A new environmental education program that aims to teach primary school students about the local environment, recently had students from Tamworth and Nundle prodding and pondering the animal life of the Peel River.

‘River Rallies’ is a collaborative project being trialled within the Namoi region that has been developed by NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI), Namoi Catchment Management Authority (CMA) and NSW Waterwatch.

NSW DPI Conservation Manager at Tamworth, Anthony Townsend, said the program took kids out of the classroom to learn about animals that live in and around the river environment, including birds, bugs and fish.

"As River Rallies is focused on the animals of the river, the river itself makes an ideal setting for delivering the program," he said.

River Rally presenters showed kids how to identify animals from their remains and work out their life story; helped kids identify water bugs and water quality issues of the local river; and took kids on a journey as a native fish to learn about the threats to their survival.

Education Officer for the Namoi CMA in Tamworth, Col Easton, said throughout the program the students learnt about animals and the ways they live, but more importantly the kids took skills away that they can use at home to help animals on the land and in the river survive and thrive in the local area.

"The River Rallies program has been designed as a whole of ecosystem approach that links the animals and activities on the land and in the water," he said.

The program also has strong linkages with subjects being taught at school and the flexible nature of River Rallies allows it to be adapted to suit different school sizes and locations.

Coordinator for NSW Waterwatch in the Namoi catchment, Stephanie McCaffrey, said the trial period for the River Rallies program went extremely well, with teachers and students alike from Tamworth Public school and Nundle Public school having a great time.

"Students embraced the hands-on format of the program, while teachers enjoyed the ability of the workshops to meet the learning needs of the children," she said.

"With such positive feedback from the trial period, we hope to bring River Rallies to more local schools throughout the year."

For further information contact Anthony Townsend (NSW DPI) 6763 1440, Col Easton (Namoi CMA), 6764 5940 or Stephanie McCaffrey (NSW Waterwatch) 6764 5961.

Photo available from sarahc@sf.nsw.gov.au

Further reading

Landlearn

Aquatic habitats

Media contact: Sarah Chester on (02) 6036 2110 or 0417 207 669