Catherine Shaw

So we have a professor from the local university from CSU comes down and is one of the judges.

One of the seniors from the birding club is a judge.

My husband's a bird and wildlife photographer, so he comes in as a judge.

It's a very serious business and there are prizes, bird nerd pins, and we do crown the bird calling champion every year.

We've had such cool calls.

I've got kids doing little penguins and kids doing brolgas and kids doing whistling calls that I would never imagine children and young people would have a crack at, but it's the most fun.

There's significance in knowing who you are, where you live and what happens in your area.

I don't know that there's much value in me at the nature school teaching children about cassowaries, for example.

If my students were at the beautiful little rainforest school on Mission Beach, great, that would be a species they need to know about.

But my students here, I want them to know the sound of a glossy black cockatoo.

Because when they're on their adventure day, they might hear one down in the bushland.

And unless I've taught them that call to listen out for, they might notice it, but they won't be able to recognize what it is.

But we've done the glossy black cockatoo call in our bird calling competition.

And I know that when my kids are out in the bush, they'll hear that sound and go, wait,

I know that call.

I've learned that one.

That's a special bird.

And we're noticing when that bird is in our area.

You know, learning about species isn't just for our own growth.

It's for the protection of the species that we share homes with.