The Young Naturalists had another great turn out for our March excursion to the Canning River Eco Education Centre (CREEC ).
Located in Wilson, on the bank of the Canning River , CREEC is owned and operated by the City of Canning. The Centre was purpose built for facilitating nature education for young people, and includes classrooms and other facilities. The foyer has an interesting display of flora and fauna, with lots of things children are able to pick up to get a closer look.
Just outside the Centre, is the point in the river where a weir has been maintained since 1911, originally with the intention of preventing salt water contaminating farm land on the Canning Plain. In 1989 a permanent concrete bridge and weir was built and this continues to provide a barrier to salt water, protecting the freshwater habitat above the weir.
Hayley Bullimore, the Centre's Education Officer provided the Young Naturalists with some background on the geography and ecology of the Canning River, before we armed ourselves with nets, magnifying glasses and identification sheets to collect and study macro-invertebrates. The children all enjoyed the thrill of catching and examining the array of weird and wonderful creatures that can be found in the freshwater environment. Our haul included Glass Shrimp, Minnows, and the larvae of Caddis Fly, Dragonfly and Stonefly.
We were then met by Russell Gorton from the Wilson Wetlands Action Group who took us on a short walk along the river where we learned about the Mistletoe that we found growing on a Sheoak. As the heat began to take its toll, particularly on our younger members, Russell led us to an area of Samphire to look at the birds an insects there.
Despite the heat, we all enjoyed out afternoon by the river and are very grateful to Hayley and Russell for volunteering their time.
If you are interested in attending one of Russell's guided walks or helping with conservation projects, you can find out more about the Wilson Wetland Action Group at www.sercul.org.au/wwag.html. And for information about community events at CREEC, visit www.canning.wa.gov.au/creec/.
Steve Page