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Congratulations on winning ResourceSmart School of the Year, Lilydale Heights College.

You already do so much for conservation. Adding a CDS fundraiser for frogs is so inspiring.

Thank you for all of your amazing work fighting extinction.

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The Buckey Park College STEAM students have been working towards awareness of endangered species as well as designing and developing a tech based solution to help conservationists in saving their chosen endangered species.

Students have created Minecraft EDU levels with missions to create awareness for their endangered species and are currently working on developing tech based solutions such aas conservation drones, self automated vehicles and 3D prints.

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All students in year 7 choose an endangered species to research. The term-long unit culminates in a Call to Action in which students need to determine how we can help this species. Some students create nest boxes, others look at creating an advertising campaign or write a letter to the government. 2026 is the second year of running this program, and students really get excited about this part of the year.

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Earthshot Innovation Challenge poetry finalist - Our Corrupted World

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Earthshot Innovation Challenge poetry finalist - Our Corrupted World

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A piece titled "Our Corrupted World", written by Nethini Weerasena, was selected as one of the top three submissions from over 270 pieces written by teenagers worldwide on the not-for-profit volunteering platform Write the World. As a result, it was republished in the John F. Kennedy Earthshot Innovation Challenge awards ceremony brochure (pg 4). The piece explores key issues in modern society and seeks to raise awareness among gala attendees and broader global audiences.

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JFK Earthshot Innovation Challenge booklet

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In 2025, Wyndham Central College launched a community project to protect the local platypus, running a ‘Pick Up for Platypus’ conservation week and raising over $300 through can and bottle collections for CDS (Container Deposit Scheme). Their efforts were donated to Zoos Victoria and showcased at this year’s FE Showcase.

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In 2025, a Grade 8 student from Surrey Academy of Innovative Learning in Canada shared their project, Life Alert, an AI‑assisted system designed to help vehicles detect animals and pedestrians.

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In 2025, Strathcona Girls Grammar School built impressive bee hotels following an incursion, placing them around the school to provide much‑needed shelter for local bees.

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In 2025, a Year 8 student from Melbourne Grammar School created a documentary about the challenges faced for gorillas in their local habitat. Students participated in a Zoos Victoria workshop and explored numerous types of data collection to then share their amazing work with a broad conservation community. This work inspired the launch of a school-wide mobile phone collection, raising awareness for the They're Calling on You campaign.

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In 2025, Mazenod College Year 7 students created awareness campaigns for a variety of threatened species. The students conducted research and designed well thought out and developed campaigns that were shared with the rest of the community and then celebrated at the FE showcase. Read their work below.

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In 2025, Koonung Secondary College explored their literacy skills in creating inspiring stories about some of our most endangered species.  Read their amazing work below.

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In 2025, Bacchus Marsh Grammar progressed some amazing work started in 2024, helping to create a wildlife corridor along Brisbane Ranges National Park. Students planted 100's of native plants and hung a variety of new nesting boxes to support wildlife within the area. Students prepared plans to fundraise to purchase cameras to place at the nesting sites to monitor the impacts of their work.

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In 2025, Templestowe College students' Safe Cat, Safe Wildlife campaign expanded via surveys, assemblies, and schoolwide challenges; the lead student prepared an information night—practical behaviour change underpinned by student voice and leadership.

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In 2025, a small group of St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School students developed a behaviour‑change campaign addressing single‑use plastic floss picks, combining research, persuasive media, and community engagement—clear, curriculum‑aligned action for species protection via waste reduction.

At the FE Schools Showcase, these students also shared how they had begun work on the container deposit scheme, donating funds to Zoos Victoria!

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St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School (Traralgon)

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In 2025, Shepparton ACE Secondary College extending prior work with Kyabram Fauna Park. The school continues to use a multi‑session enrichment program to develop species‑specific prototypes; students demonstrate applied STEM, observation, and welfare‑focused design.

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In 2025, Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School implemented three concurrent projects: habitat garden restoration, ongoing TCOY device collection, and additional conservation actions (in development), explicitly linking student leadership and whole‑school engagement.

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In 2025, Lilydale Heights College did a whole‑school sustainability approach, recognised as ResourceSmart School of the Year (2025); Year 7 cohort conducts species research and designs conservation campaigns; projects include nest boxes and a student‑run container deposit scheme that channels funds to Zoos Victoria.

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In 2025, year 9 students continued a native species planting project and secured a $5,000 Junior Landcare grant, documenting progress on the Online FE Schools Platform. This work explicitly connects science learning with local biodiversity enhancement and student agency in project delivery.

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Lilydale Heights College was announced as one of the 20 Coles Planet Ark Sustainable School Competition.

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Coles Planet Ark Sustainable School Competition Winners

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Coles Planet Ark Sustainable School Competition Winners

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Our sustainability team were recently announced as winners of the 2025 Coles Planet Ark Sustainable School Competition. We have been granted $5000 to go towards planting and watering our Carbon Sink project, which will see half an acre of our school campus revegetated and restored to its native plant community. Read more about our Carbon Sink project in other posts.

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Local arborists volunteer their services to help install our nest boxes onto trees at Old Pound Reserve while Yarra Ranges Council Mayor and officers watch on.

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Last year, our students constructed a range of nesting boxes based off the La Trobe University nest box designs. These were installed on campus and at the local reserve (the Old Pound Reserve) with the assistance of the local council and local businesses. Some of the boxes were donated to local primary schools. These nesting boxes directly help wildlife conservation by providing habitats for owls, parrots, small bats and gliders. These boxes will be monitored over the coming years using technology on loan from the local council.

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Breanna's winning submission showing the importance of pollinators.

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Breanna T from Lilydale Heights College was recently announced as the secondary school winner of the Wheen Bee Foundation's School Pollinators Art Competition. Breanna won $100 for herself and $500 in Professional Development for her sustainability teacher. Participation in competitions such as these allows for students to use their various superpowers to raise awareness of wildlife conservation issues. Well done, Breanna!

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Recycling water bottles to grow our plants.

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We collected empty, disposable, 10 litre water dispensers, which we reused as individual drip irrigation systems for the plants in our carbon sink. Our carbon sink supports wildlife conservation by providing habitats for native and local fauna, while increasing biodiversity at our school. Read about our carbon sink in our other posts.

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Students with some of the CDS bins at Lilydale Heights College.

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Lilydale Heights College is a participant in the Victorian Container Deposit Scheme program. We bought blue wheelie bins which we customised with drainage holes and rubber rosettes. On each bin is a hand painted picture of one of the 27 Zoos Victoria Fighting Extinction species, because all funds raised from the donated containers goes directly to Zoos Victoria's Fighting Extinction program to fund wildlife conservation efforts.

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Lilydale Heights College student, Adam, met up with Emily and Kristy from Zoos Victoria at the National Entomology Expo in Kyneton, where they spoke about endangered victorian insects.

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Students in Year 7 at Lilydale Heights College all complete a Fighting Extinction assessment task, where they select one of the 27 most endangered Victorian animal species to research. They then design a campaign to help in that animal's conservation efforts.

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Creation of a Miyawaki forest to provide habitat for endangered and threatened species in Keilor Park

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Creation of a Miyawaki forest to provide habitat for endangered and threatened species in Keilor Park

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The PEGS conservation club utilised information from the Atlas of Living Australia to identify endangered and threatened species who have been seen within 5KM of our school sports grounds. Students would then research each animal and work out what we could do to help create habitat for them.

Once the plants had been identified the School then purchased the plants. We spent an afternoon planting them out in a dense 'Miyawaki' planting method to help ensure fast growth of our desired plant species. The Conservation Club will now help monitor this site utilising remote sensor cameras and regular visits to assess the success of the program.

This process has also promoted to the school community the surprising number of endangered and threatened species found in our area.

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Conservation Club Camp and Ecological Audit

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Conservation Club Camp and Ecological Audit

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Students at PEGS engaged in an ecological audit of the school camp to help identify the animal and plant species present at the camp grounds. Each student would use the iNaturalist app to log in animal and plant species on to the database of the Atlas of Living Australia. This data helps us identify any endangered or species at risk present. We can then plan how to help ensure biodiversity at our school camp site. As a result of last year's audit over 15 different species of plants were planted to help provide habitat for native species found on this site.

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This is the second year that we have run a second-hand clothes stall to raise funds for conservation efforts. Last year, we elected to raise funds for the conservation of the Mountain Pygmy Possum. This year, all funds raised went towards our Carbon Sink Project.

Our community Op Shop helps to raise awareness of wildlife conservation by encouraging our community to reuse instead of buying new. This means reducing waste, lowering pollution and resource use, less habitat destruction and fewer harmful impacts on native species.

Pictured here is one of our Sustainability Captains, Ella, with shoppers at our stall, at the local Rotary Craft and Produce Market in Lilydale.

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Our Year 11 students have made quite a creative mockumentary-style video to help raise awareness and encourage our students to donate devices! This has been shared to our Homeroom groups to encourage device donations.

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Today members of the Eastern Lowland Gorilla’s club voted on the best poster displaying this campaign. Poster competition rules must include:

-title “They’re Calling On You”

- short/ brief message about the campaign

-visually captivating e.g colourful

-encourage the audience to collect broken/ old devices to donate

This encouraged not only people to display their artistic design, but also become aware with the requirements on how to donate and help grow this campaign.

Overall this was a fun way to spread awareness of the Eastern Lowland Gorillas!

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African Forest Elephant - Visual Art - FINAL

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African Forest Elephant - Visual Art - FINAL

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Hidden away for decades, a single shrub saved the rarest insect in the entire world. I hope you enjoy my story telling!

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ePortfolio 1 Captive Management Popular Science Article (Lord Howe Island Stick Insect)

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Year  9 Koonung Secondary College - Zoo Camp Project Reearch.pdf-compressed

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A very passionate student that loves seals, and got to speak to the Seal trainer at Melbourne Zoo on our Excursion. This is her speech.

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Students at Tay Creggan, our Year 9 Campus, had an incursion today to learn how to make bee hotels. It is important to support local bees as they play such a crucial role in pollination. This incursion formed part of the Ecosystems topic for Year 9 Science. Hopefully it is just the beginning of an ongoing project.

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Murray Cod - Short Story

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I'm sure you have all heard of the swift parrot- one of the only true migratory birds in the world! But did you know they are in danger?

With fewer than 750 birds left in the wild, these pretty parrots could be gone by 2045. Despite being cute and cuddly, the sugar gliders are these birds worst enemy as well as their precious forests being cleared.

Follow along to understand more about what is being done for our feathered friends and how you can help!

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Africa Forest Elephant - Stencil & Collage DRAFT

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Africa Forest Elephant - Stencil & Collage DRAFT

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This student is working on an art piece which incorporates a background collage of created newspaper articles and posters and stencilling over the top.

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Our students have been busily working away over Term 3 on individual projects to advocate/showcase/hero an endangered species of their choice. This forms part of our overall program for High Ability Girls in STEAM.

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They're Calling on You - Conservation Club

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They're Calling on You - Conservation Club

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This term, we’re kick-starting our Gorilla Conservation Campaign.
To raise awareness, students will be running a trivia competition across our form groups, leading up to our electronics collection drive.
Attached are the trivia questions, collaboratively created with our Year 9 students. Raffle ticket entries will be awarded to students who participate.

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TRIVIA - They're Calling on You - Gorilla Campaign

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This is a board game that we developed to raise awareness of the plight of the Green and Golden Bell Frog. This is aimed for Upper Primary School aged students, and is designed to be fully recyclable.

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The Smallest Survivor: Protecting the Mallee Emu-Wren

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The Smallest Survivor: Protecting the Mallee Emu-Wren

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Despite its dazzling colours and fabulous tail, not many people know about this tiny and elusive Aussie bird. The Mallee Emu-Wren is among the smallest of Australia’s birds, weighing in at 4-6 g (just over 1 teaspoon of sugar!). It's not just these wrens that are small; their range has halved due to habitat loss and degradation, and mismanaged fire regimes.

Fortunately, as they are one of Zoos Victoria's 27 Threatened Species, a lot of research is going towards helping these little survivors. In this article, I interview someone who worked on the front line of Mallee Emu-Wren research, and she explains what is being done to safeguard the species.

If you are interested in helping these pocket rockets, have a read of my article and learn what you can be doing for their cause!

Enjoy ☺️🪶

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The Smallest Survivor- Protecting the Mallee Emu-Wren

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The plains wanderer is a charmingly finicky bird whose choosiness appears to be pushing it to extinction. However, is this bird really that picky, or does Australia just need to improve our management practices for its habitat?

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Southern Bent-wing Bats: Every Little Detail is Precious

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Southern Bent-wing Bats: Every Little Detail is Precious

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Weighing less than a 50c piece yet now taking up a lot of space in my heart, the Southern Bent-wing Bat was Cosmos' inaugural Mammal Of The Year 2022. Today the species has less than 41,000 living members, down from an estimated 100,000+ in 1950.

But explaining why people should care about bats (and not vilify them for covid, hendra, rabies, etc.) doesn't work every time for everyone. I'm interested in whether we can forge more consistent conservation outcomes by including emotional connection in scientific outreach programs, like this book. While it may look like it's for children, it is in fact an illustrated poem designed to intrigue secondary and tertiary students and encourage outside-the-box curiosity.

This piece could be made available as a Zoos Victoria fundraiser or an outreach booklet on conference/convention/market stalls. Some technical words have been put in bold typeface and colour-coded for a glossary to be included, or to serve as a link to an accompanying worksheet for schools. The final page before references shows readers how they can help regardless of age or any experience in science.

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Par-Riot: Protect the Orange-bellied Parrots before they go belly up! 

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Par-Riot: Protect the Orange-bellied Parrots before they go belly up! 

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The Orange-bellied Parrot (OBP) is one of only three migratory parrot species in the world. Just slightly bigger than a budgerigar, this small but mighty bird travels from South-West Tasmania to Victoria each year for winter.

But with fewer than 100 left in the wild, the OBP is also one of Australia’s most critically endangered birds and urgently needs our support.

The following magazine will tell you what you need to know about them, and how you can help them not go belly up.

Help Zoos Victoria help them and together, let’s start a Par-Riot!

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The Year 8 and 9 Zoology & Ecology Science Elective class made posters about the Safe Cat, Safe Wildlife Campaign. Their posters addressed the impact of cats on the environment and solutions for pet owners wanting to protect native wildlife while also helping their cat lead a safe and enriching life. I have posted some examples of their work above.

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Last term, I spoke about the Safe Cat, Safe Wildlife Campaign at my school assemblies. I pitched a STEM Design Challenge and aimed to raise awareness about the campaign, and the environmental concerns cats pose to wildlife but actions that can be taken to make a positive change. Afterwards, classes will begin to work on projects based on the campaign.

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Social media post by Sustainability Victoria announcing ResourceSmart School of the Year, Lilydale Heights College.

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Lilydale Heights College has made Fighting Extinction a part of our school curriculum and culture for several years now. We are very excited to share our projects here, and look forward to learning with and from this community.

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Our Mind Map shows the importance of bringing together all stakeholders to achieve a better outcome for the endangered Green and Golden Bell Frog, as well as other species.

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We wanted to highlight and possibly even build on the wonderful initiatives Zoos Victoria have in place to support endangered wildlife.

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Green and Golden Bell Frog Conservation Mind Map

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It is great to be part of Zoo’s Victoria fighting extinction program. We have been working on Hairy nosed wombat.

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The VCE VM group at Wyndham Central College has initiated a community-based project focused on raising awareness and advocating for the conservation of local waterways and endangered species, particularly the platypus, in response to human impact.

As part of their learning, students have taken part in excursions to the Werribee River and Werribee Zoo, as well as viewing documentaries to deepen their understanding of how human activity affects waterways and the species that rely on them. Their class work has culminated in a whole-school and community initiative, with students presenting at Year Level Assemblies to share their message, presenting to School Council to gain approval for a community event, and organising a “Bring a Can Week” to fundraise for Zoos Victoria. Their fundraising goal is $500 through the Victorian Government’s Container Deposit Scheme.

The project integrates Personal Development Skills and Literacy key knowledge and skills, with students producing infographics, t-shirts, and a website to educate Wyndham’s culturally diverse community on supporting waterways and protecting endangered species. Partnerships have been formed with local businesses, cleaning companies, and sporting clubs to collect approved bottles and cans, maximising fundraising opportunities.

Students have also engaged with local primary schools by designing a social story colouring book, told through the perspective of a platypus, that highlights the impacts of urbanisation, littering, and pollution on habitats and ecosystems. To measure community engagement, they are creating a “Mural of Support,” where donors receive a cut-out platypus or puggle to sign their name—similar to McDonald’s McHappy Day initiative—visibly showing their contribution.

Within the school, students have led conservation lessons for their Year 12 peers, including activities such as habitat mapping, wildlife scavenger hunts, threat timelines, and a pledge wall where students commit to eco-friendly habits. These initiatives showcase strong community buy-in and Wyndham Central College’s commitment to conservation.

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Friday was a huge day for our primary school. Every single child from ELC to year 6 planted at least one plant! It was a wonderful event all the children learnt in class about the importance of biodiversity and went home with a certificate. Many children left eager to come back and watch their plant grow - some even wanted to stay and watch their plant grow! The area is transformed we are all very excited.

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Stream has a new look!Microsoft Stream has merged with Microsoft Clipchamp to create a unified video experience. Learn more

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Well done Sebastian Taranto

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Well done Will Gilder

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Golden-Rayed blue butterfly Presentation 1

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By Gabriel Dubois

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Orange-bellied Parrots: Extinction is forever, let us make it never

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Orange-bellied Parrots: Extinction is forever, let us make it never

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by Hirun Habaragamuwage

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As we prepare for a primary school planting day, the club has been working hard to prepare the area. We were all excited to see possums in the nest boxes. We can’t wait to see what other animals start to visit.

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A campaign idea to support the Smoky mouse

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A campaign idea to support the Smoky mouse

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by Divine Mujanja

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Endangered Species Educational Presentation in Orange White Animated Style

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Check out this Presentation designed by Divine Mujanja.

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2025 Posts below - Year 7 Endangered Species Campaign

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2025 Posts below - Year 7 Endangered Species Campaign

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The Year 7 cohort at Mazenod College have been assigned fighting extinction species as past of their unit for ecology. They were asked to research the species and the reasons why it is endangered. They then attended a STEM session at Melbourne Zoo to investigate how technology can be used to support these species. The remainder of their visits were spent exploring the Zoo investigating campaigns run by Zoos Victoria. Students were then tasked with creating their own campaign idea to raise money, awareness or directly support the conservation of their species. The presentations of these ideas are shared below.

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Victorian Junior Landcare and Biodiversity Grant

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Victorian Junior Landcare and Biodiversity Grant

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I am incredibly proud and excited to announce that we have just been awarded a landcare grant to support our revegetation project. It is for $5000, and will help us extend the focus area. We are very excited and can't wait to get going.

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Term 1 was a very productive time for us with our club expanding in numbers and therefore a chance to extend the project. We had a successful weeding and planting session where around 50 new plants were added all using money raised from 10cent bottles.

We are also creating a website so we can share our efforts with the local community. Alongside this I have worked with the primary school to create bug boxes and educate them about the importance of native plants.

If this wasn’t enough we have also applied for a few grants so that we can hold a whole school planting session.

Exciting times for all of us, the only slight frustration is the area is being disturbed at times by some community members. I am trying to engage the local community to prevent this. If you have any ideas on how to prevent this I would be very grateful.

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Students in the new Year 8 elective called Endangered Species and Conservation undertook fieldwork at the Werribee Open Range Zoo, exploring the Gorilla's endangerment linked to issues in the Congo. This documentary, created by one of the Year 8 boys in term 1, 2025, is exceptionally moving, rich in detail, and demonstrates a deep understanding of the issue and the importance of taking action and as a catalyst for our school to launch a school-wide mobile phone recycling drive across both campuses to raise awareness, actively engage the broader school community, and contribute directly to vital gorilla conservation efforts.

Watch the documentary here, https://melbournegrammarschool-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/grbirch_mgs_vic_edu_au/EY72OZZSuC9MmBSfo8hv-HwB0x_T-OX3_9XagpeQVdl9tA

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Life Alert: An Innovative AI-Assisted System for AVC and PVC Prevention

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Life Alert: An Innovative AI-Assisted System for AVC and PVC Prevention

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Hi, my name is Maryam Khan, a grade 8 student at SAIL Academy. I wanted to get your feedback on a project of mine. Animal vehicle collisions (AVCs) and pedestrian vehicle collisions (PVCs) pose as a major burden to society. The output of these collisions have significant societal, economic and environmental consequences. AVCs cost the economy about $8 billion annually, and threaten the survival of certain species, thus harming the biodiversity in our community. Additionally, the aftermath of these collisions could cause immense trauma among drivers, making them nervous every time they sit on the driver’s seat, in future.

Although there are many AVC and PVC prevention systems put in place, there isn't a system for all local roads. To mitigate such issues, this project introduces 'Life Alert'. Life Alert is an AI-assisted AVC and PVC prevention system that is compatible with the operating system of vehicles and uses artificial intelligence to detect animals/pedestrians ahead. Upon detection Life Alert alert the driver via an LED. By giving unsuspecting drivers an ample opportunity to decelerate when driving locally, Life Alert could potentially save millions of lives, dollars, and driving stress!

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A week after the survey was sent out, I put up posters around the school raising awareness about the Safe Cat, Safe Wildlife campaign. Thank you to Zoos Victoria for the fabulous posters and resources!

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Last week, I wrote an article, accompanied with a Microsoft Forms survey, which was posted in our school's weekly newsletter. This is an Excel spreadsheet of the data collected one week after the survey was sent out.

Survey link: Fighting Extinction School Project

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Hi, I'm Jessica, a year 10 student from Templestowe College! After taking part in Zoos Victoria's Youth Leadership program, I was inspired to run a project to raise awareness about the Zoo's Safe Cat, Safe Wildlife campaign and encourage members of my school community to take action for wildlife.

As part of my project, I am planning to send out a survey to my school community to get find out more about their current safe cat practices, opinions and prior knowledge regarding the campaign, and any feedback they have, put up posters to raise awareness about Safe Cat, Safe Wildlife, get staff involved in running lessons in class about the campaign with Zoos Victoria's resources, and run a cat enrichment making competition.

I am very excited to be starting this project! More posts will follow as I complete each stage.

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Last week a group of us weeded the area and then laid down mulch to prevent weed regrowth.

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We are excited to announce that some of the grasses and ferns have started to grow. However we are all wondering if the tree protectors are preventing the plants from gathering water? Any one got any thoughts or advice?

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In 2024, The Village School acted for wildlife by holding a stall at their local market that raised funds for Zoos Victoria's Marine Response Unit. Read about their work below.

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In 2024, Preston High School acted for wildlife by creating their own community conservation campaigns inspired by the ones that the zoo runs. Read about their work below.

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In 2024, Presbyterian Ladies' College acted for wildlife by supporting one of their students to create a scientific poster on Traditional Owner knowledge and biodiversity. This poster won an award in a state-wide contest. Read about their work below.

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In 2024, Ave Maria College acted for wildlife by bringing Coffee for Wildlife into their school. Read about their work below.

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In 2024, Ave Maria College acted for wildlife by creating enrichment designs for zoo species. Read about their work below.

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In 2024, Aquinas College acted for wildlife by creating conservation-themed games. Read about their work below.

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Exploration on how aboriginal practices and cultures affect species survival strategies 

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Exploration on how aboriginal practices and cultures affect species survival strategies 

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Hi! I am Nethini Weerasena, a Year 9 student from PLC. For Science Talent Search (an annual statewide competition), I had the opportunity to research the aboriginal culture of Australia's First Nations peoples. My research topic was: The exploration of how indigenous practices and cultures affect species survival strategies. This was a great opportunity for me to learn about the rich history surrounding indigenous culture and their closely interconnected relationship with the environment. Above is a video consisting of my poster and pictures of the research subsections. I also received a bursary award from the STS program for this poster.

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Raising funds and awareness for the Marine Response Unit. 

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Raising funds and awareness for the Marine Response Unit. 

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Our year 12 VCE VM students chose to raise awareness and funds for the Marine Response Unit after participating in A Zoos VIC program with Andrew. Their project culminated in a marine themed sustainable market stall which raised $400.

The six students made all of the sustainability focused items themselves and did a fantastic job explaining the MRU to market goers including handing out cards of information with each sale.

We really enjoyed our visit to the zoo earlier in the year and the students felt very inspired to run their project!

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Our Animal Enrichment Project is designed to support the Emus at the Melbourne Zoo. We have designed an innovative Colour Catcher which is made to reflect colour around the Emu enclosure with sunlight. This is aimed to help the Emus because they are attached to bright colours and have specular eyesight. There are multiple features on this design including speaker and heat ball which together enrich the Emus and distract them from the disturbances of Zoo visitors. We believe our project will be very effective in the Emu enclosure.

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Year 7s at Preston High have been working hard to educate the school community and their peers about various issues facing native and non-native wildlife. Inspired by Zoos Victoria's public awareness campaigns about Palm Oil and Balloons harming wildlife, students created public awareness campaigns to inform the community about the extinction crises faced by animals such as Purple Crowned Fairy Wrens, Mountain Pygmy Possums, Koalas, Tasmanian Devils, Sea Lions, Whale Sharks, Red Pandas and Cozumel Raccoons. They did this by creating presentations, putting posters up around school, QR codes linking to websites, making prototypes of merchandise to sell to raise money, making badges, creating Blookets and creating Minecraft themed games. Each campaign made sure to include a catchy slogan to get the word out. Here's Stella, Eva and Shanaia's video promoting Purple Crowned Fairy Wrens: Spread the Word, Save the Bird!

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The Parrot Problem: Will We Let Orange Fade to Black?

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The Parrot Problem: Will We Let Orange Fade to Black?

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Hi all! The orange-bellied parrot is a critically endangered species, and it needs our help! This is one of only three migratory parrot species in the world but sadly there are fewer than 50 of these gorgeous birds estimated to exist in the wild. They are an important species that makes up the biodiversity of both Tasmania and mainland Australia, but habitat loss and fragmentation is causing their population to decline.

It's not all bad news for the orange-bellied parrots though, as this species has been formally protected by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999) since 2006!

If this has piqued your interest, you can find more information about this unique species in my article - Happy reading :)

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The Regent Honeyeater is on the brink of extinction! Once found across southeast Australia in flocks of up to a thousand, there are now less than 250 left in the wild. This poster, designed for display in a Regent Honeyeater exhibit at the zoo, can help you learn more about this wonderful species, the challenges it faces and Zoos Victoria’s part in the mission to save it.

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This Padlet is publicly accessible for educators to use. It is the responsibility of users to seek media consent for any content containing student identifiers before posting.

Zoos Victoria moderates all content.

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Add text, images, a short video, voice recording, or a recorded PowerPoint (use our PowerPoint template or one of your own) to capture your actions for wildlife. This can be a completed project or a work in progress that you would like feedback on.

What you should include

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Add content about your work for wildlife to a 'new school' column to become a Fighting Extinction School. By submitting your work here, your school will be eligible for an invitation to the Fighting Extinction Schools Showcase held at Melbourne Zoo in November. All videos submitted will receive individual expert feedback from Zoo staff.

Soon after you make your first post, Zoos Victoria will change the column title from 'new school' to your school's name.

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Each year, a group of Monash Conservation students have an assessment on communicating science. The following posts are from top-scoring students who created content for a school audience. Teachers and students are welcome to use this content to learn more about leading conservation science in Victoria.

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In 2024, Alphington Grammar School acted for wildlife by beginning a student-led habitat restoration project. Read about their work below.

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The year 10 Environmental Science class create games for the year 7 students to engage them in knowledge surrounding conservation, evolution, ecosystems etc.

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Following on from the Zoo's Victoria Youth Leadership Program, Esme Johnson (Year 9) is continuing her project on revegetating and improving habitat for indigenous wildlife on the edge of our school grounds. She has motivated other students to be involved and through the school's Environment Club we will be involving families too. Money has been raised for the purchasing of nest boxes and indigenous plants. This is a long-term project we are very excited for.

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Our Community Project has been focused on advocating for the Zoo's Victoria coffee, and it's positive effects on endangered Australian animals. We have made a video, explaining the animals, and featuring the teachers, taste testing the coffee. This video raises awareness to save the endangered animals.

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Here is the first section cleared from all weeds

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Yesterday was our first day out weeding and preparing the area for planting. It was so exciting to be making a start. We have over 60 native plants under grow lights ready to be planted when the area has been cleared of weeds.

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Captive Management Popular Science Article

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Information about the biology and threats to the orange-bellied parrot and the important work Zoos Victoria and other organisations are doing to conserve them, in the format of a blog post to engage with readers.

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Captive Management Popular Science Article 34397515

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Hi guys! The Helmeted Honeyeater is one of Victoria's Faunal Emblems and is critically endangered. Why? Because the species is going through a serious housing crisis - there are currently only 2 habitats with wild populations! My Helmeted Honeyeater 'real-estate guide' takes a deep dive into helmeted honeyeater biology, threats to the species, conservation programs and what we can do to help out :)

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BIO2040 Popular Science Article - Asher Waite (1)

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Help Zoos Victoria conserve and protect Australia's rock star: the Brush-Tailed Rock-Wallaby! This species is nicknamed 'The Shadow', as they are our most critically endangered marsupial in Victoria. This brochure demonstrates how Zoos Victoria is fighting this species' extinction and how you can help contribute to their conservation.

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Blazing Trails: The Mallee Emu-Wrens Fight Against Extinction

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The Mallee Emu-Wren is one of Victoria's smallest native birds, recognizable by their striking tail feathers, which are even longer than their body! Unfortunately, these remarkable birds are at high risk of extinction, with much of their population being wiped out by bushfires and habitat loss. However, there is lots we can do to help. This presentation showcases the work Zoos Victoria is doing to protect this species, and how you can get involved!

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Over the weekend we planted some of the new native plants and continued to remove invasive weeds. Can't wait to see them grow.

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by Patrick Quy Phu Pham