Students dig visit from a dingo

STUDENTS at Bacchus Marsh Grammar were greeted with a visit from an iconic Australian mammal early last month.

Grade two pupils at the school’s Maddingley campus got to meet a dingo named Pumbah courtesy of the Australian Dingo Foundation’s Dingo Whiskers program.

Students got to see the dingo up close up and personal with ADF volunteers presenting fun facts on the canine’s biology, habitat, history, and other topics.

The initiative’s education coordinator Eli Craig, who led the visit, said the program is all about teaching children the importance of one of Australia’s distinctive animals.

“I hope that the students come away with a sense of closeness to these animals, and the understanding that dingos are a keystone species,” he said.

“I hope it encourages them to get curious about the natural environment around them, and understand how much power they have to conserve it.”

Pumbah’s visit followed on from the students’ English learning for the school term, during which they studied Favel Parrett’s Wandi, based on the titular alpine dingo discovered in Wandiligong, who now resides at the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary and Research Centre.

Founded in 2007, the Dingo Whiskers program is aimed at undertaking dingo conservation, education, and research, with presentations delivered to schools and events within an hour from the sanctuary’s Toolern Vale location.

“The kids always leave the sessions with a sense of personal connection to the nature that we coexist with,” Mr Craig said.

“They love getting to see the real-life version of the animal they’ve been learning about, and are always eager to teach me about dingos.

“The kinship that is created between the students and the dingos boosts their understanding of how important these animals are.”