Why, you may ask, is it important to undertake a bird count in our local area? The count aims to encourage Australians to act in supporting bird conservation efforts. This activity directly relates to the state of our local environment as the more birds sighted can indicate that our local habitats are providing the biodiversity required to sustain local endemic species.
Recently a number of MLMC STEM Club and Year 11 VCAL students undertook this vital data gathering. The information gained is fed into eBird, one of the world's largest nature databases which stores more than 100 million bird sightings and is utilised by professionals for science and conservation.
MLMC students play an important role as citizen scientists in gathering this data. The activity was a fun way for students to get out into nature's classroom and observe first-hand the state of our local environment. The good news is that records indicate species numbers are increasing. This can be attributed to the increased vegetation cover within the College grounds that attracts birds and provides habitat and a food source.
Thank you to Science teacher Mr Hans Dharma and Science Faculty Learning Leader Mrs Urszula Faulkner for supporting this initiative. The STEM Club and Green team have many more activities coming up, so stay tuned and support the environment.
