THE “Bettong Buddies” program, to teach students about the importance of biodiversity and conservation, has launched in Canberra today.

The program, run by the Woodlands and Wetlands Trust and supported by Bank Australia, will take hand-raised endangered Eastern Bettongs into schools to educate and inspire students.

Jason Cummings, General Manager of Woodlands and Wetlands Trust said he hopes the program will build a cohort of young Australians who are actively engaged in biodiversity conservation.

“After the successful reintroduction of the Bettong into the sanctuary, we thought it would be an opportunity to extend the story to the broader community,” Jason said.

“Already our Sanctuary Ecologist is reporting the transformative experience of engaging students with bettongs, taking the students from ‘too cool for school’ to ‘wide-eyed and inspired’.

“The program will introduce students to the concepts of food webs, weeds, feral animals and the unique Australian biodiversity under threat.

Fiona Godfrey, the principal of Radford College in Bruce, the first school to adopt Bettong Buddies, said the school was thrilled to be the first to experience the program.

“Actually being able to see the nocturnal Bettong is very special and gives our students a hands-on and inspirational lesson in conservation and the importance of protecting endangered Australian species,” Fiona said.

For more information on the program visit bettongs.org