Threatened Species Archives - Australian Environmental Education

May 15, 2023May 23, 2023

Celebrating World Turtle Day

World Turtle Day is an annual event celebrated worldwide on May 23rd to raise awareness about the conservation of turtles and their habitats.

Turtles are one of the oldest living reptiles on earth, and they have been around for over 200 million years. They are an important part of the Australian ecosystem, playing a vital role in maintaining the balance of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Turtles are also considered to be keystone species, which means they have a disproportionate effect on the environment relative to their abundance.

There are six species of marine turtles found in Australian waters, including the Green Turtle, Loggerhead Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, Olive Ridley Turtle, Flatback Turtle and Leatherback Turtle. They are all listed as Endangered or Vulnerable to extinction.

World Turtle Day provides a platform for raising awareness about the conservation needs of these fascinating creatures and encourages action to protect their habitats. It serves as a reminder that we all have a role to play in preserving and safeguarding our natural environment for future generations.

How You Can Make a Difference: On World Turtle Day, and beyond, there are several ways in which you can contribute to turtle conservation:

Reduce plastic consumption: Minimize single-use plastics and participate in local beach clean-ups to prevent marine debris from polluting turtle habitats.
Support conservation organizations: Donate to reputable organizations focused on turtle conservation efforts in Australia and around the world.
Promote responsible tourism: Choose eco-friendly travel operators that prioritize sustainable practices and adhere to guidelines for responsible wildlife encounters.
Educate and raise awareness: Share information about World Turtle Day on social media, organize local events, and engage in conversations that highlight the importance of turtle conservation.

November 7, 2022January 4, 2023

Cicadas Chorus

In Australia we know it is summer when the Cicadas starts their chorus. Cicadas are the loudest insects in the world and emerge from their underground world in late spring and summer. The peak Cicada season is November and December.

Cicadas Red Eye Cicada on tree — Red Eye Cicada Psaltoda moerens

Cicadas spend most of their life underground with many large Australian species living underground as nymphs for around 6-7 years. This is why in certain years some species are more abundant than others, there is often peaks every few years.

Listen out for the sounds of cicadas and keep an eye out for their exoskeletons on trees, walls, fences and shrubs.

The life of an adult cicada is very short, lasting only a few weeks. The female cicada lays its eggs by piercing plant stems and inserting the eggs into the slits it has made. The eggs hatch and are small, wingless nymphs. They fall to the ground and burrow below the surface. They live on the sap from plant roots and when the nymph reaches full size it digs its way to the surface. The nymphs then climbs on to a tree trunk or other object and sheds its skin for the last time. The fully-winged adult cicada which emerges leaves its old empty skin behind.

Watch the Cicada Lifecycle video form the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

Did you know?

Australia has an estimated 750 to 1000 species of cicada
Only male cicadas sing. They do this in an attempt to find a mate.
Different species have different songs to attract only their own kind.
Adult cicadas have short lives, usually only a few weeks.
Most of their lives are spent as nymphs underground. For some species this can be up to several years.
Cicadas feed only on plant sap using their piercing, sucking mouthparts.
Cicadas feed on a huge range of plants, including eucalypts and grasses.
Birds, bats, spiders, wasps, ants, mantids and tree crickets all prey on cicadas.

I heard a weird cicada sound during a walk around the Badu Wetlands in Sydney Olympic Park. As I got closer, I discovered a Praying Mantis devouring a cicada.

If you love cicadas too follow Cicadarama. They are an Australian-based project focused on learning about the lives of cicadas. They need your help, become a Citizen Scientist and log your Cicada sighting. https://www.cicadarama.com/

October 30, 2022October 31, 2022

FrogID Week 2022

FrogID Week 2022 is on between 11 – 20 November. This is the fifth FrogID Week and you can get involved. Australia is home to about 240 species of native Amphibians, all of which are frogs. In urban areas, human development has reduced the natural habitat available to frogs. FrogID Week is a great way to learn about frogs living in your backyard.

Perons Tree Frog on fern — Peron’s Tree Frog

Help to record frog calls during FrogID Week using the free app and uncover which frogs live in your backyards, local parks and bushlands. Your recording can help identify changes to local frog populations and inform frog conservation across Australia. Download the free FrogID app today and help us count Australia’s frogs.

Watch the Focus on Frogs video to find out more about Frogs.

You can create a frog friendly garden

Frogs are very sensitive to water loss because their skin is permeable. This also means Frogs are really sensitive to chemicals. Frogs can end up absorbing chemicals that could harm or potentially even kill them. Pesticides can also deplete the frogs’ food source.

You can encourage frogs to come to live and breed in your backyard by creating a frog friendly garden. Create a small shallow pond in an area that is partly shaded or install a Frog Hotel.

Reducing chemicals use in your garden 

Creating a Frog Habitat 

Be patient and wait, if you build it they will come

Use FrogID to research the frogs that are found in you local area. This will help you work out what kind of habitat will suit your backyard best.

You can use PVC pipe to create a habitat for tree frogs. Frog Tubes are an easy way to provide somewhere safe for tree frogs to live too. Use a 1 metre length of PVC pipe and stick the base in the ground to tie them to a tree. It provides a really moist environment for tree frogs to hide in.

A Frog Hotel is a great option for tree frogs and provide them a safe place to hide during the day. Check out the video below for step by step instructions on how ro make a Frog Hotel.

Discover more about Frogs and some of their amazing adaptions. There are also lots of information to create a frog friendly backyard in your area.

March 13, 2022March 26, 2022

World Frog Day

Discover the frogs living in your local area this World Frog Day. Did you know that Australia has over 245 species of frog, most that are found nowhere else in the world. You can encourage frogs into your backyard by creating a frog friendly garden.

In urban areas, human development has reduced the natural habitat available to frogs. Some species are doing well like the Striped Marsh Frog, Peron’s Tree Frog and Common Eastern Froglet. Unfortunately other frog species have been in decline since the 1980s.

Stripped Marsh Frog — Striped Marsh Frog

You can do your part to help local frogs by creating a frog friendly environment. This will encourage frogs to come to live and breed in your backyard. Create a small shallow pond in an area that is partly shaded or install a Frog Hotel.

Reducing chemicals use in your garden

Be patient and wait, if you build it they will come

Use FrogID to research the frogs that are found in you local area. This will help you work out what kind of habitat will suit your backyard best. You can use PVC pipe to create a habitat for tree frogs. Frog Tubes are an easy way to provide somewhere safe for tree frogs to live too. Use a 1 metre length of PVC pipe and stick the base in the ground or tie them to a tree. It provides a really moist environment for tree frogs to hide in.

A Frog Hotel are another great option for tree frogs and provides them a safe place to hide during the day. Check out the video below for instructions on how ro make a Frog Hotel.

Discover more about frogs and some of their amazing adaptions. There is also information to help you create a frog friendly backyard.

Frog activities and resources

January 31, 2022February 1, 2022

World Wetlands Day

World Wetlands Day is celebrated on 2 February every year. It is time for everyone to understand the importance of wetlands. This years theme is ‘Wetlands Action for People and Nature’. It’s an appeal to invest financial, human and political capital to save the world’s wetlands from disappearing and to restore those we have degraded..

Why are Wetlands important for Biodiversity?

Wetlands are important because 40% of the world’s plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands. Over 100,000 freshwater species have been identified in wetlands. Wetlands absorb and store water and help remove pollutant from our water.

Did you know?

Coastal wetlands are among the most biologically diverse places on earth
Coral Reef and Mangrove forest protect coastlines from storm surges
Wetlands are vanishing three times faster than forests with 35% disappearing since the 1970s. The causes of wetland loss include:
- Drainage and infilling for agriculture and construction
- Pollution
- Overexploitation of resources including overfishing
- Invasive species
- Climate change

Since 1970 populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles have declined by 60%. There has also been a decline of 81% of inland wetland species and 36% of coastal and marine species. A staggering 25% of wetland species are considered to be threatened with extinction, including water birds, freshwater dependent mammals, marine turtles, and coral reef building species.

Wetlands are areas of land saturated or flooded with water permanently or seasonally.

There are amazing wetlands to explore in the middle of Sydney.

Sydney Olympic Parks is an urban oasis connecting people with nature. This is a great place to explore to understand the importance of wetlands for biodiversity.

Frog Walk

The Frog Walk takes you to frog ponds, frog underpasses and even frog fencing at Wentworth Common and Kronos Hill. You can also visit the Brickpit Ring Walk too see the most significant habitat for the endangered Green and Golden Bell Frog. Remember healthy frogs are an indicator of healthy ecosystems.

Narrawang Wetland

Meander along walking paths and a reed-fringed boardwalk to observe the habitat that supports a colony of the endangered Green and Golden Bell frogs and other frog species.

Badu Mangrove Boardwalk

Stroll the winding timber boardwalk in Bicentennial Park and you’ll discover surviving riverside wetlands that shelter colourful waterbirds plus the largest mangrove forest remaining on the Parramatta River.

Waterbird Refuge at Bicentennial Park

Walk up to the Waterbird Refuge significant
waterbird habitat with a high abundance and diversity of resident and migratory birds. Together with the surrounding mangrove forest, the wetland is listed as a ‘Wetland of National Importance’ by
the Commonwealth Government because of its high ecological values.

Discover more about the importance of wetlands through these publications and how the Urban Water Cycle connects us. Check the health of your local wetland with the Wetland Audit.

Wetland Audit

September 2, 2021June 11, 2023

Threatened Species Day

Threatened Species Day is commemorated across the Australia on 7 September every year to raise awareness of plants and animals at risk of extinction. Threatened Species Day acknowledges the death of the last remaining Thylacine, Tasmanian tiger at Hobart Zoo in 1936. It is a day to reflect on what you can do to make a difference.

Australia is home to more than 500,000 animal and plant species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. Over the last 200 years, more than 100 animal and plant species have become extinct. In NSW there are almost 1000 animal and plant species at risk of extinction.

Threatened Species Day is a time to focus on or native plants, animals, and ecosystems and look at how we can protect them into the future. I have a range of resources available to help you deliver programs for Threatened Species Day on the following topic areas.

Biodiversity

What’s in your Backyard

Sustainability

Virtual Excursions

There are also a range of live and on demand virtual excursions available. Join me to talk about Threatened Species with these live interactive session. Discover some amazing animals only found in Australia. Students will also find out what they can do to protect them.

Grey Nurse Shark — Copyright @ John Turnbull

Book now 7 September: 9.30 am & 12pm

Focus on Frogs

Australia is home to about 240 species of native Amphibians, all of which are frogs. In urban areas, human development has reduced the natural habitat available to frogs. The Focus on Frogs workshop provides information and skills that will enable you and your child to discover what frogs live in your backyard or local area.

Minibeasts in your Garden

Minibeasts in your Garden explores the diverse world of minibeasts. Discover why minibeasts are important and learn how find them in your garden or local park. The program will help you to identify common groups of backyard minibeasts and provides information and skills to conduct your own minibeasts investigation.

February 22, 2021June 11, 2023

SeaWeek 2021

SeaWeek 2021 is on between 6 – 14 March and is a celebration of our precious marine environment. As a SCUBA diver for almost 30 years, I have seen first hand the threats to our marine environment.

This years theme recognises how humans and the oceans are interconnected. This is a time for us all to reflect on our links to the ocean; food, recreation, relaxation, travel, transport and the impacts.

The more we learn about the marine environment, the more we can do to understand these link and protect the incredible diversity of species and habitats.

Celebrate SeaWeek 2021 with some great programs from Australian Environmental Education.

Live interactive Virtual Excursions

My Journey Beneath the Waves: Diving Sydney’s Rocky Reefs takes you and your students on an exploration of the marine environment. The temperate waters around Sydney are home to a variety of habitats including kelp beds and sponge gardens. These are wonderful place to dive and discover the diversity of animals that live there.

I will share some of my favourite diving stories with you and highlight the amazing animals that live in Sydney Rocky Reefs. Take a journey beneath the waves to explore this wonderful world. Learn about some of these incredible animals, their adaptions and habitats.

Special price for SeaWeek 2021 is $50 for a or a 45 minute interactive experience.

Book your place now

Education Resources

Oceans contain the greatest diversity of life on Earth. Habitats range from the freezing polar regions to the warm waters of the coral reefs, deep sea hydrothermal vents to shallow seagrass beds and beautiful sponge gardens to giant kelp forests, marine organisms are found everywhere.

Diving Stories

Marine resources

Caring for our Coasts

Australia is home to the over 10,000 beaches and no part of Australia is more than 1,000km from the ocean. Our coasts are impacted by our actions on land. Rubbish and microplastics can be found washed up on almost every Australian beach.

dead turtle entangled in fishing nets on the oceans — Copyright: Maxim Blinkov

Plastic and rubbish washed up on the shore from oceans — Copyright: Maxim Blinkov

Pollution and rubbish get washed into our rivers and waterways with stormwater runoff and end up on our coasts and oceans. Over 75% of this rubbish is plastic. Plastics in the environment can take hundreds of years to break down, thereby impacting marine species for generations.

I created the Caring for our Coast activities for the Landcare Learning Centre. These are great activities to do with your students.

Beach Survey

Beach Clean up

January 20, 2021January 20, 2021

Penguin Awareness Day

January 20th is Penguin Awareness Day and it is time to get to know your penguins. There are 18 species of penguin that live primarily in the Southern Hemisphere. 72% of penguins species have a declining populations and 5 species are considered endangered. These species are facing extinction if improved protection and conservation measures are not implemented.

Fun Facts

The word Penguin may have come from the Welsh pen gwyn, meaning ‘white head’.
The Galapagos penguin is the only species of that inhabits the equator and parts of northern hemisphere.
Penguins lost the ability to fly millions of years ago.
Powerful flippers and streamlined bodies make penguins very good swimmers.
Penguins are the fastest swimming and deepest diving species of bird.
Penguins can stay underwater up to 20 minutes at a time.
The penguins light front and dark back coloration is called countershading and the provides camouflage from above and below
Penguins colonies are called rookeries.
Penguins spend up to 75 percent of their lives at sea

How can you help protect penguins?

Being a responsible consumer and ensure the seafood you eat is caught or raised sustainably.
Oil pollution is deadly to marine environments so check that your fuel and oil lines are in good condition and don’t dump old oil products into drains.
Help reduce carbon emissions to slow climate change. Changes in ocean temperature disrupt food chains impacting on the diet of penguins
Support conservation work to help protect penguins and conserve their habitats

Check out some great Penguin videos from BBC Earth below

Best of Penguins | Top 5 | BBC Earth

Penguins’ Amazing Survival Skills | BBC Earth

November 9, 2020November 12, 2020

Australian Pollinator Week

Plants can’t move around to look for a mate to reproduce. Plants need pollinators to transfer the pollen, the male sex cells to the female reproductive parts of flowers. This process is called pollination, which leads to fertilisation. Good fertilisation helps plants develop seeds and fruit. The seeds and fruits that feed the countless animals in the world, including us.

Pollinators drive biodiversity, and over 75% of the world’s flowering plants rely on insect pollinators to reproduce. Most people are aware that bees are important pollinators and other insect pollinators include flies, beetles, moths, butterflies, wasps, ants. Birds and bats are some of the vertebrate animals that also pollinators. Pollinators provide these important ecosystem services in the natural landscapes as well as within agricultural/horticultural and urban environments.

Australian Pollinator Week acknowledges the important and unique insect pollinators found across Australia. It is a designated week in November during our southern spring when community, business and organisations can come together to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators and support their needs. The world is suffering from major pollinator declines, but you can also help make a difference by encouraging theses animals into your backyard and local area.

Use this great resource ‘Pollinator Insects Identification Tips’ by Wild Pollinator Count to help you identify pollinators around your home.

Download the Pollinator Insects Identification Tips

Make an insect hotel to attract more pollinators to your garden. Plant flowering plants and natives to attract more birds into your garden.

September 7, 2020September 7, 2020

Threatened Species Day

Every year on September 7 we commemorate National Threatened Species Day to raise awareness of plants and animals at risk of extinction. Threatened Species Day acknowledges the death of the last remaining Thylacine, Tasmanian tiger at Hobart Zoo in 1936. It is a day to reflect on what you can do to make a difference.

Thylacine photographed in cage with chicken by Henry Burrell 1921.

Threatened Species Day is a time to focus on or native plants, animals, and ecosystems and look at how we can protect them into the future.

Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife

What can you do to help?

Volunteers some of your time to help save Australian Species for the next generation. You can volunteers for National Parks or join a Citizen Science program.

Create a animal friendly backyard

You can create a native haven in your garden that will encourage wildlife to come and share your backyard.

Attract birds to your garden: use plants that will provide food, shelter and nesting sites. Local flowering plants and fruit trees provide birds with nectar and seeds. Use mulch to encourage worms, insects and grubs to thrive. Plant dense prickly native shrubs create shelter, hang up nesting boxes and install a bird bath.

Encourage frogs to your backyard: create a small shallow pond in an area that is partly shaded. Include thick ground hugging plants around part of the pond to provide areas of warmer and cooler water. Your pond will need some sunlight to encourage algae and other plants that provide food for tadpoles. Make sure the banks slope gently so that the frogs can get out. Add some rocks and logs to provide shelter for adult frogs. Put up some Frog Tubes to provide shelter for tree frogs

Make a home for invertebrates too: remember not are insects are pests. Good insects pollinate plants, break down dead flora and fauna, aerate the soil and are a food source for other wildlife. They can even help keep harmful pests away. Create an inviting environment for insects and spiders by planting plenty of native plants.

Make sure you use chemical-free pest control to maintain your animal friendly backyard.