A NUMBER of local students spent their April school holidays exploring and identifying nature and wildlife as part of a citizen science competition.
Renmark North School participated in the Renmark Schools BioQuest, which was run by the Renmark Paringa Council and Renmark Paringa Landcare, and finished top.
The competition involved students from all Renmark schools downloading the QuestaGame application, joining their school team and getting out each day sighting and classifying forms of life.
Renmark North School SSO Susy Vaughan, who drove the school’s program, said the students made “amazing” discoveries.
“Most of the students live out north on blocks, so they were able to really explore,” she said.
“They took photos of whatever they saw – such as plants and bugs – and managed to identify the species or family.
“Those who couldn’t identify what they found managed to get other people to figure it out for them.
“Students got points for identifying their findings and our student, Alissa, managed to get the most points and was named champion.”
Ms Vaughan said the students’ accomplishments caught the eye of a global viewer and were told to take the competition further.
“Little Renmark North got discovered by someone globally and decided to compete internationally,” she said.
“We ended up taking part of the Global Schools BioQuest, which ran concurrently with the local one, and we managed to take out the first round. The students are now motivated to continue playing through until the August round of the Global Schools BioQuest to defend their title.
“This means a few lucky students may win a trip to a BioQuest camp in Cairns – pending the August round results.”
Ms Vaughan said she was proud of her students.
“For the first time participating, the students did a fantastic job,” she said.
“Not only was it fun for them and gave them something to do during the holidays, it was educational and it really brought out their artistic side.”