Students at Rushworth P-12 College received valuable insights into sustainable hunting and conservation during a special visit from two experts this month.
Lucas Cooke, chief executive of Field and Game Australia, and Dr Robbie Kroger, founder of The Origin Foundation, shared their expertise with students at the Rushworth Field and Game facilities on Wednesday, October 8.
Originally from South Africa and now based in the United States, Dr Kroger is an advocate for conservation through hunting and hosts a podcast, Blood Origins, about how he funds conservation through his non-for-profit.
Students discussed the environmental benefits of responsible hunting with Dr Kroger and Mr Cooke, as well as habitat management, and community-driven conservation efforts.
The visit included an inspection of nesting boxes installed earlier this year, a joint project between H.O.P.E. (Hands-On Practical Education) students and Rushworth Field and Game members.
The boxes showed promising results, housing a ringtail possum, two baby galahs, and eastern rosella eggs.
Dr Kroger, who was in Australia for a few expos, told the students and the Field and Game group he had been following the Field and Game projects and had added the Wednesday morning working bee to his schedule to visit.
He later recorded an episode of his podcast at the Rushworth wetlands with Rushworth conservation officer Graeme Wall, exploring local hunting participation and environmental achievements.
The afternoon concluded with Field and Game members accompanying Dr Kroger and Cooke to the Corop wetlands, where they compared international and Australian land and water management strategies.