TWO Year 9 students from St Virgil’s College have been awarded category winners in the STEM MAD (Make a Difference) National Showcase, held in Melbourne last week.

Tadhg Morgan and Oscar Brewer, both 15, won the National Contribution to Wildlife Conservation category after winning the Tasmanian Showcase.

As a result of their extensive research, the students have already started to make change within their local community at Gould’s Lagoon, Granton.

The Glenorchy City Council is implementing the first aspect of their project, a protective fence and a wooden, sustainably sourced path surrounding the lagoon.

St Virgil’s College Head of Digital Technology and STEM Coordinator Bronwen Baume-Tarrant said she was particularly impressed with the pair’s dedication to complete the project in their own time.

“The quality and quantity of work Tadhg and Oscar have completed is incredible and is already having a positive impact upon the local wildlife,” Ms Baume-Tarrant said.

The Showcase, hosted by the Catholic Network Australia, is designed to acknowledge and promote STEM initiatives that address real-world problems.

Oscar said he was proud of watching this project as it was making a difference and creating some positive change to the wildlife near the college.

“We are very happy that our work has kick started some real change at Gould’s Lagoon,” said Oscar.
“To see our work and solutions taking shape and protecting and improving our local community has been very worthwhile.”

The second part of their project involves a ‘Speed Bump Baby Bird Tunnel’ to ensure the safe crossing of baby birds across the Main Road in Austins Ferry.