2026 Noosa Surf Festival

Blue Biosphere FREE Education Program

Tuesday 17 March 9.30am -11am

Noosa Main beach NWSR Marquee

As part of the Noosa Surf Festival and in collaboration with educational partners and The Noosa Biosphere Reserve Foundation we will be holding a morning of FREE educational workshops suitable for Ages 11 - 15 on Tuesday 17 March between 9.30 and 11am.

The curriculum linked program will provide students and teachers with information about our coastal marine systems and waterways. We will ALSO conduct a mini plastics clean up along our beaches.

Learn about our coastal ecosystem, longshore drift and how we manage sand movement son our beaches with the Noosa EEhub.

Explore the impacts of fishing on our marine ecosystems with Jarrah Small - The Biosphere Reserve’s youth board member and wildlife rescuer.

Design and create apiece of art for our pledge to their environment wall with renowned artist Yani Van Zyl.

Students will have the opportunity to undertake all activities in rotation. Limited spots available so contact us today.

CURRICULUM LINKAGES and OUTCOMES

Primary Fit: HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences)

Geography

Strands:

Knowledge and Understanding
Inquiry and Skills

Key links (Years 3–8 especially):

Human interaction with coastal environments
Sustainable management of places
Environmental challenges and community responses
Roles of individuals and groups in caring for places

Example content descriptions:

How people influence places and environments
Sustainable practices to protect environments
Community actions that support environmental sustainability

A surf festival with environmental actions (e.g. beach clean-ups, marine protection messaging) directly addresses human responsibility for coastal environments.

Science

Science as a Human Endeavour

How scientific knowledge informs environmental decision-making
Community action based on understanding ecosystems

Biological Sciences

Coastal and marine ecosystems
Human impacts on biodiversity
Conservation practices

Typical links (Years 4–9):

Living things depend on healthy environments
Human activities affect ecosystems
Actions that reduce environmental impact

Observing the beach environment and participating in environmental action strengthens real-world science application.

Health and Physical Education (HPE)

Personal, Social and Community Health

Community participation
Health benefits of outdoor and coastal activities
Understanding safe and respectful use of natural environments

Movement and Physical Activity

Surf culture and physical activity contexts
Outdoor and adventure activities

Surf festivals strongly align with active lifestyles, community wellbeing, and safe participation in outdoor environments.

Cross-Curriculum Priorities

Sustainability (very strong alignment) Sustainability and Aboriginal Perspectives

Systems thinking (coastal ecosystems)

Worldviews (caring for Country/Sea)
Futures thinking (protecting coastlines)
Action for sustainability (beach clean-ups, advocacy)

This excursion is an authentic sustainability action, not just learning about sustainability.

5. General Capabilities

The excursion supports multiple General Capabilities:

Critical and Creative Thinking – evaluating environmental issues and solutions
Ethical Understanding – responsibility to care for environments
Personal and Social Capability – teamwork, community engagement
Intercultural Understanding – if Indigenous perspectives on Sea Country are included
Literacy – interpreting signage, presentations, advocacy messages