Wetlands Revisited

Our wetlands project for 1995 was a great
success and has now been concluded.
We are pleased to announce that our project
is being revisited in this year, the year of
the Ramsar Convention. We are looking
forward to receiving participants from many
countries -thank you to the US who were
so supportive in 1995.

An outline of the project is listed below.

---

Purpose/Objective:

1. to provide students with a chance to find out about Wetland environments throughout the world and discover the similarities and the differences that exist.
   
2. to develop in students some understanding of the conservation issues that are being debated concerning the preservation of wetland environments.
3. to, hopefully, find links between countries and for students to use the internet for meaningful exchange of ideas and information.
4. to develop in students an awareness of the importance of countries' mutual cooperation in establishing treaties such as the Ramsar Convention.

Subject Areas:

Geography, Environmental Science, English.

Grade Level:

My students are 14 years old overall. They would find input valuable from interested students aged between 11 and 15.

Rationale:

Swamps, marshes and bogs - such was the language associated with the wetland areas in the past. These words conjured up pictures of ugly useless areas waiting to be drained and used productively. In Australia mnuch of this land was taken up by industry and used thoughtlessly. The site for the Sydney Olympics in the year 2000 reflects the problems facing governments in the cleaning up of contaminated areas.

There is a new awakening to the value of wetland areas as important habitats for a braod range of species- in particular our bird life. In Australia some of our most spectacular National Parks are Wetlands and now prized for the tourist dollar that they bring in. Kakadu is an example of this, it was the Wetland area featured in the movie Crocodile Dundee.

Today many important conservation battles are being fought over the use of Wetland areas. The issues are often more complex than found in the Logging debate and so do not attract the same public interest. It is important that our students are aware of the beauty and value of our habitats.

How to Participate:

All particpants are asked to Email information in the following format when they register for the project.

1. Name of participant:
2. Participant's Email address
3. Participant's snail mail address
4. Name of the Wetland area
5. Location-using longitude and latitude
6. Description of the area mentioning:
   • (a) climate
   • (b) vegetation
   • (c) significant species
   • (d) special features
   • (e) wetland type i.e. coastal, estuarine etc.
   • (f) an outline of any conservation issue facing the area
   • (g) size

Project Coordinator: Sue Bourke

email address: sbourke@avila.fred.deakin.edu.au

school phone: +61 3 98076677
school fax: +61 3 98881202