Published on the 4th June 2015 by ANSTO Staff
220 excited students and their teachers from more than 30 Sydney schools will gather on World Environment Day today at Taronga Zoo for the Youth Enviro Forum.
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| Kirrawee students Robert Beattie (yr 10), Michael Roffe (yr 9), Taronga’s Charlotte Hulme and ‘Mia’ the Quokka, at the Youth Enviro Forum. |
June 5th is World Environment Day, which is a United Nations initiative for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the environment.
The Forum is an opportunity for year 7-10 students to learn skills related to sustainability, energise a passion for science, and explore the possibilities for environmental projects.
Leading scientists from ANSTO, Professor Richard Banati and Dr Tom Creswell, will present at workshop sessions for the students.
An exciting series of interactive lectures will see students learn about plastic, and use Geiger counters to understand the impact of foreign materials in the environment.
Current ANSTO research is helping to solve puzzles including how environment systems function and interact with plastic litter, air pollution, and underground water sources.
In particular, the ANSTO Plastic Project is using nuclear science to study how certain elements like the heavy metals contained in plastics, behave as they move through the biosphere.
“This is about giving the kids an opportunity to see the impact of littering at the atomic level, and to build their awareness of the environment and their interest in science,” said Professor Banati.
“We have some pretty remarkable research that “lights up” bird feathers showing the presence of heavy metals that may be present due to the bird eating plastic waste, and they’re really the kind of things that get the kids interested.
“Plastic is an everywhere, everyday reality of these kids’ lives, so their appreciation of the importance of sustainability will help them contribute to positive change for the environment.
“It’s also a great chance for ANSTO to have that one-on-one contact with the kids who are our future scientists and environmentalists – who have grand plans for making a difference.”
The Youth Enviro Forum is running from 845am – 3pm on Friday June 5. Applications are fully booked.