Last week a Bowen kindergarten group was recognised for their efforts in raising awareness for important environmental issues such as preventing boat strikes on turtles, ensuring litter does not wash down drains and eradicating ghost nets from oceans.
The 2022 cohort of Kidz at the Beach were the recipients of a Community Service Award at the annual Bowen Rotary Awards, where they were each named as Reef Guardian Super Heroes and presented with individual Rotary Environment Certificates.
For over a decade Kidz at the Beach have been known as a Reef Guardian School.
This started when Owen Derrick, a then parent and high school teacher, approached kindy teacher Anna Woodhouse asking if they could start educating young children about the environment because he believed that by high school many life habits had already been established.
What started as a small idea has become known as the Starfish legacy, with every year group tasked with a different environmental crusade.
“Over the years we have empowered many children and had many families curse us for having to have short showers and grandparents having to stop on the side of the road to pick up paper to save the turtles,” said Ms Woodhouse.
“But each year it has been a different journey because each group of children embrace a different risk element to solve.
“From how can they save the turtles, tell all the fishermen in the world about going slow to avoid boat strikes on turtles and how can they tell the school and everyone that rubbish goes down the drain to the Great Barrier Reef.
“It’s easy for four-year-old’s as they are fearless and see the world as theirs to save”
Since its inception in 2011, The Starfish Reef Guardians have been involved with many projects – they’ve had signs placed at the local landmarks, taken measurements on beaches and brought messages of ‘stop littering, it hurts my heart’ to the mayor.
This year they spread the message about the dangers of ghost nets by sending a magic ghost net Jelly fish creation across the country to other kindies to spark conversations with other children their age.
The artwork travelled to Townsville, Brisbane, Toowoomba and New South Wales and they are hoping next year they will send it internationally.
Reef Guardian Superheroes 2022 with Educators, Rotarians and Owen Derrick. Photo supplied
Anna Woodhouse (Kindy Teacher) with Rotarians Mark Steen and Jennine Turner who presented the Rotary Community Service Award
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