Science/Outdoor Ed

St Kilda Pier citizen science project

🐧 VCE Environmental Science enjoyed a trip to St Kilda this term to participate in a citizen science volunteer Penguin Count! 🌊

📊 Did you know that three nights a week, volunteers count rafts of penguins (the collective noun for penguins in the water) for 50 minutes as they return to their nests after feeding? Once they're on land, they're known as a waddle of penguins! 🐧✨

⚓ Students were able to access the marina close to the penguin colony and were even lucky enough to spot a couple of rakali (native water rats). 🐀💙

Melbourne Zoo excursion 

In May Zoology and Ecology students visited Melbourne Zoo for a fantastic day of hands-on learning and exploration. The focus was their learning task about tracking elusive and endangered species, with students investigating the challenges scientists face when monitoring wildlife and exploring how organisations like Zoos Victoria help solve real-world conservation problems through the use of drones, GPS tracking, tracking collars, camera traps and other non-invasive monitoring methods. 

Students explored how animal adaptations and behaviours can help inform the design of tracking equipment for endangered species and gained a deeper understanding of the challenges and limitations involved in designing equipment. During discussions with Zoos Victoria staff, students contributed thoughtful ideas around supporting endangered species such as the Orange-bellied Parrot through habitat protection and better understanding migration patterns. The experience provided valuable insight into modern conservation practices while encouraging creativity, problem solving and innovation through STEM. 

Alongside the learning, students enjoyed exploring the zoo and seeing a range of animals up close, including the much-loved snow leopard cubs, which made the day especially memorable. 

“The trip was very engaging, with an activity that really made us think, as well as plenty of time to view animals at our own pace,” - Florence P 

“On Monday  25 May, 20 students from the Zoology and Ecology class went on an excursion to Melbourne Zoo. We participated in a conservation program run by the zoo, where we learnt about how the zoo runs breeding and tracking programs for 27 Fighting Extinction species. 

We were then tasked with attempting to improve on a technology or technique currently in use, to better help the zoo’s conservation team preserve these endangered species. We got helpful feedback from the zoo staff running the session and gained useful information for the conservation tracking task we were completing in class. 

Once we had completed the zoo’s program, students were free to explore the zoo in groups. We had the chance to see many amazing animals including the absolutely adorable snow leopard cubs, an enormous reticulated python, the playful lemurs and many more incredible and fascinating species. 

We also had the opportunity to see some of the zoo’s endangered species, which prompted us to think about how important it is to protect our wonderful wildlife. This was an amazing learning experience and I sincerely hope that future Zoology and Ecology classes get the same opportunity!”- Anika L 

Entry PBL - Sustainable Communities

This year's Entry PBL was a great opportunity for Entry students to work together to come up with new solutions to problems that exist in relation to pollution and inefficiency of energy use.  

At the showcase the Manningham Major, Jim Grivas, was very impressed with the student's ideas and awarded a number of 'Special Commendation' certificates which will be handed out to students next term.

Innovative ideas included new technologies such as 'nanotubes' and carbon capture and ways to motivate changes in behaviour. Well done to all students who made the most of this experience.

Insights into health careers

🩺 In the Medicine and Disease elective, students in both classes were given the opportunity to hear from four speakers. They listened to presentations from a surgeon, clinical physiologist, nurse, psychology student, occupational therapist, paramedic or doctor, and also spent time interviewing them in small groups using questions they'd prepared earlier. 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️

💬 As many students had recently completed Morrisby profiling and interviews, this gave students a chance to understand and explore health-related careers from professionals in the field and consider what they learnt and took away from the presenters. 🌟

In summary, students had to write a self-reflection about their learning, including the following:

📚 Be prepared to learning things you weren't expecting.

🏡 Live with your parents when you go to uni.

🚑 Being a nurse or paramedic, every day is different.

❤️ Nursing is a great career where you make a difference and help others.

👂 Being judgement free allows you to fully listen to others.

🧠 It's hard to measure or assess what different people need without a lot of learning.

📖 Choose VCE subjects you're interested in.

🎓 You don't have to have perfect grades to get into a course.