Young scientists awarded for work

Margaret River Senior High School (MRSHS) student Indigo Dale has won a local poster competition to raise awareness of the hydroacoustic station at Cape Leeuwin.

This sign is currently being printed by WA Transport and will be displayed at the Augusta Boat ramp from next week.

The Australian Safeguards and non-Proliferation Office (ASNO) of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra, specifically from the Nuclear Security and Security Branch reached out to Margaret River Senior High School in 2023.

“It was discovered that they needed to raise the profile of the underwater hydroacoustic cable that sits near the Augusta boat ramp at Cape Leeuwin,” MRSHS Science Teacher, Paul Chamberlain explained.

“This has all been hush-hush up until now.

“It’s a $40 million cable and the components of Cape Leeuwin’s hydroacoustic station form an extremely important part of the International Monitoring System of nuclear testing that has been in our area for the past 25 years.”

The 135 kilometre-long cable sits approximately 600m-1200m below sea level.

The station, HA1, helps detect underwater events, specifically nuclear weapons testing, and is the only hydroacoustic station in Australia.

“There are only 5 of these located in the world,” Mr Chamberlain said.

The information received at the station is sent to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Born Treaty Office (CTBTO) in Vienna.

Doctor Robert Floyd, Executive Secretary of the CTBTO, paid a recent visit to Augusta to announce the winner of the poster competition.

“This amazing hydroacoustic technology at work at Cape Leeuwin Australia is a vital component of our International Monitoring System, listening to detect underwater nuclear explosions,” he said.

“Congrats to students of Margaret River Senior High School and their teacher Paul Chamberlain, for fantastic contributions to the HA1 poster competition on risks of nuclear testing.

“The winning poster will be installed at Cape Leeuwin as a lasting reminder of the community’s contribution to a world without nuclear tests.

“Also thanks to ASNO and WA Transport for making this happen.”

Mr Chamberlain said eight MRSHS students had recently been selected to be part of the Minister’s Innovation Challenge at the time ASNO reached out to the school.

“The challenge provided students with valuable experiences and exposed them to the world of work through engagement with industry mentors,” he said.

The five week challenge involved 30 WA public schools, with students needing to identify a local problem, ideate further problems and solutions, define the customer, conduct market validation, prototype, pitch and film.

Once a week they met with a mentor Ashleigh Small, Innovation Specialist for Royal Perth Hospital.

Mr Chamberlain said thanks to ASNO, those eight students were able to pose the question – how might we raise awareness to help protect an underwater cable and hydroacoustic station at Cape Leeuwin to help stop any damage by boats to the cable and components?

“It was discovered 100 percent of people surveyed in our region were not aware of the HA1 station at Cape Leeuwin,” he said.

“So the solution they came up with was a poster competition between local high school students to create a sign to be displayed at the Augusta Boat ramp.”

Almost a year later, officials including Dr Floyd, arrived in town to celebrate the students’ work.

“This was a great opportunity for some real-life science application; where we explored radioactive isotopes, atomic structure and the serious nature of nuclear weapons, right here on our doorstep.

“I really must thank all involved, the students and science teachers for getting on board, but most importantly I would like to thank Jessica Kanikula from the Australian Safeguards and non-Proliferation Office and the CTBTO for helping make this event happen. I was so impressed with the high calibre of informative and aesthetic posters which were no doubt very difficult to judge!”

Mr Chamberlain praised the students who took part in the challenge.

“It provided an opportunity for students to develop their problem-solving, collaboration, and communication skills while addressing local problems. They not only addressed the problem, but came up with a solution that now impacts our local community.

“The students’ impressive range of solutions and market validation efforts demonstrate their creativity and dedication. The challenge also helped students develop key work capabilities that will benefit them in their future careers.”