6 October 2022

Skilled and passionate primary students from St Aloysius’ School, Queenscliff, and Our Lady Star of the Sea School, Ocean Grove, assumed leading teacher roles at Earthwatch Australia’s Kids Teaching Kids (KTK) Bellarine Conference.

Funded by the Victorian Government’s Distinctive Areas and Landscapes (DAL) program, the KTK Bellarine Conference saw students from six schools meet on the traditional lands of the Wadawurrung people to learn about local environmental issues including species extinction, the effects of sea walls and harbours on marine habitats, ocean acidification, introduced marine pests and pollution. The Bellarine Peninsula DAL coastal region extends from the sensitive migratory bird habitat at Point Henry to the important breeding estuaries of Swan Bay and Barwon Heads, through to Port Phillip Bay and the ‘rip’. It includes Ramsar-listed wetlands, coastal Moonah woodlands, basalt plains and patches of remnant native bush.

Both St Aloysius and Our Lady Star of the Sea schools recognise humans’ role in being stewards of creation, and the need for communities to work together to minimise human impact on – and improve the condition of – local environments. Similarly, both schools are leading examples of environmental sustainability in action.

‘It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to find and use their voice to make a difference in the world’, said Sue Constable, Environmental Leader at Our Lady Star of the Sea School.