There are many fish in the sea, but it’s not every day people come face-to-face with the world’s biggest fish.
That is, of course, unless they work for Ecocean, a not-for-profit dedicated to monitoring and protecting whale sharks.
Since they began studying the whale shark population off Ningaloo in March 2014, more than 800 individuals have been identified, with the population monitored continuously for 17 years now, thanks to public interest and support.
A large part of Ecocean’s work focuses on education, and that is where Greenfields primary school comes in.
Ecocean’s program, “Race around the world”, allowed several schools, also including Foundation Christian College, Austin Cove Baptist College and Mandurah Baptist College, to tag and name their own whale shark, and then watch it migrate using a web feed of GPS data.
The photo-identification tags are used as global monitoring tools to help protect the species internationally and nationally.
Greenfields primary school’s year 5/6 teacher Nicky Mitchell was eager to pick up on the program, which integrates skills in maths, science, technology and English.
“The students were involved in science-based lessons and we were able to track our whale shark which we named ‘GPS’ from Ningaloo,” Ms Mitchell said.
However, seeing a dot on a screen is not quite as fun as getting to swim with the sharks, so Ms Mitchell and her colleagues organised for 30 students from year three to year six to travel to Ningaloo.
“We have been fundraising for the past year… the students will get to head to Ningaloo for a camping and swimming adventure” she said.
There they will participate in beach activities, snorkeling, glass-bottom boat trips, hear a guest speaker and of course swim with the whale sharks.
“It is a once in a lifetime experience for these children, some who have never been on a plane or away from their families,” Ms Mitchell said.
“We are very excited and proud of our little community for making our dream a reality.”
The students embark on their trip on Sunday June 5.