8 September 2009

An historic wetland on the grounds of a Townsville Reef Guardian School is set to receive a makeover thanks to $4000 funding from environmental groups.

The Cathedral School of Saint Anne and Saint James will use the funding to plant trees, remove weeds and clean up the wetland that was once part of a natural watercourse and is still an important part of the local ecology.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) Reef Guardian Schools Education Officer Leonie Maddigan said this was an excellent on-ground environmental project for the school.

"Wetlands are important to the ecosystem and the Great Barrier Reef and we're pleased to see one of our Reef Guardian Schools taking steps to care for the wetland on their school grounds," she said.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for the students to put their knowledge of the environment into practice and get some good on-ground outcomes in the process."

The Cathedral School's Reef Guardian Coordinator Karin Wunsch said the school recognised the importance of the wetland on their school grounds and were keen to ensure it stayed clean and healthy.

"As a Reef Guardian School, we're excited about rehabilitating this natural area that's literally right on our doorstep," she said.

"The whole school community will get involved in the rehabilitation and the wetland will serve as a fantastic study site for students.

"This wetland is both iconic to our school as well as the area – it is one of the school's main environmental features and was once part of a natural watercourse."

Stage one of the rehabilitation will see the students planting native trees around the wetland. They will then look at eradicating pest weeds and pest fish from the wetland.

In the longer-term they are planning to introduce native fish, construct a boardwalk and interpretive signage, and monitor the quality of the water in the wetland.

This project is collaboration between the Cathedral School of Saint Anne and Saint James, the GBRMPA and NQ Dry Tropics. Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) will run the tree planting activities on the day.

The funding is from CVA, NQ Dry Tropics and the Australian Government's "Caring for our Country" Reef Rescue Initiative, and Junior Landcare.

The school will also roll out a Queensland Wetlands Program Curriculum and educate students on significance of wetlands and water quality through a hands-on interactive, inquiry based learning.