“When I was in grade one I drew a picture of a witch's cat in a storm. It was framed and hung in the staff room. Ever since then I've been drawing, painting and creating. I studied sculpture and illustration at Curtin Uni and had some work chosen for an exhibition in the WA Young Artists Award.”

“I enjoy working with raw materials - steel, stone, wood etc and particularly like sculpting in sand because it is fun, flexible, low tech and you can use the sand again! I also like the way people come by to watch the work progressing. People can relate to what you are doing. I suppose playing in the sand brings out the kid in all of us.”
Tim Darby

The sculpture took over 4 days to complete using more than 3 cubic metres of sand (or nearly 25,000,000,000 grains of sand!).

Next time you visit the beach why not have a go at sand sculpturing? By exploring your coastal environment and using natural debris such as seaweed, shells and cuttlebone you can really bring your sculpture to life!

Inspired by the beauty that lies beneath the surface of our oceans, this exhibit portrays a sea jelly, a fish and seaweed made entirely from recycled plastic materials. A total of 3,768 water and milk bottles have been used to construct this impressive suspended display with a total weight of 150 kilograms. This is approximately equivalent to the weight of plastic packaging used in Western Australia every two seconds. Over the period of a year this adds up to more than two million tonnes of plastic packaging used in our state alone, presenting a different perspective on the amount of waste we produce. The sculpture aims to encourage the community to reduce, reuse and recycle, in order to shrink our ecological footprint as well as highlighting the importance of living sustainably.

Want to do your bit to battle waste along our coast? Why not join us for the inaugural NMDC Beach Clean Up on Saturday October 15 and help clean up our local beaches. All participants will receive a complimentary sausage sizzle, free entry into the NMDC, and the opportunity to view the new sea sculpture display.

For more information on the beach clean up activity visit www.nmdc.com.au or call 9203 0339.

There is a large range of hands-on and fun learning activities that take you beneath the surface of our watery environment and behind the scenes of aquatic science as it unfolds. The education activities that are developed and implemented by our education staff come under three main themes, which are:

• Aquatic ecology & biology
• Science behind aquatic management
• People & communities

Our learning programs are based on current science and data generated by scientific research and can be fully integrated into both the Western Australian Curriculum Framework and the Australian Curriculum. We are always developing new education activities that add value to school teaching-learning programs.

For more information, visit www.nmdc.com.au

The Department of Fisheries Community and Education team offer a hands-on activity to compliment the Fishing for the Future lesson plan. The activity, called Fishing for Sustainability, is a virtual fishing experience for students.  Check out www.nmdc.com.au/excursions/fishing-for-sustainability/ to find out more about this activity.

If you do happen to drop a line in the water these holidays or in the upcoming warmer months, don’t forget to Send Us Your Skeletons! The Department’s Research Division wants your fish frames (skeletons with the heads and guts intact) to assist with the ongoing monitoring of our demersal (bottom-dwelling) and nearshore fish resources.  Visit the Department of Fisheries website, www.fish.wa.gov.au/frames, to find out more.

A Year with the Ocean

Date & Time: Monday 3 October – Friday 14 October (excludes weekends), 10:30am to 12 noon.

Cost: $4, all ages. Cost does NOT include entry to the NMDC.

Spend a year under the ocean, when you design and create your own marine-themed calendar for 2012. This do-it-yourself activity runs weekdays during the October school holidays. Bookings are not required for this activity.

Clean Marine

Date & Time: Saturday 15 October, starts at 9.30am at the NMDC.

Cost: Free, all ages; families welcome.

Get the family together and help protect our marine environment these school holidays. Join us for the inaugural NMDC Beach Clean Up! Stay for a sausage sizzle and explore the Naturaliste Marine Discovery Centre. Registrations essential.

Bookings are essential for our school holiday activities so please call 9203 0339 to reserve your place. Cost includes entry into the NMDC (excluding A Year with the Ocean).

Red crabs spend the majority of the year living in solitary burrows among the Island's rainforest, foraging on fallen leaves, fruits, flowers and seedlings.

However, they are not solely vegetarian and if given the opportunity will feast on other dead crabs, birds and the introduced giant African snail. With their large numbers, the crabs dominate the forest floor so there is little competition for food and other resources. Although the forest is their preferred environment, they can also be found living in a variety of habitats, including coastal shore terraces and domestic gardens.

Outside of the breeding season, red crabs are a solitary species. They have distinct patterns of activity at the beginning of the wet season (October-November), performing one of the most spectacular breeding migrations seen on earth. Millions of bright red crabs emerge from their burrows and make their way down to the coast where they breed and spawn their eggs. Upon arriving at the shore, male crabs create mating burrows, where the females can rest and incubate their eggs. Amazingly, one female crab can brood up to 100,000 eggs in a single season! After around 14 days the eggs are released into the water and the crabs start their long journey back up into the rainforests.

Determining the age of fish can provide scientists with a lot of important information about a species. Fish otoliths, or ear bones, allow researches to determine the age of bony fish and how to manage fish stocks effectively. In ‘What’s My Age Again?’ students will follow the process of otolith extraction and analyse photographed otolith sections to determine the age of fish species. By creating and interpreting age structure data, students can make predictions about species life expectancy and understand the need for biological samples in managing fish stocks.

The launch of this education resource coincides with the annual National Science Week. From August 13 – 21 schools across Australia will be celebrating our understanding of science and technology through a variety of activities. ‘What’s My Age Again?’ is a fantastic way to engage your students in science in the classroom and can easily be followed up with a visit to the Naturaliste Marine Discovery Centre for a real fish dissection!

View the ‘What’s My Age Again?’ resource or visit http://marinwaters.fish.wa.gov.au for a range of resources.

Details for National Science Week can be found at www.scienceweek.gov.au

This ongoing monitoring program provides scientists with vital information on the state of demersal and nearshore fisheries resources in Western Australia. As well as helping to ensure there is fish for the future, participants of the initiative also have the opportunity to win fantastic prizes.

This year, prizes from seven WA sponsors will be presented to recreational angler winners who have donated their skeletons during 2010 and 2011.

For more information on the Send Us Your Skeleton project visit www.fish.wa.gov.au/frames

Cost: FREE. Refreshments will be provided.

Location: Department of Fisheries, 39 Northside Drive, Hillarys Boat Harbour, Hillarys WA

For further information and bookings, contact:
Carina Gemignani, Communications Officer
carina.gemignani@fish.wa.gov.au or phone (08) 9203 0336