Victoria's Biodiversity

What I can do
(Student handout) 

Here are a few suggestions to help individuals and groups enjoy and help protect Victoria’s biodiversity. 

• Enjoy them, wander about in them, look at the plants, look and listen to the birds and other wildlife. 
• Learn more about Victoria’s rich diversity of plants animals and ecosystems to recognise their values. 
• Learn to recognise threats to these areas and species. 
• Get involved in practical conservation activities at home and school such as recycling. Reduce waste. Helping conserve resources in general will help protect the environment and wildlife. 
• Help protect a local area and species. 

Visit and Enjoy the Sights, Sounds and Scents in Natural Environment
Spring is an ideal time to visit to see the wildflowers and birdlife. Winter flowering eucalypts attract a host of birdlife so bird watching can be especially rewarding in winter. Visit the same site over the seasons to see how it changes. Record your observations. Take photographs. 
• Take a fieldtrip to a local natural area to experience and enjoy its diversity. Take part in outdoor activities to experience and learn about that environment. 

Whenever visiting a natural environment: 
• Stay on the path. 
• Leave your dog at home. 
• Light fires only in fireplaces and make sure they are out before you leave.
• Take your rubbish home with you. 
• Don’t throw food scraps or garden clippings into the bush as they can spread weeds or disturb the natural balance.
• Don’t pick wildflowers - leave them for the wildlife that needs them, for their own sake, as some are very rare, and leave them for other people to enjoy.

Learn More About Victoria’s Biodiversity 
• Learn from local experts, books and the Internet. 

Link Up with a Conservation Group
Schools can establish links with local conservation or environment groups and benefit from their knowledge of local environments. 

Help Protect a Site 
• Help a local Friends group or local conservation group regenerate or revegetate nearby disturbed area. Contact your local DPI / DSE office for names and contact details of local groups.
• Adopt a remnant site and help to protect it. 

Create Wildlife Habitat
• Plant a native garden in your school grounds or home and/ or set up nest boxes. 
• Build and set up artificial hollows in a remnant near your school or home. 
• Revegetate the understorey in a remnant area. 
• Help plant a corridor connecting remnants.
• Organise and conduct media activities (poster displays, street theatre, and art displays) to raise awareness of local species and natural areas. 

Conservation at Home
• Practice conservation at home and school to reduce waste. Use resources wisely.