Year 3 students from St Raphael's Central School left the classroom in an interactive tour to learn about their environment, local waterways, and how our actions affect it.
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The 41 students were shown the benefits of Natural Resource Management first hand by Council and Central Tablelands Local Land Service staff as they visited sites of interest around the town, participating in educational activities and displays last Wednesday.
Liz Davis from the Central Tablelands Local Land Service supports education days like this one.
"Central Tablelands Local Land Service is committed to the education and awareness of Natural Resource Management to support Cowra and other councils with their initiatives and on ground works whilst building capacity within our school children on how to better manage our impacts on the environment," she said.
The students experienced hands on how water quality and the river environment are being managed for natural resource management by visiting a number of sites. These included;
* The gross pollutant traps at the low level bridge plus bug and water sampling to assess the water quality.
* Riparian restoration projects at Edgell and River Parks.
* A visit to the Cowra Sewerage Treatment Plant.
* Water sensitive design, bank stabilisation and revegetation projects at Europa Park.
Kylie McNamara was the supervising teacher on the excursion, and believes the trip was a valuable learning experience.
"Year 3 had a very interesting day which has heightened their awareness of the environmental impact that they can have on the quality of our local water source and native habitats," she said.
The students explored the local waterway taking bug samples to assess the water quality based on the bug life found in the samples taken.
"The children have gained a deeper understanding of the importance of caring for the environment and that they each have a responsibility to contribute positively to preserve our natural resources," said Mrs McNamara.
They also learnt first hand how our management actions including fertiliser use and grazing management on waterways, clearing, introduced species, urban stormwater and weeds are limiting development and production through poor water quality.
"Year 3 were also given an insight into the council's role in managing the water quality and the riparian corridor.
"We are very appreciative of the knowledge shared by the Local Land Care Services representatives," said Mrs McNamara.
The day was designed to also help educate the teachers to achieve their curriculum requirements in the environmental education of primary students within the school.
Cowra Council environmental protection projects featured in the excursion to provide examples of urban development, farming and introduced species on our local environment with management actions to prevent or lessen the effects.
