Local schools learn about their environment

St Leonards and Portarlington Primary Schools each participated in an environmental education day with Bellarine Bayside and Bellarine Catchment Network to learn more about the nature of their local environment. St Leonards Primary School had eighty students participate on 24 March 2016 on the foreshore area to the west of Bengalat Reserve (formerly Area 3), while Portarlington Primary School had 52 Grade 5&6 students participate on the 22 April 2016 in Little Reserve and on the Portarlington foreshore.

On each day the students participated in several fun and interactive environmental activities, including:

• exploring the unique marine and coastal biodiversity of Port Phillip Bay
• learning about the key role vegetation plays in maintaining healthy habitats and stabilising the coast
• planting species indigenous to the area and
• understanding the challenges our environment faces now and into the future.

At the end of the activities, each student made a commitment to help their local environment. These commitments were collated and presented to each school as a book. Examples of commitments include “picking up rubbish and planting things”, “putting live animals back in the water”, and “caring and loving the environment”.