EcoMarines attend ‘Whirlpool Conference’
On Wednesday, our four Tangalooma EcoMarines met with approximately 120 other students from schools around Brisbane, to take part in the ‘Whirlpool Conference’ at Tangalooma Resort.
An early start saw us boarding the Tangalooma Ferry, for an hour long boat trip to the Island. We enjoyed looking at the various boats and industries on display as we exited the Brisbane River, especially as we managed to see two tug boats guiding an oil ship into the river. When we arrived at Tanglaooma we had a delicious lunch, followed by an informative speech from Penny and Kylie about the many challenges we can take part in this year, as a Tangalooma EcoMarine school.
We then had the opportunity to learn from Ty from Activate Entertainment. He showed us how to make really awesome videos using an ipad, and some pretty rad apps! He showed us how to make a video in about 18 minutes, and Nivrithi was one of the stars! Next, we were able to mix with other EcoMarine schools to hear about what projects they have been running. It was a great opportunity to workshop ideas and make connections. We are hoping to introduce a ‘Wrapper free Wednesday’ along with teaching our Junior School students how to sort their waste at lunch. We then met with some scientists from the University of Queensland, who taught us about Coral and how to identify different types of coral. We learnt about how there were around 120 species of Coral in Moreton Bay!
After an afternoon of playing in the sand, we listened to a wonderful presentation from the team at Tangalooma, about the history of Moreton Island and its Dolphin Feeding program. After dinner, we had the opportunity to feed dolphins ourselves. We weren’t too keen on the smell of the fish, but the opportunity to meet and spend time with one of the worlds most beautiful creatures, was such a delight!
We were pretty exhausted on the way home, but inspired by the great opportunities we had through the day. We can’t wait to share with you, our vision for St Paul’s, as we move towards reducing the waste that enters our Moreton Bay region!
Mrs Erin Casablanca
St Paul’s EcoMarines Coordinator
