Author Archives: oceanlifeeducation

A Marine Educator following in her fathers’ footsteps

Katie-Anne Beale with students

Ocean Life Education presenter, Katie with students at Kids in Action 2014

By Alison Cooper

Being a Marine Education Officer at Ocean Life Education isn’t a job that comes naturally to just anyone. Katie-Anne has been helping us to inspire children and students to care for the environment since 2013 but her passion for environmental education started much earlier in life.

Katie grew up in a community-focused family committed to environmental protection and awareness. Her father, Derek Foster, recently won the Sunshine Coast Council Australia Day Award, Environment, for his continued leadership and advocacy work with local community groups.

Since Katie can remember, her father has been involved with the Maroochy Wetlands Sanctuary in Bli Bli on the Sunshine Coast. At that time he was a Marine Science teacher at Burnside State High School and subsequently the regional Environmental Education consultant. He designed and was central to the establishment of the Sanctuary and the Bilai Environmental Education Centre located within it.

“Dad was always taking me on marine camps, going sailing and canoeing and hanging out down at the Wetlands.

“I suppose you could say this started my love for the environment.”

Derek later worked for the Department of Primary Industries and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research as an Extension Specialist. He took on a role in Asia to coordinate new primary industries ensuring products were suitable for export to Australia and other markets.

“Dad’s job was really interesting particularly working with the aquaculture industry and disease control to make sure their products were safe for our country. I always enjoyed talking to him about his job. It was really cool when Dad got involved in the 2004 Tsunami relief project.”

As well as being a mother of two, Katie wears many hats in addition to being an Ocean Life Education Presenter. Following in her father’s footsteps, Katie is the Education Officer for the Maroochy Wetlands Sanctuary. She is also Gardening Coordinator for Bli Bli State School, and has developed her own unique Environmental Music program which she runs during school holidays through the Sunshine Coast Council.

“I love my job with Ocean Life Education as we’re always supporting different events and community initiatives to teach marine conservation. Last year, Dad and I got to work on the same project with the Kids in Action Conference run through the Council which was pretty cool.”

Richard Coward with Derek Foster and Michael Gilles

Pictured: Richard (middle) with Derek (right) and Michael Gilles from SCC at the 2014 Kids in Action Environment Day.

 

In 2014, Ocean Life Education delivered the Rocky Foreshores activity as part of the Sunshine Coast Kids in Action Environmental Projects Day.

Katie’s Dad was also there on behalf of the Maroochy Wetlands Sanctuary delivering the Explore Estuarine Ecosystems activity where he took kids fishing and discussed the importance of mangroves in fish lifecycles as a breeding ground.

“It’s pretty cool when you can share the same passion for the environment with your Dad.

“The Sunshine Coast has a great network of community groups working to protect the environment in which we live and I really enjoy being a part of that. It’s even better when you can follow in your Dad’s footsteps doing a job you love passing on the knowledge you have to the next generation.”

girl on rocky foreshorePictured: Ocean Life Education’s Rocky Foreshore program at Kids in Action 2014

 

Ocean Life Education will be back with the Kids in Action group again in August this year delivering the Rocky Foreshores program at Point Cartwright and Shelly Beach.

For more information about Kids in Action, visit the Sunshine Coast Council’s website.

If you have an event you would like us to be involved in, visit our Events Program page.

Why our approach to curriculum connection has never been so important

Why our approach to curriculum connection has never been so important

By Richard Coward

Understanding our surrounding environment, our impact upon it and why we need to protect it has never been more important.

Fortunately, the Australian Curriculum is moving toward an improved coverage of key concepts and understanding within biological and Earth sciences across all primary year levels.

Ocean Life Education offers a fantastic opportunity for teachers to use our programs as a learning resource that is engaging, providing meaningful interactive learning whilst linking to related curriculum modules.

Our approach, is to bring key concepts together giving students a better understanding of the bigger picture.

We help students understand animals and their given habitat, how they differ from other animals, why they look and feel the way they do, what their importance is to the environment they live in, what problems humans create for them and why we need to look after them and their habitats.

For example, sea stars have a tough flat body to protect them from their harsh habitat (the shallow foreshore). They belong to a group of animals called ‘Echinoderms’ as they have tube feet and pump water around their body not blood to keep them alive. The sea stars eat algae and dead animals off the ocean floor, keeping it clean and healthy. If we pollute the water, sea stars will struggle to survive in their habitat. The problem lies in that if our human impacts result in dying sea stars, we lose an important cleaner of the ocean floor, resulting in a complexity of negative effects.

We take the approach of helping students to understand these cause and effect links to help keep our environment clean – to ensure the animals’ survival, and ours.

We deliver school programs that provide alignment with the Australian Curriculum Science strands: Science Understanding for Biological Science and Earth & Space Sciences, as well as Science as a Human Endeavour.

Using live marine animals, we provide a unique depth of engagement and understanding.

Our marine science incursions are a truly rewarding and refreshing way for students to learn key concepts set out by the national curriculum.

Visit our school programs page for a range of available programs.

Ocean Life an Interactive School Incursion

interactivepost-img

By Richard Coward

Ocean Life Education delivers fun marine education incursions, where students are given the opportunity to interact with a variety of live marine creatures.

Through positive controlled contact children learn why animals’ look and feel the way they do, how their bodies function, what their individual role is in their environment and therefore why we need to look after them.

Initial focus with children is on individual animals, the next step is to explain their role in their specific environment, from here the question is asked; “what would happen if this animal was removed/extinct?” Finally, what impacts are we as humans having on the animals and their environment?

Responding to interactive learning

Interactive learning covers all modes of learning such as visual, auditory and kinaesthetic (touch). We understand all children are different and learn in different ways, some may be visual not auditory, others kinaesthetic not visual. This means the message of protecting through understanding is far reaching and more effective.

Children respond very well to hands on interactive learning, with the real animal at their fingertips information given to them has much greater meaning than learning from a book, white board or a story.

This one-on-one experience provides a greater depth of understanding which leads to the desire to protect them.

Marine studies linked to the Australian Curriculum

Our hope is to imprint in every Australian a sense of ownership and protectiveness of our marine environment, and together we will lead the world in the changes necessary for a healthy planet.

Ocean Life Education marine incursions are accredited by Education Queensland and are linked to the Australian National Curriculum and C2C for science and biological education.

A variety of marine education programs are offered for schools, vacation care, special events and conferences.

Choose a program that suits current unit themes

Our fun and interactive programs cover topics such as plastic pollution, climate change, human impact issues, classification, conservation and life cycles to name a few.

We can also tailor our programs to your classrooms’ current unit theme for all levels of school learning.

What we’re known for

Ocean Life Education is proud to be involved in educating tomorrow’s leaders in environmental awareness and protection.

We are pleased to have presented at renowned environmental events such as Indigiscapes, Sunshine Coast University’s World Environment Day and and Explorama as well as the Australian Association for Environmental Educator’s World Environmental Education Congress in Brisbane 2011.

We’ve also featured on children’s television program, Totally Wild, twice.

We are leaders in environmental education

We are of the firm belief that Australia is a leading nation in environmental education, but we are only scratching the surface, we must be resolute and continue to develop and alter the general populations’ mindset and put environmental sustainability at the top of the list of priorities.

The job of looking after and sustaining our environment for the future isn’t just one for the governments it is one for everybody.

What to expect:

  • Qualified marine educators arrive at your school or event and set up an area for discussion, storytelling, resource exploration and of course hands on interaction.
  • We bring fascinating live marine animals, artefacts, games and information.
  • Students may encounter baby sharks, turtles, sea stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers and more.
  • Open display tubs are used for easy interaction and provide an entertaining, educational programme that lasts in the student’s minds forever.
  • When we leave, students are talking about the live animals for weeks!

What more information?

For more information, visit our School Programs page or Contact Us to make a booking.

MEDIA RELEASE: Ocean Life Education blends science with humour for Holiday Programs

Ocean Life Education is blending science with humour these school holidays offering fun marine education programs to Outside School Hours Care centres across the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane regions.

With a strong focus on pollution and how humans affect the environment, Ocean Life Education offers an exciting learning experience that will leave children with a greater sense of ownership and understanding to protect our natural marine environment.

Director of Education, Richard Coward, says Ocean Life Education’s Holiday Programs are a great way for all age groups to learn about relevant issues whilst having a fun and interactive experience.

“We create our vacation care programs with all age groups in mind so each child can have an enjoyable and memorable experience.

“These Spring holidays we’re offering our Human Impacts program which covers topical issues such as plastics pollution and micro plastics, land clearing and over fishing and the impacts these have on our marine life and their environment,” Richard said.

The Human Impacts program educates children on how everyday practices such as correct waste disposal and recycling can protect marine life and reduce our impacts such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

“It’s fantastic to see so many Outside School Hours Care centres across South East Queensland incorporating environmental education and the ocean into their program calendars”.

Ocean Life Education has been established on the Sunshine Coast for over eight years bringing live creatures from the ocean into the school and early learning environment.

Children get up close and touch live marine animals such as sea stars, sea urchins, baby sharks and fresh water turtles and are fascinated by how these animals function and what part they play in our oceans and waterways.

To book an Ocean Life Education program for your school, early learning centre or next holiday program phone 07 5443 8545 or visit www.oceanlifeeducation.com.au.

For more information

Tracey Coward, Business Manager, phone 0404 455 690 or 07 5443 8545.
Email to, info@oceanlifeeducation.com.au