Cooloola Coastcare goes virtual
Cooloola Coastcare has been offering virtual events using the free Zoom web conferencing, and free training for members who want to learn how to be involved safely online. With many members in the highest risk categories, Coastcare management have taken the risks seriously and adjusted project fieldwork and meetings accordingly to keep everyone safe.
However, for National Science Week this year, Coastcare went to a whole new level. The Gympie STEM Hub organised the 2020 STEAMzone Science Festival in a 3D virtual world.
The 18 guest speakers at the all-day festival included dinosaur scientists from the Queensland Museum and University of Queensland, Science and Technology educators from Melbourne and Caloundra, a forensic scientist extracting DNA, and Gympie botanical artist, Zela Bissett, making paper from her permaculture garden.
Fungi, windfarms and desalination were explained using apps, photos and videos. Snakes were another interesting topic of a panel discussion, as were spiders discovered at the Cooloola BioBlitz.
But the cutest creature award definitely went to the baby marine turtles from our own Rainbow Beach. Coastcare President, Randy Orwin, delighted the audiences with the videos and photos of our green and loggerhead turtles nesting and hatching. The whole event was recorded and the presentations will soon be available online.
The Australian audience came from as far north as Cooktown and as far south as Melbourne and there were even participants from the UK and the USA. All attended in the form of an avatar, a cartoon-like character that represents the participant in the digital auditorium in the 3D virtual world.
A live concert in the evening with Australian-Fijian singer-songwriter and music producer, Andrea Kirwin, based on the Sunshine Coast completed a wonderful day of learning and networking. Andrea even composed an impromptu song for her first all-avatar audience.
