PRIMARY school students from Armidale and the region are being used as scientists to learn more about the behaviour of ants in the Northern Tablelands.
The students are labelled “citizen scientists” as they do studies and conduct experiments on the local ant species.
The project is headed by Kirsti Abbott from the University of New England, who is a self-described “ant enthusiast”.
“The students respond really well to the responsibility,” Dr Abbott said.
“They really enjoy the hands-on experiments.”
Last week, students from Armidale City Public School made their regular trip out to the Thalgarrah Environmental Education Centre to conduct studies in the field.
Thalgarrah principal Matt McKenzie said the students enjoyed getting out of the classroom.
“There is a good number of ant species out here, which makes it the perfect place to conduct experiments,” he said.
Year 6 student Lucy Cook said they had learnt a lot about ants.
“We always learning something new about them,” she said.
