This year, Meriden introduced Conservation in Action as a new Year 8 elective, giving students the opportunity to explore threats to biodiversity and the strategies being used to protect species and ecosystems. The students studying the elective took their learning beyond the classroom with an overnight ZooSnooz experience at Taronga Zoo.
The exciting experience began with an after-hours guided tour of Taronga Zoo. Along the way, students met some of the zoo’s newest arrivals, including koala joeys beginning to explore beyond their mothers’ pouches, and learnt more about species including lions, tigers and rhinoceroses. Exploring the zoo after dark added a new dimension to the experience, with spotting animals in their nighttime habitats quickly becoming part of the adventure. The evening concluded with the group settling into the Backyard to Bush house for the night, sleeping just across from the spiders and stick insects.
An early start the following morning gave students the rare opportunity to explore the Zoo before it opened to the public. Highlights included feeding an emu its morning lettuce, watching kangaroos bask in the morning sun and observing nocturnal animals at the end of their active night.
The experience also brought the students’ classroom learning about conservation to life. At the Taronga Institute of Science and Learning, they explored some of the work being undertaken to protect wildlife, including breeding programs, conservation technologies and efforts to combat the illegal wildlife trade. The Seals for the Wild and Free Flight Birds presentations further demonstrated how research, education and everyday choices can contribute to wildlife conservation.
After a semester spent investigating how species and ecosystems can be protected, the ZooSnooz gave students the opportunity to see conservation in action. It was a memorable way to connect their classroom learning with the people, science and wildlife at the heart of modern conservation.
