Teachers and students are being called to join Australia’s largest citizen science event, the Aussie Backyard Bird Count, organised by BirdLife Australia. The count will connect students with their natural environment, build scientific skills, learn about life cycles, habitats and adaptations of birds in their area.
The Aussie Backyard Bird Count is an event to identify and report birds in the area. Getting students involved in the classroom or at home to spot birds in the area will not only help track and protect Australian birdlife, but appropriately introduce conservation and ecology to students – particularly those in primary school. The Aussie Bird Count will help students and teachers to connect with nature, and assist students understand the importance of conservation in our environment.
No matter what your location, whether students are in the classroom or learning remotely the Aussie Backyard Bird Count can be a fun activity that students will love. There’s a number of resources available online to support learning about local birds in the school’s area. They are available online at www.aussiebirdcount.org.au and developed for grades 5-6 to support an active birdlife learning experience in the classroom or at home.
Lesson plans available can be adapted for younger year levels, with a number of additional materials including posters, stickers, bookmarks and colouring pages. Developing our students’ understanding of birdlife and conservation now will help towards protecting Australia’s diverse birdlife for generations to come.
In last year’s count, 88,000 Australian’s spotted almost 3.4 million birds. Get your students on board with this fun educational activity and help us count more birds this year! To get involved all you need to do is register your school online athttps://aussiebirdcount.org.au/teachers/. Once registered, teachers will receive links to access and download lesson plans and request additional materials for students, if needed.
