This year Birregurra Primary School has joined up with ResourceSmart to help build a more sustainable and energy efficient school and attitude. On the 8^th May Birregurra sent two representatives to attend a Bio-diversity audit workshop at Newtown Primary School. Tom Gittings and Bryce Fetherston attended the workshop to learn how to undertake a Bio-diversity audit within the school grounds at Birregurra. The workshop was run by Jim Mead from Greening Australia. The workshop was very informative and gave us the skills to be able to perform the audit at school with a collection of students.

The grade two, three and fours joined together to participate in undertaking the bio-diversity audit on our school grounds. The students were divided into seven groups, each looking at a different aspect of our environment. The groups were finding information about trees, weeds, organic litter, logs and rocks, soil, habit extras and understory within our school. We were finding out information about the different types of plant life and animal life, big and small. While there were no kangaroos to be found, we did find an abundance of different types of ants, bugs and other insects.

Over the next week we will be looking at all the data we’ve collected and create a plan to help strengthen the areas that the students would like to be improved. This will allow us to create an action plan that will bring a more bio-diversity into the school grounds. If you look at how long humans are at the school ground, it is only a quarter of the week; however animals will still be at the school for the other 75% of the time. Therefore we need to build a school community which supports and promotes wildlife and sustainable lifestyles.