The Hobsons Bay Wetlands Centre hosted a series of Birdwatching workshops these Spring school holidays.
Hobsons Bay council’s Mel Sheedy, said she coordinated the workshop through Park Victoria’s Youth Volunteering for Nature Fund, on behalf of the Hobsons Bay Wetlands Centre.
“We had eight kids come down to Jawbone Reserve, with the intention to get kids out into nature,” she said.
“We wanted to do that through birdwatching workshops, to introduce kids to birdwatching and connect them with their local environment.”
Mel said the centre was able to purchase several binoculars and a spotting scope as well as a kids field guide, with the money from the grant.
“We developed these field guides and a bunch of other guides to make a little goody bag for the kids to use throughout the workshop,” she said.
“We brought the kids out and showed them different habitats and identification skills, we taught them what to look for and how to stop and listen every once in a while.
“We wanted to create a legacy with this workshop, which was the point of the field guide and giving the kids the chance to use equipment that they might not have used before.”
Mel said the kids were really engaged in the session , which she could tell through their answers to her questions.
“The types of questions that we asked were designed to get them critically thinking about what they’re actually seeing and what they can be looking for.
“I asked so many questions and they took a lot away from it, I think they now know what kind of features to look for with birds and what is out there.”
Jennifer Pittorino
