A major ACT environmental report will now be targeted at school children as part of new efforts to teach students about Canberra's biodiversity and climate change.
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Following on from the release of the ACT's State of the Environment report last year, targeted resources about the report's key findings will be made accessible to young people.
Dedicated websites for primary and high school students have been developed about Canberra's environment and how it is faring, and is set to be used as part of regular classroom lessons.
The tools have been created by the ACT Office for the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, and were made after a year of development alongside students themselves.
Among some of the topics laid out on the new websites include climate change, Canberra's rivers and wetlands, plants and animals, as well as Canberra's urban trees.
Sustainability and Environment Commissioner Dr Sophie Lewis said the tools were the first of its type in the country.
"What's special about this is that it is so local and Canberra kids can see what is going on with their city and their suburb through an environmental lens," Dr Lewis said.
"This will be a first for any jurisdiction in Australia to have environmental information directed at children in this way and it is very timely."
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The tools were based on the findings of the State of the Environment report, which is published every four years.
The most recent report, released in early 2020, found there were four times the number of very high fire danger days, while more than 60 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in the ACT were from transport.
While the report is a key tool used by governments, Dr Lewis said the new websites aimed to make the findings and information about Canberra's environment available to more people.
"The report itself is a useful publication, but it is high level and written for experts in government, and while there is value in that, it isn't that accessible to the public," she said.
"We believe in the value of environmental information for everyone and that also includes kids.
"We want to empower kids to access this sort of information that is specific to the ACT where the kids are living."
Development of the websites and educational tools have been a long time in the making, but were delayed due to the initial outbreak of Covid in March 2020, shortly after the report's release.
In preparation for the new website, the report's creators spoke with students at schools across the ACT.
Some even took the environmental talks a step further, with Ainslie School students developing their own state of the school environment report, examining trees on site and the amount of waste the school community produced.
Dr Lewis said while they may be young, students were very conscious of their natural environment and the issues they face.
"It comes up again and again that kids are concerned about the environment," she said.
"We did a bunch of school visits to hear about their concerns and hear their voices."
It's hoped the new tools will be used as part of regular lessons at ACT schools going forward.
"We're only just starting out and we've had a lot of enthusiasm with the schools," Dr Lewis said.
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