Pittwater Online News

 Barrenjoey High School Bushcare

To help create a Wildlife Corridor from Avalon Dunes to Careel Bay, students from Barrenjoey High School in all classes from Year 7 to 12 in the Humanities curriculum spent an hour each planting out native grasses and reeds alongside the stretch of Careel Creek that adjoins the High School. After a short lesson from Vitor Beshara in how to get the young plants out the pots, what depths to dig to and how much water the new plant needs, small teams dug, planted and watered. 

Creating a wildlife corridor from Avalon to Careel Bay has been a 20+ years project the Friends of Avalon Beach Dune Care Group. One of these volunteers for the duration, Marita Macrae, spoke to the children about how important and satisfying contributing to your community through volunteer work can be. Marita explained how their work is helping in bringing back the animals and birds that live in such habitats.

Hands on is the best way to go for bush care and all of the kids said it was ‘much better then being in class, inside’. It was a beautiful day, mild warm early autumn smelling sweet with late summer. Perched in a Norfolk Pine above the creek are some of the birds that inhabit the wetlands, a family of Australian White Ibis. 

“Cool.” was the response to having this water bird as mascot and overseer. Kerry McEwan, teacher at Barrenjoey HS explained these particular birds also roam the school grounds and fly up into these trees when the students burst out through the doors five seconds after the bell rings.

The students will be monitoring the growth of their plants and the return of all the species that are attracted to such areas within an urban landscape. They can do this while strolling to school beside this lovely old tidal creek.

Australian White Ibis 

Watering