Plants for fish – School kids fund-raise to help a threatened species

Aquatic plants are vital for native small-bodied freshwater fish species, as habitat, a place to lay their eggs and for protection. But, plants also played a different important role in the conservation of the Southern Purple-spotted Gudgeon recently, with local schools running events to raise money for the species. St Peters College Year 2 students made plant stalls and sold plants to donate money for fish conservation, and Holy Family Catholic College students designed fish t-shirts to sell at their school. Both these schools, along with other schools in SA, are part of the Big Little Fish conservation project, and work with Sylvia Zukowski from NGT to help look after the Southern Purple-spotted Gudgeon.

In South Australia, these fish are critically endangered and historically, regionally extinct in the wild. However, through captive breeding programs, fish are now being released back into former wild sites to try to rebuild resilient, self-sustaining populations. You can read more about the project here, where school students released some Southern Purple-spotted Gudgeon into the River Torrens/ Karrawirra Parri in 2024 here.

The Southern Purple-spotted Gudgeon conservation program is managed by Nature Glenelg Trust, in partnership with the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board and Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board, and involves several schools across SA.