people, who volunteer their time monitoring learning about and caring for their local waterways is truly inspiring and fills me with confidence for the future," said Jennelle.

For further information please contact: 

Communications Officer, North Central CMA
PO Box 18, Huntly VIC 3551
t: 03 5448 7124
e: info@nccma.vic.gov.au