5 August 2008
STUDENTS EQUIPPED TO SPREAD THE MESSAGE
Students from four schools in Brimbank and surrounding areas will take the message of how to look after creeks and rivers back to their schools, families and communities.
Fifty students from St Albans Secondary College and Caroline Springs Catholic Regional College as well as Glengala and Deer Park primary schools gathered at the headwaters of Jones Creek on August 5 to learn about what makes a healthy waterway.
Under the guidance of the Waterwatch team, supported by Melbourne Water, the students tackled a variety of tasks at the creek, which abuts the Iramoo Sustainable Living Centre and feeds into Kororoit Creek.
The activities centred on how humans affect the waterway, and included:
- Capturing and examining aquatic life, of which students later made clay replicas
- Testing water quality
- Studying wetlands ecology
- Catch-and-release fishing
The students then formed teams to discuss what they learned and how they would pass on that information within their schools and communities.
Melbourne Water has classified Kororoit Creek as being in ‘moderate’ condition. It has reasonable water flow and aquatic life, and provides good habitat, but surrounding vegetation is very poor.
As well as helping students learn more about their waterways, Melbourne Water is taking a direct hand in improving the health of Kororoit Creek through weed control and an ongoing maintenance program.
In June, Melbourne Water launched an advertising campaign explaining simple things people can do to reduce pollution through stormwater runoff – the number one source of pollution in waterways like Kororoit Creek.
The ‘I love living here’ campaign features a platypus, growling grass frog and barking owl asking people to bin their rubbish, pick up after their dog and fix oil leaks from cars – so rain doesn’t wash these pollutants into rivers and creeks. More information is available at melbournewater.com.au.
Media Contact: Nicolas McGay, 9235 2278