1. Briefly Summarise the Catalonia Protests Story

Episode 28 Questions for discussion 17th October 2017

Catalonia Protests 1. Briefly summarise the Catalonia Protests story. 2. Why have people been protesting in Catalonia recently? 3. Which country is Catalonia part of? 4. About how many people live in Catalonia? 5. What is the capital? 6. Who has ultimate control over how Catalonia is run? 7. When did Catalonia officially become part of Spain? 8. A big public vote was held to decide whether or not it should be an ______country. 9. What does the Spanish government and the European Union want to happen? 10. What do you understand more clearly after watching the BTN story?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

Happiness Survey Results 2017 1. Discuss the BTN story with another student. Record the main points of your discussion. 2. According to this year’s BTN Happiness Survey, nearly ______of young people said they feel happy most of the time. 3. What worries young people the most? 4. What other issues are they worried about? 5. Why do you think body image is a big issue for young people? 6. Why is it important to talk to someone if you’re feeling worried or sad? 7. Who do you talk to if you feel that way? 8. What was surprising about the survey results? 9. How did this story make you feel? 10. What makes you happy?

Sleep Problems 1. Hold a class discussion about BTN story. What were the main points? 2. Why is it important to get the right amount of sleep? 3. The BTN Happiness Survey found that kids who got the right amount of sleep were ______as likely to feel happy. 4. About how much sleep should you be getting every night? 5. What percentage of kids surveyed sleep with a phone or tablet near their bed? a. 27%

©ABC 2017 b. 37% c. 47% 6. Studies have found that the ______devices emit can make it hard to fall asleep. 7. What are some reasons why kids aren’t getting enough sleep? 8. How much sleep do you get each night? 9. How do you feel when you don’t get enough sleep? 10. What can you do to get a better night’s sleep?

Check out the Sleep Problems resource on the Teachers page Do the quiz on the BTN website

Space Conference 1. What does Onesimus love about space? 2. The International Astronautical Congress had representatives from ______agencies from around the world. 3. Finish the following sentence: It was announced at the conference that Australia is going to have its own… 4. What areas of space exploration has Australia been involved in recently? 5. Who helped Onesimus in the flight simulator? 6. Who did Ness interview at the conference? 7. What was a favourite moment for the head of NASA? 8. What would the head of NASA like to see happen in his lifetime? 9. What is the study of space called? a. Astrology b. Astronomy c. Geology 10. What did you learn watching the BTN story?

Native Animal Detectives 1. What did the BTN story explain? 2. What are the students in the story trying to catch? 3. They are hoping to find out more about native animal ______in the area. 4. How do the students try to trap the animals? 5. What is the secret ingredient in the oat and honey balls? 6. How do the traps work? 7. Why is it important to find the right spot for the trap? 8. What other signs are there that animals are living in the area? 9. Illustrate an aspect of the story. 10. What did you like about the BTN story?

Check out the Bush Detectives resource on the Teachers page

©ABC 2017 Teacher Resource Sleep

1. Hold a class discussion about BTN story. What were the main Students will examine their own sleep patterns by conducting a sleep study. points? 2. Why is it important to get the right amount of sleep? 3. The BTN Happiness Survey found that kids who got the right amount of sleep were ______as likely to feel happy. 4. About how much sleep should you be getting every night? Health and Physical Education – Years 3 & 4 5. What percentage of kids surveyed sleep with a phone or tablet near Identify and practise strategies to promote health, safety and wellbeing their bed? a. 27% Discuss and interpret health information and b. 37% messages in the media and internet

c. 47% Health and Physical Education – Years 5 & 6 6. Studies have found that the ______devices emit can make it Plan and practise strategies to hard to fall asleep. promote health, safety and wellbeing 7. What are some reasons why kids aren’t getting enough sleep? 8. How much sleep do you get each night? 9. How do you feel when you don’t get enough sleep? 10. What can you do to get a better night’s sleep?

Class Discussion Discuss the BTN Sleep Problems story as a class, using the following questions to guide the discussion. Record the main points on a mind map with ‘sleep’ at the centre.

 Why do we sleep?  How does lack of sleep make you feel?  How much sleep do you think you need each day?  Why is it important for kids to get enough sleep?  What things affect your sleep?  What are good and bad activities to do before bedtime?

©ABC 2017 Students watch this BTN Investigates Why do we sleep? then answer the following questions:

1. Why do we need sleep? 2. What do studies show about animals that are sleep deprived? 3. Why are sleeping animals at risk? 4. What happens to a dolphin’s brain when they sleep? 5. What does the prefrontal cortex do? 6. How can a lack of sleep affect a person’s learning? 7. Finish the following sentence: Research shows that while we sleep, our brains are… 8. How do you feel when you get a bad night’s sleep?

The BTN Kids Sleep story looks at the impact devices like tablets and phones have on our sleep. Watch the story and then answer the following questions:

1. What did a study find about using electronic devices before going to bed? 2. The light emitted from electronic devices can affect how well we sleep. True or false? 3. When it gets dark, your brain clock decides it is sleep time and tells another part of your body to release what chemical? 4. If we don’t get enough sleep it can affect our... 5. What can we do to get a better night’s sleep? 6. Experts say that turning off screens at least an hour before going to bed is a good idea. True or false?

Weekly Sleep Diary Students will keep a sleep diary over the period of a week to monitor their sleep habits. They will record data every day using the following table.

Time I went to sleep Time I woke up Number of hours How I felt when I woke up asleep Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Students will calculate the average time they spend asleep each night (using the data collected over the one- week period). Compare the amount of sleep they get to someone else in the class then compare the results

©ABC 2017 against the recommended sleep required for kids their age. Check the Sleep Health Foundation website for the recommendations.

Reflective writing The journal provides the opportunity for students to reflect on their own learning. Provide regular opportunities for students to write individual journal entries to reflect on the following questions:

 What happened during this sleep study?  What did I learn?  What else could I have done?  What would I do differently next time?

Students will investigate in more depth some questions they have about sleep.

Define: What do I want to know?

Key questions to research Students can choose one or more of the following questions or come up with their own:  What does our body continue to do while we are asleep?  What health problems can a lack of sleep cause?  To what extent can technology affect a person’s sleep?

Locate: Where do I find the information? What resources will help answer my questions? Discuss with students what a reliable source is.

Select: What information is important for the investigation? Students may need support to sort through and select relevant information.

Organise: How do I make sense of the information? Students can organise their research by creating main headings from their questions. Write each heading on a separate piece of paper. Record the information found for each question.

Present: How do we let others know about this information? Students decide on the best way to present the information. Possibilities could include:  Create an infographic using Canva  Prezi presentation  Glogster

Evaluate: What have I learnt? Students reflect on what they have learnt and respond to the following.  What I learned...  What I found surprising...

BTN – Kids Sleep http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3809197.htm

BTN – Why do we sleep? http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4633222.htm

©ABC 2017 Child and Youth Health – Sleep – are you getting enough? http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=152&id=1771

Kids Helpline – Sleep https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/tips/lets-talk-about-sleep/

©ABC 2017 Episode 28 Teacher Resource 17th October 2017 Bush Detectives

Students will explore and investigate a 1. What did the BTN story explain? natural habitat and the animals which call it 2. What are the students in the story trying to catch? home. 3. They are hoping to find out more about native animal ______in the area. 4. How do the students try to trap the animals? 5. What is the secret ingredient in the oat and honey balls? 6. How do the traps work? Science – Year 4 Living things have life cycles. 7. Why is it important to find the right spot for the trap? 8. What other signs are there that animals are living in the area? Living things, including plants and animals, depend on each other and the environment 9. Illustrate an aspect of the story. to survive. 10. What did you like about the BTN story? Science – Year 5 Living things have structural features and adaptations that help them to survive in their environment.

Science – Year 6 The growth and survival of living things are What do you see, think and wonder? affected by the physical conditions of their After watching the BTN Bush Detectives story, students will respond to the environment. following questions: Science – Year 7 Interactions between organisms, including - What did you SEE in this video? the effects of human activities can be - What do you THINK about what you saw in this video? represented by food chains and food webs - What did you LEARN from this story? - What was SURPRISING about this story?

Students will then:  Think of a question they would like to ask the bush detectives or the ecologist featured in the story.  Leave a message in the comments section on the BTN Bush Detectives story page.  Finish one or more of the following sentences: o A habitat is a place where animals like to live because… o A trap is used to… o We can help keep animal’s habitats safe by…

©ABC 2017 Investigation Provide students with the opportunity to think and behave like scientists. In this activity students will be given the mission to explore a natural habitat in their local area and document what they find. Use the following as a guide. Students may work individually or in small groups.

Plan Students will plan an excursion to a local nature reserve or botanic gardens. Alternatively, explore the habitat in your school yard. Students will need to write a list of tools they may need for the investigation, for example: paper and paper for taking notes, camera, audio recorder, binoculars and magnifying glass. Students will predict what animals they might see and find. Create your own bush detective badges.

Explore Students will visit the habitat and carry out an exploration of the area. Students will choose a spot in the environment to sit comfortably and observe what is around them. The following list includes a few methods for students to use in their investigation: sight, sound, smell, touch, movement or shape. Consider exploring the habitat from different angles, closeup or far away. Look and listen for evidence that animals live in the area, for example, tracks or scats. Refer to this Scat Identification Guide for tips.

Collect Students will collect as much data as they can and record what they find. Students may write notes, sketch what they see or collect objects (respecting the environment) to help in their investigation. Students may want to record what they see with a stills or video camera. Consider drawing a map of the area, adding trees, bodies of water or tracks and then use this map to plot your findings. Students will identify and describe some features of the habitat and then draw a sketch of the habitat.

Share Students will return to the classroom and share/compare their findings.

Analyse Students will analyse their findings and write a short summary of their investigation. Students will respond to the following questions:  Did you find any native animals during your investigation? If yes, identify and describe what you found. If you didn’t see any animals did you find any evidence that animals live in the area? Explain.  Did you find any introduced animals? What is the difference between native and introduced animals?  How could you help protect this habitat?

Reflect Students will reflect on the investigation by responding to one or more of the following questions:  What did you enjoy about this investigation?  What did you find surprising?  What would you do differently next time?

©ABC 2017 Research Project Students will imagine they are ecologists exploring the life found in their school yard or local area.

 As a class identify animals that can be found in your local area (this could be the school yard, botanic gardens or nature reserve). Make a list on your class whiteboard.  Students will choose one of the listed animals to investigate further and create a Creature Feature. Students will use a range of sources to find their information, including the internet, newspapers and books. Students will use the Creature Feature worksheet to organise and present their information.  Display the student’s research and drawings around the classroom or make a book for the class library.  Students will share their research with the school by creating species’ posters for animals that live in and around their school.

QuestaGame In the BTN Citizen Science Kids story the kids submitted their animal sightings through QuestaGame. Students can download the app then discover and help preserve species by taking photos and submitting them. They’ll score gold for every sighting and extra gold if they can find something rare or interesting. The information is shared with CSIRO’s Atlas of Living Australia and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility which helps researchers understand how we can protect biodiversity.

©ABC 2017 ABC News – Bush detectives help save the environment http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2017-09-25/bush-detectives-help-save-the-environment/8974684

Cool Australia – Scat Identification https://coolaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Scat-identification-sheet.pdf

BTN – Protecting Desert Animals http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4685670.htm

BTN – Koala Tracker http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4455912.htm

©ABC 2017 BTN: Episode 28 Transcript 17/10/17

Hi, I'm Nathan and welcome back for another term of BTN!

Coming up today:

 Last term you told us when you are at your happiest and when you're not in the BTN Happiness Survey.

 Today we'll reveal what you told us and how many of you took part.

 Plus, Rookie Reporter Ness will take you around the Space Congress held in Australia over the holidays.

Catalonia Protests Reporter: Jack Evans

INTRO: But first. We're taking you to Spain where life has been a bit tricky lately. You see recently, there have been big protests and even violence in the country because one region, Catalonia is seriously considering breaking away from the rest. Some people there want to stay, others want to leave. Here's the background you need to know.

This is Spain. It's known for its architecture, its festivals, its flamenco dancing and its food. And this has pretty much been its shape for about 900 years. But what if the map of Spain were to change? It's something that Spaniards have been seriously considering over the past few weeks as a debate has raged over whether one part of it should be allowed to leave.

Catalonia is a region located in the north east of Spain. It's home to around 7.5 million people who have their own culture and speak their own language, Catalan. Oh, and its capital is Barcelona, home to one of the best soccer teams on earth, FC Barcelona. The region of Catalonia has its own government with its own President and own parliament and it can make some decisions about how the region is run. But despite all that it's still a part of Spain and the Spanish Government has ultimate control of it. So now some people think it’s time Catalonia went its own way.

You see Catalonia used to be a country. But in 1714 it was conquered by King Phillip the 5th and officially became a part of Spain. Since then, Catalonia has been allowed to be self-govern but not allowed to leave. In the past there have been several attempts to claim back independence and earlier this month Catalonia's Government held a big public vote to decide whether or not it should push to become an independent country again. Many voted yes.

I am Catalan and I want Catalan to be an independent country.

Some voted no.

©ABC 2017 GRAB: We don't want Spain to separate, we want to be Spanish we don't want them to take that away from us.

The Spanish Government is determined that Catalonia should stay. Which some people say is because it is one of Spain's richest regions and accounts for a 5th of Spain's economy. So, the Spanish Government sent police officers in to try to stop the independence vote from happening which caused huge protests and violence.

I've seen like loads of people like with their hands up and saying they wanted to have democracy and then police men hurting people it wasn't normal cause police are meant to be helping you not hurting you.

The President of Catalonia says he wants to work with Spain to sort out this conflict. But the Spanish Government has made it clear it won't allow independence no matter what and The European Union has backed them up saying it wouldn't recognise Catalonia as a country either. It all sounds like a bit of a stalemate. So what now? Well both sides are talking but neither is willing to back down yet. Many are hoping a solution is found though to stop more violence from breaking out in this beautiful part of the world.

Ask a Reporter

Have you got a question about Spain? Ask me live on Friday during Ask a Reporter!

Head to our website for all the details. Did You Know?

Did you know? Spain's national anthem is really easy to remember, because it has no words!

It's one of only four anthems in the world with no official lyrics.

This Week in News

Some of the most destructive wildfires in California's history are sweeping the US state. Since the blazes began about a week ago, more than 5 and-a-half thousand homes and businesses have been destroyed.

Dry, gusty conditions have fuelled the fires and are making things difficult for firefighting crews working around the clock.

Most kids don't usually get a say in how their school is run, but that's something the Victorian Government now wants to change.

It's just announced that in all public high schools, students will soon be given a spot on the council.

©ABC 2017 The state Government says students should be allowed to have a say on what happens at their school just like parents and teachers.

The 2017 Solar Challenge has wrapped up and for the seventh time Nuon Solar from the Netherlands was crowned the winner with an average speed of more than 80 kilometres an hour.

The five-day race down the centre of Australia, from Darwin to Adelaide, showcases the speed and efficiency of different solar cars from around the world.

Team Arrow from Queensland was the first Aussie car over the line.

These are some of the winning snaps from this year's National Geographic Nature Photograph of the Year competition.

This amazing shot of an octopus feasting on spider crabs was the overall winner and the prize for the lucky photographer? A trip to Antarctica!

Sticking with nature, here’s a panda party which was recently held in China.

All up 42 giant panda cubs have been born in this year including 15 pairs of twins.

It’s the biggest number born since the country’s breeding program began.

And, a group of Peruvian pastry chefs have broken a world record for the world's largest dark chocolate bar with nuts!

The bar was 7 metres long, 3 metres wide and contained more than 900 kilograms of cocoa. It took about eight hours to make and I hope they’re willing to share!

Happiness Survey Results 2017 Reporter: Ruby Cornish

INTRO: Okay next up. You, our BTN audience, were big news over the holidays with the release of the results from our Happiness Survey last term. 46,974 of you responded smashing the record for a survey of its type. So, on behalf of the whole team, I want to thank all of you and your teachers for taking the time to share your thoughts. But what did you tell us? Over the next two stories we'll hold up a mirror and let you take a look. The first topic is when you are at your happiest and when you're not.

According to this year's BTN Happiness survey, young people in Australia have a lot to smile about.

Nearly two thirds of you told us you feel happy lots of the time, and the things most likely to make you feel that way are your family and friends.

©ABC 2017 DANICA: I do lots of things that make me happy such as hanging out with friends, hanging out with family. I like to dance a lot as well.

Other things that put a smile on your dial include being outside in nature, and playing sport. But our survey also shows that feeling down is pretty common too. About three out of four kids feel sad, scared or worried at least some of the time, and the biggest thing bothering you is the future.

STEPH: I think a lot of kids worry about the future because it's unknown. It's something that we see changing a lot. It's not very certain, it's not planned out so it's something we can't control as well.

You also often worry about issues with friends and family, and bullying. Almost two thirds of kids aged 8 to 12 worry about their body, and about a quarter would like to change it.

DANICA: I think they just want to change themselves to look like what more society would think that’s acceptable and all.

STEPH: There's a lot of pressure on the way that you should look and how your body image should be. I think that mainly comes from social media.

ALANA: Even though people try to say 'be unique' there’s still people who are trying to be like 'look this way and be this way’.

Thankfully, there are some ways you can combat the blues. One of the easiest is having a chat with a friend or family member. Most of you chat to your parents when you have a problem. Girls are more likely than boys to talk to their friends.

BEN: I’d usually go to my mum first for advice because I see her as the wise one. DANICA: I like talking to both my parents and my family, my friends. They're all just really supportive of me.

But one in four of you told us you don't talk to anyone about your troubles. STEPH: I feel like it's because they feel like they're embarrassed and they have no one to talk to about that sort of thing.

DANICA: I think it's because they're a bit scared of what the outcome might be when they talk to someone. JAYDEN: I think some people like to bottle their feelings up because they're scared that people are going to judge them.

If that sounds like you, it's worth trying to speak up, because the numbers tell us that if you do you're likely to be happier!

BEN: I've bottled it up myself but I find that that’s not really the way to go.

JAYDEN: It feels a lot better once you've kind of told someone about your issues and that it's out there and they can talk to you and work through ways to get over the problem.

©ABC 2017 Sleep Problems Reporter: Jack Evans

INTRO: Sleep was also revealed as one of the factors affecting your happiness in our survey. But as you told us in the data, there are a lot of different things stopping you from getting enough. Take a look.

Ahh sleep, a time to shut off and catch some z's. Humans spend nearly a third of their life sleeping and for a good reason. While you sleep your brain has a chance to rest and store all the new information you have learnt that day. It's also when human growth hormone is released from our brain. Which helps our bodies to grow, repair damage and build muscle.

KID: C'mon I'm trying to sleep.

Reporter: Sorry!

Getting the right amount of sleep which for your guys is between 9 and 10 hours is pretty important. In fact, this year's Happiness Survey found that kids who get the recommended amount of sleep each night were twice as likely to feel happy a lot of the time. But it also found some of you are missing out. While most of you go to bed between 8 and 9pm, some aren't getting to bed until after 10pm and others not until after 11pm. Combine that with the fact that most of you get up between 6 and 7 in the morning and you're looking at a lot of kids missing 1, 2, even 3 hours sleep every night. But it also revealed a couple of possible reasons. The first are these things; phones and tablets. 47% of you sleep with one of these devices within arm’s reach most of the week and that 30% of you said that a device stopped you from getting enough sleep at least some of the week. That could be because of things like notifications that could wake you up in the middle of the night and encourage you to respond for fear of missing out. But studies have also found that the light these devices emit can actually make it harder to fall asleep too. But there could be a more serious reason some kids are missing sleep. Some kids said they didn't feel safe at home, at school or in their neighbourhood a lot of the time and many of those kids reported not getting enough sleep too. If you told us you feel like this, make sure you talk to a parent, a teacher or a friend about it soon. Or you can call these guys.

But if it's just this thing stopping you sleeping, there are a few simple things you can do right now. Like switching on Do Not Disturb, turning off all screens an hour before hitting the sack and swapping the tablet for a book. And if you keep these things in mind not only will you get a better night’s sleep but you'll be happier and healthier too.

Space Conference

Reporter: Onesimus

INTRO: Over the holidays, Adelaide hosted the International Astronautical Congress, a meeting of the world's top minds in the field of space. And during the week, some big announcements were made. We sent Rookie Reporter Ness along to give you a taste of the action.

©ABC 2017 My name is Onesimus and for as long as I can remember I've been fascinated by astronomy.

When it comes to space, I really love the way how big it is and how much there is to learn out there, so I was really excited when my home city became the centre of the astronautical universe. Well, technically everywhere is the centre of the universe, it's like the outside of a balloon so it doesn't really have a centre but anyway. Space experts from all over the world were in Adelaide for the International Astronautical Congress!

Here we have the Mars Rover just going casually around the Astronautical Congress

It started off with some really exciting news!

SIMON BIRMINGHAM: We will commit to establish an Australian National Space Agency.

Just announced that Australia's going to have its own space agency! it's going to be a breakthrough for the new generation being able to see there’s actually somewhere to go with space and you’re able to do it now.

Australia already has a massive history in space exploration but here I found out some cool things that we've been doing lately. Like creating 3D maps to help robots walk on Mars or designing giant lasers to knock space junk out of orbit!

There's been a lot of focus on kids here and making sure we have the right skills for future space missions.

CHRIS FERGUSON: If you follow my directions, it's first time docking guaranteed! It’s that easy!

I even got to see how the next generation of astronauts are being trained. Former NASA astronaut, Chris Ferguson showed me how to dock a Starliner at the ISS

CHRIS FERGUSON: Alright, future astronauts of the world unite! Ness, I wish you the best of luck in your career. I know that you're an amateur astronomer and that's how you developed a love for space. Very important, right, keep that up! Good job Ness!

I thought meeting an astronaut was pretty impressive and I had another big interview to come.

Hi guys, I’m about to meet Robert Lightfoot. He is the acting administrator of NASA, which means he’s the head of the whole organisation. He’s been working there for 28 years and I’m super excited to meet him!

Hello Robert,

ROBERT LIGHTFOOT, NASA: How are you Ness?

ROBERT LIGHTFOOT, NASA: good to meet you!

©ABC 2017 It’s quite an honour to meet you here. The first question is: which project is your favourite; which mission, which discoveries are your best ones?

ROBERT LIGHTFOOT, NASA: You’re going to make me pick one, huh? Alright, well, let me think about that a minute. You know, probably the one I had the most fun doing, my early career, I was a space shuttle main engine test conductor.

ROBERT LIGHTFOOT, NASA: Being in the control room when Curiosity landed on Mars and we got our first pictures back, was just a phenomenal feeling. I mean I'm getting goose bumps as I sit here and think about that feeling I had that night when we confirmed we actually landed on Mars with Curiosity.

So, if you had unlimited money and government approval for any project, what would be your next big thing that you do?

ROBERT LIGHTFOOT, NASA: I would love to see us put boots on Mars. I think that would be the, in my lifetime, that would probably be the greatest thing we could do. On top of that, when I think about what we’re trying to do in science, we’re trying to determine ‘is there life somewhere else?’ right? And if we could discover and confirm life somewhere else, I think that would be what I call a civilisation level impact.

Hope to see some more big questions solved in the future as you leading NASA and thanks Robert for being here today.

ROBERT LIGHTFOOT, NASA: Alright Ness, good luck in your studies and come join us one day in this agency

This whole experience has been incredible. It's made me even more passionate about space and all the amazing things my generation will be a part of.

Okay time for a quiz now.

How far away is Mars?

1.6 million km

21.6 million km

54.6 million km

The answer, Mars is 54.6 million kays away

The Diamonds have won the Constellation Cup for the sixth year in a row.

In the final game, Australia beat New Zealand 58 to 42 in Sydney on the weekend.

The win made it a clean series sweep for the Diamonds.

The Socceroos are gearing up to take on Honduras after FIFA confirmed the schedule for its World Cup play-off.

The do or die games will be played on November 10th and 15th with the Aussies travelling to Honduras for the first leg.

The winner will secure a place at the World Cup in Russia next year.

And it was a dream come true for Nathan Walker who made history last weekend as the first Australian to play in Americas National Hockey League with the Washington Capitals.

NATHAN: It was incredible, I mean, to get to skate on the ice with those guys and get the NHL game in. It was really special.

His team took a 6 - 1 win over the Montreal Canadians with his family in the stands cheering him on.

It was a dream come true just sitting in the stands. I still get emotional now over it, seeing him skate out onto the ice and the announcer saying its Nathan Walker the first Australian to be in the NHL was just tremendous.

Bush Detectives

Reporter: Ruby Cornish

INTRO: Finally today, Australia has a lot of awesome native wildlife that we want to protect. But to do that effectively, researchers need to keep track of how many there actually are in the wild. Recently, some distance education students tried to hold their own population count. But as they found out, it can be trickier than it looks.

To successfully trap a wild animal, there are careful instructions that need to be followed. As you can see, I've decided to ignore all of them.

RUBY: Perfect! Today I'm going to catch, whatever lives around here and eat lollipops.

Hmm, good luck with that Rubes. Meanwhile, at Carnarvon Station Reserve in remote Queensland, armed with big hats and binoculars, these country kids are going about catching animals the proper way. Spending a couple of days as bush detectives.

ANTON: A bush detective is someone that goes out and tracks little mammals by using their poo, their tracks.

©ABC 2017 They're hoping to safely and carefully catch a critter or two to help calculate native animal populations in the area. BRODY: We're going out to trap some small mammals.

And Alison the ecologist is showing them the ropes.

ALISON: We can look at the shape, the size, the colour.

She studies plants and animals, and how they interact. But catching an animal is pretty tricky work. First, to tempt a hungry possum, or bush mouse, these detectives make some delicious oat and honey balls with a secret ingredient; anchovies! They're tiny smelly fish, ew!. Then the balls get dropped into the box traps. When the animal crawls inside, in search of the sweet-smelling snack, the door closes, and traps it inside. Box traps are designed to catch animals without hurting them. Finding the right spot for a trap is important. It has to be placed somewhere an animal is likely to wander past.

ALISON: This is a great spot to set a trap, and what we would do is place it somewhere along the- either in the runway or alongside the log.

TOM: We're gonna put him on the walkway.

The next morning, it's back to the traps, but-

Nothing! they're all empty! Alison says that doesn't mean there are no animals living here, it just means these guys might have to search for evidence of them.

ALISON: We have to look for other signs that maybe the area is being used by an animal.

Like markings on trees, or animal poo on the ground. All in all, these kids have enjoyed the challenge.

BRODY: It's all about wildlife and what I wanna be when I grow up is a wildlife carer.

Closer

And that's it for today, but there is always more to see and do on our website. Thanks for joining me and I'll see you live on Friday for Ask a Reporter and then next week for more BTN.

©ABC 2017