Students assist Swamp Skink survival. Bass Coast Sentinel, published on 02 July 2024

ENVIRONMENTALLY conscious students from Village High School have been clearing areas of weeds in Inverloch to assist the native flora and fauna to thrive, and in particular to help protect the threatened Swamp Skink.

As part of their VCE/VM work-related skills class, a few of the year eleven students were keen to undertake work where they could contribute directly to the local ecology and environment. Village High School teacher running the project, Therese Carlisle said, “They definitely all have this wonderful kind of moral compass and also an affinity for the environment.”

The students have undertaken three working sessions alongside the Gippsland Conservation Society, which organised one of their members, Dr Brendan Casey, to educate and guide the students.

In October last year, Dr Casey identified a new native species in Inverloch – the Swamp Skink, Lissolepis coventryi. Since that time, he has been advocating for the skink to be better protected, as it is becoming threatened due to urban development and weeds overtaking its natural habitat.
“(Dr Casey) was a wonderful source of knowledge,” said Ms Carlisle. “He was amazing in terms of sharing lots of that knowledge with the students and giving them a real sense of purpose as well.”

Over the sessions, the students could see the difference they made in removing weeds and allowing the native grasses the opportunity to grow. “They had three days (on site), and they all worked really, really hard in that time and filled up huge green bags of weeds each time,” said Ms Carlisle. Ms Carlisle commented that it also gave the students purpose and a meaningful experience without expecting anything in return, as they talked about the importance of protecting the fragile ecosystems and biodiversity of the area.

“The work done by the students under Therese’s supervision is the single most important action to have ever taken place to try to support the swamp skinks of Inverloch,” said Dr Casey. “The importance of the weed removal by hand in the swamp skink habitat is, in my opinion, likely to give them a chance to persist a bit longer. The students from Village HS are the first and only people in our community to have done something to help. Please let me express my thanks to them again for their brilliant work.”

Publicado el 01 de julio de 2024 por