For many of those who grew up in Western Australia over the last century, the WA Gould League evokes a childhood nostalgia. Often their first introduction to birds and wildlife was through their membership and attending school excursions or camps.
Established in 1939 as a not-for-profit non-government organisation at the behest of the Department of Education, the WA Gould League’s teaching and administrative staff has always been funded by State governments.
But after inspiring over 500,000 young Western Australians to care for our precious wildlife and environment, the WA Gould League’s Herdsman Lake Wildlife Centre may have ...
For many of those who grew up in Western Australia over the last century, the WA Gould League evokes a childhood nostalgia. Often their first introduction to birds and wildlife was through their membership and attending school excursions or camps.
Established in 1939 as a not-for-profit non-government organisation at the behest of the Department of Education, the WA Gould League’s teaching and administrative staff has always been funded by State governments.
But after inspiring over 500,000 young Western Australians to care for our precious wildlife and environment, the WA Gould League’s Herdsman Lake Wildlife Centre may have to close its doors.
With its unique combination of science, culture, history, and Aboriginal knowledge, the Herdsman Lake Wildlife Centre, established in 1984, has supported teachers to raise generations of Western Australians to be passionate caretakers of our unique wildlife, as well as the coastal wetlands and landscapes that we share with them.
The Wildlife Centre provides education on the impacts of climate change on wetlands and water use, and highlights the critical importance of hands-on experiential learning in understanding and appreciating the State’s natural history.
But unless we stop State Government funding cuts of $165,000, our young people could lose the Herdsman Lake Wildlife Centre by the end of this year - and in doing so, lose access to an incredible depth of understanding and appreciation of our Western Australian wildlife and environment.
The Wildlife Centre was funded by public donations to build an education centre, which was gifted to the government to be run by WA Gould League. Members of the public paid for the building, so the government's contribution should be to fund the staff. It is not too much to ask given that the management committee of the Gould League are all volunteers and the Wildlife Centre raises all of its running costs.
All the work that has gone into this centre over the past three decades would be lost if the WA Gould League and the Herdsman Lake Wildlife Centre were to close.
If the Herdsman Lake Wildlife Centre were to close we would never get it back again, and the biggest losers would be our young people.
We cannot allow this to happen.
Please ask Education Minister Sue Ellery to restore State Government funding in full for Herdsman Lake Wildlife Centre, so that it can continue to inspire generations of Western Australians to care for our wildlife and environment.