The Western Ground Parrot is critically endangered. With less than 150 of the enigmatic birds surviving today, it is only a heartbeat away from extinction. Very few people have ever seen a “Kyloring” – as the bird is known to local Noongar people. And surprisingly, many have never heard about this beautiful parrot which lives in remote heathlands on the South Coast of Western Australia.
The Friends of the Western Ground Parrot want more people to find out about our state’s rarest bird and the threats it faces. Together with literacy specialist and WA Government Environmental Education winner Caralyn Lagrange, they have developed a project for school children to participate in. The educational project, which aligns with the Australian curriculum, has been developed for students in Years 4-6 and Years 7-9. It encourages them to create a story involving Kyloring. The story can be factual or fictitious and can be presented in a short story, picture book or graphic novel format.
The Albany-based charity hopes that many teachers will use the project as part of their curriculum in the new school year. If students take up the challenge and create a story about Kyloring, they also have the chance to enter a story competition later this year. The winning entry in each category is awarded $250 and will be published in both print format and online.
For more details about the initiative, please visit the Saving Kyloring Stories website. The website provides information for both teachers, parents and students and includes curriculum notes and competition entry details as well as a wealth of information about Kyloring. This upcoming project is also supported by the Albany & Surrounds Feral Cat Working Group, BirdLife Western Australia, the Oyster Harbour Catchment Group and the State Natural Resource Management Program.