Page 20
COASTAL KIDS
A summer holiday children’s activity booklet, Kids @the Coast, is a joint initiative of Barwon Coast and Bellarine Bayside Committees of Management. The booklet was produced in response to a number of common concerns challenging our coastal environments. A joint approach to educate campers about our coastal environments made this project possible. “After much brainstorming of which issues to deal with and how to convey them in a fun, interactive way, we have the end product you see today. The booklet contains a variety of activities that will further inform visitors to our shores about the delicate coastal and marine environment with learning outcomes
on simple actions they can implement to protect what we come here to love”, Maddie Glynn from Barwon Coast said. The activity booklet deals with issues such as litter impacts and prevention, dune erosion and personal safety, wildlife protection and habitat protection; and how to recycle right. “Kids @ the Coast is about engaging children at a young age to understand what is out there and then hopefully they in turn will educate others around them,” said Vin McKay from Bellarine Bayside. The activity booklet is available to those children camping
within the Ocean Grove, Barwon Heads, Portarlington and St Leonards coastal reserves. The activity booklet has been designed with generic messages enabling the booklet to be expanded across the state. “Many people don’t understand just how many different animals call our sand dunes home, so therefore are not aware that from their actions there are consequences; many negative to these fragile systems. The dunes protect the townships, but are also home to the many reptiles, birds, and mammals such as possums and bats that we do not see during the day. These animals in turn help protect us by working together to keep the