IBISCA QUEENSLAND PROJECT ( Released Oct 2006 )

Seven high school students from across the State will be taking part in the BATH (Biodiversity at the Heights) Project at Lamington National Park on October 20-22. The students will be assisting more than 35 scientists from around the world in the international biodiversity study to identify signs of climate change.

The National Parks Association Queensland Inc (NPAQ) has provided the students with the opportunity to participate in the study so that they can see first hand the effects of climate change. The successful students were chosen from more than fifty entries and to enter, students were asked to write about the topic ‘What is biodiversity and why is it important?’.

Elizabeth Sayers, NPAQ Executive Coordinator said ‘the bursaries have been provided to enable the students the opportunity to see first hand the impacts of climate change. The students may well be the ones who will be working on ways to overcome the effects of climate change in the future and what better way to enable them to understand the impacts than to take part in a study of such significance’.

The seven students and three supervising teachers represent a range of schools from across the State. They are: Ian Hanson, Kirwan State High School, Townsville; Aleesha Duggan, Brigidine College, Indooroopilly; Katrina Greitschus, Mansfield State High School; Chelsea Karena, Wynnum State High School; Jessica Wissa, All Hallows College; Shannon Logan, Aspley State High School; Paris Gallegari, Mitchelton State High School. The supervising staff are: Fay Seeto and Michele House from Wynnum State High School; Ruth Palsson, Redcliffe State High School.

The students each won a bursary of $500 donated by the National Parks Association Queensland Inc (NPAQ), part of a $5000 contribution by the Association to fund the students and three supervising teachers.

The BATH Project will determine which groups of organisms are the best climate change predictors at different altitudinal zones and which survey methods detect these changes most effectively and efficiently. These indicators will contribute significantly to the management of climate change in subtropical and tropical regions as key components of monitoring systems that can build adaptive capacity into environmental, social and economic planning. The Project is being lead by University of Griffith Professor of ecology Roger Kitching.