Congratulations to the 2022 winners!
The gallery of Winners and Highly Commended Prize winners is now available.
Meet our 2022 Competition winners
The ANSTO Shorebirds Competition is on again for its fifth year and primary students in Years 3 to 6 from across Australia are invited to enter.
Students can enter through their school or as an individual. The Competition is free to enter and in 2022 ANSTO is offering over $3000 in prizes for schools and $1500 in prizes for students. New in 2022 are prizes for each State and Territory for the best message or slogan on why your wetland and shorebird are special and need protecting.
The competition opens on 22 March and closes on 12 August 2022.
Create a poster
Students are invited to create a public awareness poster that features a local wetland or coastal area (or one in your State or Territory) and one of Australia’s 54 amazing species of shorebirds that may be found there.
Shorebirds rely almost entirely on wetlands and coastal areas for their survival. These very important wetlands connect places on a local and global scale. The numbers of shorebirds are in fast decline with many species now threatened due to loss of habitat and changes caused by humans.
Your poster should draw attention to one of Australia’s many wetlands or coastal areas and the need to protect it for its natural beauty and importance in supporting diverse animal and plant life, including threatened shorebirds.
A cross-curricula experience
This competition offers a unique opportunity for cross-curricula learning. It addresses the sustainability of important environments, adaptations and interdependence of living things, and interconnections across different geographical scales.
Teachers can involve their classes in this engaging learning opportunity with free comprehensive lesson plans linked to the Australian Curriculum for Science, Geography and English. ANSTO also offers incursions and webinars for your classrooms on the topics of Shorebirds and Wetlands.
Some feedback from last years participants:
Your competition is very relevant to our Science studies and the environmental issues in our local area. Thank you for providing valuable resources and a motivational competition. S.B. Teacher, NSW
This is a wonderful competition that has inspired an entirely new unit of work for our Year 4 students. Thank you. A.M. Teacher, NSW
We did a whole terms work on wetlands and shorebirds, went on an excursion and invited bird-watching enthusiasts as guest speakers so the children had a wonderful learning opportunity. We were able to integrate this across many subjects: science, geography, art and literacy. Please forward our thanks to ANSTO for their involvement in providing this wonderful opportunity and the authentic experiences that came with the children’s learning. J.T., Teacher, SA
Expression of Interest
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Important Dates
Competition Closes: Friday 12 August 2022, 5pm
Winners Announced: Tuesday 6 September 2022 – World Shorebirds Day
Purpose of your poster
Your poster must grab people’s attention! It must make them interested to know more about your chosen wetland or coastal area and the shorebirds that live there. Importantly, it should show how the area is special and worth protecting for the future!
Your poster must include:
- A shorebird species that lives in your chosen area. You can show an individual bird, several birds, or a whole flock! Check the Shorebirds list to make sure your chosen bird is there.
- A message or slogan, in 15 words or less. Tell people why your wetland and shorebird are special.
- The natural environment. Show some non-living (shoreline, rocks, water) or living features (plants and other animals) of your chosen area.
- The area name and shorebird name on the front of the poster.
- Entry Form glued to the back, with a little information about your area and shorebird.
Your poster must be:
- Created by hand and your own work! This means that you have designed and created it yourself! Created on A4 paper using pencils, pens, textas or paint. No digital images allowed.
- Created in portrait orientation. This means the narrow edge of the paper is at the top.
About Shorebirds and Wetlands
Australia has 54 species of shorebirds. Some shorebirds live in Australia all year round, while others migrate thousands of kilometres to visit for the warmer months each year, when they can be seen wading in the water (and are sometimes called waders) or running along the water’s edge.
Wetlands provide essential habitat for shorebirds. Unlike seabirds, shorebirds don’t swim and will drown if they land on water. They rely almost entirely on wetlands and coastal shorelines for their survival where they feed, rest and for species that live in Australia all year round, raise their chicks.
Shorebirds Information for Students
Wetlands Information for Students
How to enter
SCHOOLS Instructions & Entry Form Teacher Contact Form
INDIVIDUALS Instructions & Entry Form
Prizes, Rules and Terms
Mail your (original) poster to:
ANSTO Shorebirds Competition
C/- ANSTO Discovery Centre (B65)
New Illawarra Road,
LUCAS HEIGHTS NSW 2234
Original entries must be received at the address above by 5pm, Friday 12 August 2022. Scanned or emailed copies not accepted. Include a stamped self-addressed envelope for return of entries.
Let us know when your entry is in the post, so we can look out for it: [email protected]
Good luck! Stephanie and Kim, Competition Coordinators, ANSTO Education Team.
Teacher Lessons and Shorebirds Online
The Shorebirds Competition is supported by ANSTO with some exciting educational opportunities. There are free teacher lessons below and for classes, our Online Shorebirds Incursion and webinars on the topics of Shorebirds or Wetlands can be booked.
If your school is in southern Sydney we also offer a Shorebirds Incursion delivered in your school on a time and date to suit you and your students.
Year 3-4 Accompanying Geography Lessons
Year 3-4 Accompanying Science Unit
Year 3-6 Accompanying English Lessons
Year 5-6 Accompanying Geography Unit
Year 5-6 Accompanying Science Lessons
Questions?
Please contact the ANSTO Education Team