An initiative developed by a consortium called Earth Science Western Australia (ESWA) to attract the next generation of geoscientists into the petroleum and mining industries was launched by Federal Education, Science and Training Minister, Julie Bishop, in Perth recently.

Bishop said petroleum and mineral industries had generated more than $43.2 billion this year but in Western Australia, the national hub for these industries, there were only five schools teaching geology and only 44 students studied the subject in 2005. “We have seen across the country a decline in the number of students who are taking on science courses at secondary schools”, she said.

Bishop said students need to be engaged, enthused and inspired by a career in the earth sciences industry at an early age, even during their primary school years. “ESWA will raise the profile of geoscience and will ensure that the geosciences and the sciences have a profile in our secondary schools”, she said.

“The earth and environmental science course starting in 2007 is a step in the right direction. I hope that students are inspired not only to take up courses in science but particularly in geoscience, it’s such a broad scientific area and has a wide range of applications.”

Bishop said the industry needed to support teachers and connect them with geoscience research, experimentation and application. “This gives science teachers relevant and applicable techniques for teaching science”, she said.

Chairman, Dr Jim Ross, said ESWA, representing the University of Western Australia, Curtin University of Technology, CSIRO, the Geological Survey of WA and the WA Museum, had received $420,000 over three years from industry associations, mining and petroleum companies, and WA education institutions to fund a range of initiatives that have been developed this year.

These include an agreement with the Curriculum Council of WA to jointly fund a senior geoscientist to upgrade resource material distributed to schools, and the negotiation of an in-principle agreement with the University of WA and Curtin for a joint honours course starting next year. It has also established a joint research institute with some Chinese universities.

“Interest and awareness of geology in high schools in WA, the world’s leading mining and exploration province, is at a low ebb with only five schools currently teaching the TEE geology course” , Ross said.

“But now, through the generous support of the resource industry, professional organisations, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA, and the Science Teacher’s Association of WA, ESWA has been able to provide the grass roots support to reinvigorate teachers of science to provide engaging lessons in earth science.”

Ross said ESWA’s other main objectives were to facilitate collaborative tertiary geoscience teaching and research and market Perth and WA as an international centre of excellence in tertiary geoscience teaching, research and training.

Science teachers now have access to a CD of sequenced learning activities written specifically for the new earth science course. ESWA is also developing an extensive range of learning resources to ensure relevant learning for students, and is coordinating seminars for teachers to enrich their knowledge and skills in geoscience.

It is linking teachers with geoscience mentors and enhancing the value of field experience to students’ learning through assisting field trips. Earlier this year students from the Kent Street High School participated in a six-day trip to the Geraldton and Kalbarri region.

Federal Education, Science and Training Minister, Julie Bishop, with (left to right) Professor John De Laeter, Doctor Jim Ross, Louisa Ivey and Doctor Charles Butt at the launch of ESWA in Perth recently