Shorebirds Competition
ANSTO is proud to once again host the Shorebirds Competition for primary students in Years 3 to 6, for the third year running. This year, we have gone national - students from all regions across Australia are now invited to participate. In addition, students can now participate from home.
Enter the competition by learning about threats to shorebirds and their habitats and creating a public awareness poster for a threatened shorebird in Australia. Over $4000 in prizes for schools and students are offered.
Shorebirds or waders are rapidly declining in numbers and several species are now threatened with extinction. In Australia and elsewhere their shoreline habitats are being permanently affected by human activity or are disappearing altogether.
Put your town or suburb on our map!
The competition is an activity that can be incorporated into class lessons to provide valuable learning outcomes that link to the Australian Curriculum. We encourage teachers across the country to involve their classes in this great competition, enter in the school's category, and go in the running to win resources for their schools, in addition to prizes for the students!
This year there is also a category for individual entries. This means that children can engage in the activity in their own time, at their own pace, from home, and go in the running to win prizes. We encourage students in Years 3 to 6 from all communities across Australia to enter! Send us an email to let us know if you are participating - we would love to know which suburbs and towns we have connected with!
“I believe that migratory shorebirds and their Flyways are important ideas for our time. They challenge our notions of what is precious-they are small, their plumage is modest, they do not sing and their habitat is often unremarkable. But they fly unimaginable distances, their biology is so finely tuned that they can fly eight days and nights without stopping to eat and drink, they can navigate featureless oceans to find the same tiny stretch of beach, and return to it, year after year. And, in an age where human migration is often viewed as a threat to borders and resources, these tiny birds remind us that we are globally interdependent in a multitude of complex, subtle and ancient ways.”
Kate Gorringe-Smith, creator of The Overwintering Project, a national art project for adults, which inspired the creation of the Shorebirds Competition.
Prizes
School Entries – These must be approved or submitted by teachers
For school prizes, teachers can choose educational resources to the value below.
For student prizes, gift cards will be supplied to the value below. Students will also receive a certificate of achievement.
| Student Prizes | School Prizes | ||
Place | Years 3/4 | Years 5/6 | Years 3/4 | Years 5/6 |
1st | $150 | $150 | $600 | $600 |
2nd | $100 | $100 | $300 | $300 |
3rd | $75 | $75 | $150 | $150 |
Highly Commended | $50 | $50 |
| |
Highly Commended | $50 | $50 |
| |
Highly Commended | $50 | $50 |
| |
Highly Commended | $50 | $50 |
| |
Highly Commended | $50 | $50 |
|
Individual Entries – These do not require approval from teachers
Supply of gift card to the student to the value below. Students will also receive a certificate of achievement.
Place | Years 3/4 | Years 5/6 |
1st | $100 | $100 |
2nd | $75 | $75 |
3rd | $50 | $50 |
Highly Commended | $30 | $30 |
Highly Commended | $30 | $30 |
Highly Commended | $30 | $30 |
Highly Commended | $30 | $30 |
Highly Commended | $30 | $30 |
All 1st Place student winners for school and individual entries will also receive the book “Circle” by Jeannie Baker, kindly donated by Phil Straw from the Australasian Waders Studies Group.
Entries are eligible for prizes in one category only - either as a school entry or an individual entry, and there are separate entry forms for each category.
How to enter
Shorebirds Procedure and Entry Form
Shorebirds Teacher Contact Form
Shorebirds Competition Terms and Judging
Teacher Lesson Plans
Sample Unit of Work for Years 5 and 6
Sample Unit of Work for Years 3 and 4
Additional information
Shorebirds Information and Threatened Shorebirds
Shorebirds Information for children
Entries must be received at the address below by Friday 14 August 2020.
ANSTO Shorebirds Competition
C/- ANSTO Discovery Centre (B65)
New Illawarra Road,
LUCAS HEIGHTS NSW 2234
Email before posting your entry, preferably with a scanned copy of the poster attached, to:
Teachers, please email if you would like to participate, and put Expression of Interest in the subject line.
All other enquiries can be directed to the email address above.
Contact the Discovery Centre
If you would like to be notified of any competition updates, please email the address above, and put Shorebirds Update in the subject line.
We would love to hear from you!