Friday 18 February 2011

Bowen State High School is set to receive a funding boost to further their environmental activities.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Reef Guardian Schools Education Officer Carolyn Luder said students and teachers from Bowen State High School will be presented with $500 as part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority's Ripples of Change seed funding grants on Monday, 21 February 2011.

"The school has been an active participant in the Reef Guardian Schools program and will use this funding to further its environmental activities," Ms Luder said.

"They will purchase a new underwater camera which will enhance the monitoring work they are undertaking as the first ever Reef Guardian School to participate in the Eye on the Reef Monitoring Program.

"Together with collecting and recording information, the students will now be able to take photos of the reefs they monitor at three sites off the coast of Bowen and feed these images back to reef managers and researchers."

The Reef Guardian Schools Ripples of Change grants consist of 20 x $500 grants which provide an opportunity for Reef Guardian Schools to undertake small environmental projects within their schools. Schools nominate a project that they would like to initiate and present a project plan to the GBRMPA. The selected schools are presented with their project funds early in the school year to allow them to complete their projects within the school year cycle.

Reef Guardian Schools is an environmental education program run by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

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