From 10th to 11th November, students and teachers from the Senior School Earth and Environmental Science and Biology classes stayed overnight on the beautiful and most diverse island in WA, Rottnest. Led by Ms May, the aim of the excursion was to learn more about the conservation efforts in place on the island to preserve and conserve the endemic wildlife. This included Quokkas, seagulls, Bobtail Lizards and many more as well as the stunning beaches and scenery we strived to learn how to take care of.
We participated in various activities that ‘switched on our conservation brains’ such as beachcombing where we swept the beaches of rubbish while identifying the most common source of human litter, which unsurprisingly was plastic food wrappers.
This activity opened our eyes to the real extent of how much we humans actually leave our footprint on nature. Rubbish destroys animal habitats and harms not only animals if consumed but people too! Did you know that a plastic bottle takes 450 years to decompose… thank goodness for recycling. Ms Oxley and Mr Carr joined us on the trip leading groups and providing entertainment with their vivid personalities! We ventured to the wind turbines and solar panels on the island to understand how sustainable living is crucial to preserving the environment for the future. Rottnest has an ever growing tourist population, especially during the summer and we were informed of the many conservation efforts of the island such as signs, recycling, wildlife protected zones, water conservation of bore water/underwater aquifers.
This trip brought the two science classes together and allowed us to form new friendships and bond with our teachers who let us relax on the beach in the environment which we were learning to care for. At night we undertook a scientific survey of the Quokka population on a 2 hour walk which was repeated in the morning on the same route to ensure fairness and accuracy. It was found that human activity and interference with the species resulted in less Quokkas being visible during the day than at night. This trip allowed us to understand how human activity and/or actions affect the natural world so dramatically! It is in our best interest for our survival and the survival of our planet, its animals and wildlife to protect this world we are in for now and the future.
We would like to thank Ms May, Ms Oxley and Mr Carr for the Rottnest experience as we left the island with minds filled with science and our eyes opened to the world of conservation.
Written by Nicola Viviers (Year 11)