Academic portfolio

Eliza Dalziel and Claire Doherty, from St Monica's College, QLD, were awarded second place in the 2018 University of Sydney Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize – Secondary. 'Making A Splash' examines the important role that sea cucumbers play in protecting our coral reefs. Eliza and Claire assess the potential role of the species in raising calcium carbonate levels in these fragile ecosystems, which helps to rebuild reefs, increase nutrient recycling and counteract the harmful effects of climate change.

Sponsored by the University of Sydney, the Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize encourages students to communicate a scientific concept in a way that is accessible and entertaining to the public while painlessly increasing their science knowledge or, as prize patrons Dr Karl and Adam Spencer like to say, "Learn something without even noticing". It is intended to support budding young scientists across the nation, who will be our future leaders in research, discovery and communication.

Eliza Dalziel, Claire Doherty, Georgia Hannah and Anna Hardy, from St Monica's College, QLD, won the University of Sydney Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize – Secondary for their short film ‘Manure You Know’. In their film, the team explains the importance of dung beetles in our ecosystem. They investigate why the introduction of dung beetles has positively influenced farms on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland, and demonstrate how the belt transect method can be used to monitor dung beetle populations.

Sponsored by the University of Sydney, the Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize encourages students to communicate a scientific concept in a way that is accessible and entertaining to the public while painlessly increasing their science knowledge or, as prize patrons Dr Karl and Adam Spencer like to say, "Learn something without even noticing". It is intended to support budding young scientists across the nation, who will be our future leaders in research, discovery and communication.

Eliza Dalziel and Georgia Hannah, from St Monica's College, QLD, were awarded first place in the Science Teacher's Association Queensland (STAQ) 2017 Science Contest, Classified Collections Division 7 (Years 11-12). In their project, "Weeds of the Tablelands," Eliza and Georgia conducted a field study to collect and identify a variety of weeds which are major threats to the natural environment and livestock on the Atherton Tablelands, QLD. Their project aimed to educate and increase awareness surrounding this ongoing issue for farmers of the Tablelands.

Eliza and Georgia submitted their botanical collection with a high standard of preservation and presentation, alongside complete and accurate information pertaining to each specimen, as well as a log journal with descriptive and exact details of how and where each specimen was collected and the preservation methods used. In addition to this, they developed an interactive online classification scheme for public use for specimen identification.