Project Name: Ballina High School
Location: Ballina, New South Wales
Theme(s): Coastal management

Printable Version

Part 1 - Ballina High School Marine Discovery and Resource Centre

The Ballina High School Marine Discovery and Resource Centre in north eastern New South Wales (NSW) was opened in 1999 by the NSW Minister for Fisheries Hon. Eddie Obied MLC. The centre supports the teaching of Marine Studies in NSW schools by educating visiting students from other schools and providing resources and training to teachers.

The Centre and school's education programs have become major services to the community. They provide hands-on and practical experiences for preschool, primary, high school and tertiary aged students, and raise community awareness of marine ecology issues. A long history of teaching marine studies at the school has led to the opening of this Centre.

Contents

This case study is available as a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view the PDF file.

• Download ENSUS Case study: Ballina (Ballina_printable.pdf - 662 KB )
• Download ENSUS BASIC! Worksheet: Issues with keeping animals in captivity (Ballina_BASIC!.pdf - 270 KB)
• In the beginning...
• Developing a Marine Studies curriculum
• Support for teachers through a Marine Teachers Assoc. of NSW Inc.
• Setting up the Centre and the Curriculum
• What the Centre Offers
• Class_res.ppt (885KB)
• Part 2 - Ballina High School Marine Discovery and Resource Centre

In the beginning…

As environmental concerns have increased in society, environmental issues and topics have been incorporated into traditional subjects, such as science and geography. Many of these topics deal with “terrestrial” issues, such as forestry, mining and revegetation of waterways. Historically, issues relating to coastal management and marine studies have been rarely covered, partly due to the lack of teachers trained in marine studies.

Developing a Marine Studies curriculum

Support for teachers through a Marine Teachers Assoc. of NSW Inc.

While the syllabus was well received, it soon became apparent that teachers at other school lacked the knowledge, expertise and resources to support Marine Studies programs. To build the capacity of these teachers, the “Marine Teachers Association of New South Wales Inc.” was formed. The school received a grant from the Australian Students Traineeship Foundation (ASTF) to fund teachers interested in teaching Marine Studies in New South Wales to attend a conference at Ballina High School.

• to promote, develop and publicise all aspects of marine teaching in schools;
• to encourage classroom marine teachers to play and active role in their professional development by running an annual conference, the price structure of which shall encourage "whole staffroom attendance";
• to foster links with other organisations interested in marine education;
• to develop useful policy documents from time to time that will assist in the smooth running of the subject in schools;
• by means of general meetings, conferences, regional branches and a newsletter, disseminate and exchange information and ideas amongst those concerned with marine teaching;
• conducting a regional event called the Marine Olympics is promote safety and best environmental practice in the sea;
• to encourage support other events such as National Water Week, Ocean Care Day, World Environment Day and Seaweek; and
• to mentor new marine teachers into the profession.

Setting up the Centre and the Curriculum

The Centre was initially set up for the teaching of Marine Studies at the Ballina High School. In response to requests from other schools to participate, the Centre was extended to allow for the greater intake of students. When it opened in 1999, the Centre was able to offer programs for preschool, primary and secondary students.

By 2000 it was clear that covering the teaching of the visiting groups was beyond the school's resources. This led Mick to contact the NSW Department of Education requesting a full-time teacher to take co-ordinate the Centre. The Government responded favourably to this request because of the successful achievements of the school in the past, such as the appointment of a part time co-ordinator funded by a Coastcare Grant received in 2000.

A full-time specialist teacher was appointed. Lynda Hourigan organises and delivers the increasing number of programs offered by the Centre. Lynda is a NSW secondary teacher, qualified dive master, boating instructor and registered curriculum writer with the Board of Studies. Since her appointment, the centre has operated on a more professional basis with the production of high quality resources and a more regular and organised intake of visiting students.

The marine studies program and resources

The Centre offers both a well resourced program and a venue for visiting school groups. The program uses a “hands on” and “feet in” approach when teaching the scientific principles underlying good coastal management. The aim is to instill positive attitudes in students towards the value and importance of marine and river environments.

The Senior Marine Studies Content Endorsed Course includes maritime skills, such as boat handling and water safety; marine science components, such as water quality monitoring, marine ecosystems and sea life; and deals with issues relating to marine environments, ecosystems and the community, such as coastal management, aquaculture and fisheries.

< Click here to view some snapshots of what they do and their resources>
Class_res.ppt (885KB)

School Visits
The Centre became open to outside groups in 1999. Since then, the demand on the Centre has increased dramatically. During 2003 (until November) there were a total of 107 school visits. To give an idea of the diversity of the programs on offer, the Centre provide learning experiences for preschool to tertiary aged students. For 2003, the number of visits and students were:

Next Page