On Monday 15 August year 10 students at the Exmouth District High School took part in two interactive science activities as part of National Science Week. The activities were hosted as part of the Ningaloo Outlook project, BHP Billiton’s five year strategic partnership with CSIRO.

In one session students had the opportunity to learn about the importance of 3D surveying, at the local pool. Student’s created their own version of CSIRO’s Autonomous Underwater Vehicle 'starbug’ with Styrofoam and GoPro cameras. Students took part in camera calibration; capturing the scene and building the model and analysis. Students even had the opportunity to drive starbug in the pool.

A second session saw students learning about how water quality factors can affect the health of coral reefs. The exercise concentrated on changes in water quality parameters that have the potential to impact the health of coral reefs. Students inspected coral samples and carried out tests to determine pH levels and the impact on the coral with different saline solutions.

Ray Denholm Exmouth District High School Principal attended the sessions and was impressed that the students were being exposed to the great work being done by the Ningaloo Outlook project team. “I can’t thank BHP Billiton and CSIRO enough. It is so important that the local kids get exposure to the research being done in the region, and we’re seeing great interest and engagement from these activities with the Ningaloo Outlook Project” he said.

To increase the ecological understanding of the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area’s deep and shallow reefs and the reef’s shark and turtle populations, BHP Billiton Petroleum and CSIRO have formed a strategic marine research partnership, Ningaloo Outlook. This Industry-Science Research Partnership is investing A$5.4 million over five years to gather new knowledge on the reef and its important ecological values.

Increasing our understanding of Ningaloo’s deep and shallow reefs and its iconic turtles, whale sharks and reef sharks will help improve knowledge and conservation outcomes for the important marine ecosystem.