WETLANDS for Our Future is the theme targeting youth for World Wetlands Day 2015.
Celebrations will be in full swing in the Burdekin from Saturday this week with local environmental organisations hosting a wetland display at the Burdekin Shire Council library and a wetland photography competition for Burdekin school students.
World Wetlands Day is celebrated internationally on February 2 each year to mark the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) in Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971.
Merv Pyott, WetlandCare Australia’s Regional Project Officer said they would have liked to have organised a fun day outside at a local wetland but with World Wetlands Day falling in February there is the risk of wet weather.
“Lots of things have been happening around Burdekin wetlands, their management and promotion over the last few years and through our involvement in the World Wetlands Day display at the Burdekin shire library Ayr we hope to showcase local activities and initiatives that aim to conserve our valuable wetlands,” Mr Pyott said.
“After all our quality of life and that of future generations is intricately linked to the health of our wetlands,” he said.
“Wetlands purify and replenish our water, and provide food and recreation for billions around the world.
“Wetlands act as a natural sponge against flooding and drought, and protect our coastlines. “They burst with biodiversity, and are a vital means of storing carbon.”
Tom McShane, manager, Burdekin Bowen Integrated Floodplain Management Advisory Committee (BBIFMAC) said in conjunction with the Ayr library display, BBIFMAC has joined forces with WetlandCare Australia, NQ Dry Tropics NRM, Lower Burdekin Landcare and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, as part of the Queensland Wetlands Program to host a photography competition open to all students attending Burdekin primary and secondary schools.
“We are asking students to send us a digital photo of a local wetland and tell us in 25 words or less why local wetlands are important to them,” Mr McShane said.
“There are cash prizes on offer as well as some useful books for their school’s library,” he said.
“Entries will be displayed at the Ayr and Home Hill libraries at a later date.”
Members of BBIFMAC’s Lower Burdekin Wetland Sub-committee will judge entries which close on Friday, February 20, 2015.
The wetland display at the Ayr library will run from Saturday, January 31 to Saturday, February 7.
Information on the competition and display is available from Merv Pyott email: mervpyott@wetlandcare.com.au or phone 0477 912 274 or Linda Kirk Lower Burdekin Landcare Secretary 0415 307 364.
