Reef Guardian Schools

Does your school have what it takes to make a difference and keep the Reef great?
Do you and your students want to help protect the Great Barrier Reef and other important marine environments for the future?

Reef-Guardian-IntroThe Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is offering schools throughout Australia the opportunity to be involved in an exciting and innovative educational program. The Reef Guardian Schools Program encourages schools to commit to the protection and conservation of the world heritage listed Great Barrier Reef.

All schools in Australia, no matter where they’re located, can have some impact on the Great Barrier Reef and other coral reefs around the world. Marine ecosystems are all connected in some way, so even if your school is thousands of kilometres from the Great Barrier Reef learning to live, work and play in a sustainable way will help to protect your local waterways and the Great Barrier Reef.

Reef Guardian Schools help to protect the Reef by promoting their ideas, initiatives and activities to communities to encourage all people to “do their bit to look after it!”

By being involved, your school will have a range of new ideas, opportunities and resources for teaching activities at your fingertips. The Program focuses on the areas of:

Curriculum offerings
Management of Resources
On-the-ground projects in your school and community
Education of your community
The Reef Guardian Schools Program is recognised throughout Queensland as one of the leading environmental education programs.

If your school is up to the challenge, register now!!

St Michael’s Tuck Shop Success!

Tangaroa Blue was recently invited to St Michael’s Catholic School on Palm Island to run a beach clean-up activity with some of their students, and to see some of their source reduction strategies in action.

Since Tangaroa Blue’s visit a year ago, staff had conducted an audit of the rubbish that St Michael’s was generating, and it was established that the biggest producer of rubbish within the school was coming from the students’ lunches.

Lunch time at the St Michael’s Tuckshop used to consist of a juice that came in a tetra pack with a plastic straw, and disposable plates, cutlery and cups made from either plastic or Styrofoam. Read more

Palm Island Reef Guardian Schools Future Leaders Eco Challenge 2015

On Wednesday the 12th of August Tangaroa Blue was invited to attend the Palm Island Future Leaders Eco Challenge (FLEC), an annual event that is run by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). As Reef Guardian schools, 17 students from St Michaels Catholic College, 29 students from Bwgcoleman State School, and 8 of their teachers came together for the day to participate in activities that would help them learn about the Great Barrier Reef, and develop new skills that would help them to protect it. Read more

Hinchinbrook Reef Guardian Schools Future Leaders Eco Challenge 2014

Students from Bambaroo State School, Cardwell State School, Ingham State School, Our Lady of Lourdes, Trebonne State School and Victoria Plantation State School headed over to Cardwell for the 2014 Hinchinbrook Future Leaders Eco Challenge on September 3rd.

The days’ activities were kicked off with a Welcome to Country ceremony by Uncle Claude Beeron, Traditional Owner Elder for Girramay People. This was followed by an introduction of the FLEC and schools participating by Carolyn Luder, Reef Guardian Schools, GBRMPA. The FLEC day offers fun and hands-on activities for students and teachers to help raise awareness and understanding about the Great Barrier Reef. Cardwell is uniquely placed to be a meeting point between the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics World Heritage Areas.

Students were divided into groups after the opening ceremony. The groups were the crocodiles, dolphins, rays, starfish, sharks, sea snakes, puffer fish and the barras. Groups participated in a range of activities during the day including water quality and fish tagging workshop, a marine debris introduction and beach clean-up and a wetland walk. Read more

Palm Island students protect the Great Barrier Reef

More than 60 students and teachers from Bwgcolman Community School and St Michael’s Catholic School, Palm Island swapped the classroom for the beach as they learnt about how local environmental actions can protect the Great Barrier Reef.

The day-long activities were part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s (GBRMPA) annual Future Leaders Eco Challenges that raise awareness about how activities on the land can affect the marine environment.

Future Leaders Eco Challenges are about students acting local but thinking global when it comes to addressing threats to the Reef.
GBRMPA Acting Reef Guardian School Program Manager Carolyn Luder said during the day students learnt about marine debris, conducted a clean-up at front beach and analysed what type of rubbish they found. Read more

Rockhampton and Capricorn Coast students protecting the Reef

More than 80 students and teachers from 11 Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast schools swapped the classroom for the beach to learn about how local environmental actions can protect the Great Barrier Reef.
The day-long activities were part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s annual Future Leaders Eco Challenges that raise awareness about how activities on the land can affect the marine environment.

Students collected marine debris at the southern end of Kemp Beach — this activity was run by not-for-profit organisation Tangaroa Blue, which coordinates beach clean-ups around Australia. Read more