News Articles - Emmaus Catholic College Kemps Creek

Taronga Forum Inspires

24 Aug 2016

“It was just as exciting as Zootopia”, said Eliza McIlveen, a Year 8 student at Emmaus Catholic College at Kemps Creek.

Eliza was referring to a recent attendance by Year 8 Emmaus Geography students to Taronga Zoo’s ECO Forum.

Niko Miskovic explained the purpose of the day. “It was to give students the opportunity to get really involved in a project which we hope will develop community awareness of sustainability issues”.

Three hundred students from a variety of schools took an active, enthusiastic part in workshops and discussions.

“We will be producing a video about the Cumberland Plain Woodland Preservation project”, said Eliza. “Even though we had to leave Emmaus very early in the morning, in heavy rain, it was all worth it”.

The students and teacher were driven to Taronga in the College bus by Business Manager, Mr Moran who ensured hat they arrived safely in good time for the introductory session.

“While the major project, which is due in Term 4, took a lot of our time”, Niko commented, “we also developed a global perspective in the questions/answer sessions which followed presentations by guest speakers”.

The students also had the chance to observe Taronga’s dedication to providing appropriate habitats for the animals kept there, and cameras were put to good use. Ms Tangata-Toa, the Geography teacher who accompanied the students, was impressed by their enthusiasm and interest in the day’s activities. “We now look forward to presenting our project to the ECO Summit at Olympic Park in October”, she said.