Bird program taking flight

Shorebirds Ambassador’s Nev Capell, Sue Sargent and Carl the Curlew with St Luke’s student Joshua Teasdale and his amazing drawing.

Scottie Simmonds

STUDENTS at St Luke's Anglican School were treated to a special visit by Carl the Curlew yesterday, in a special program aimed at promoting shorebird conservation within the region.

Burnett Mary Regional Group project co-ordinator Sue Sargent said the project recognised the importance of managing disturbance to areas where shorebirds co-existed with people.

"Quite often we find that people aren't even aware of the issues that something as simple as walking your dog can be for these birds," she said.

"Solutions can be as simple as keeping your dog on a lead or avoiding the beach at high tide."

Funded by the Australian Government's Caring for Country program, the project has seen Burnett Mary Regional Group visit primary schools from Gympie to Bundaberg with a shorebird ambassador team.

Years 1 and 2 students at St Luke's have now submitted entries into a postcard design competition to share what they learned during their shorebird ambassador visit.

St Luke's Year 1 teacher Jane Bridges said the visit had been a wonderful experience for the youngsters.

"Sue came along and gave a lovely speech," she said.

"They (the students) learnt some fantastic facts.

"It is great for our students to realise they may be small, but they can do something to help the shorebirds."

Ms Sargent said the quality of the postcard entries from the students had been impressive.

"You can see how much the children have taken on board," she said.

"They came back with the key messages."

Six winners will be selected from the postcard competition across the primary grades and the winning designs will be turned into real postcards and used by BMRG to further promote shorebird conservation.