The aims of this project are to create a safe place for girls to be, to deliver student driven real time, hands-on, real world, learning with usable outcomes in an adult world. I believe the validity of what the girls are doing in this project has made them believe in themselves, that they can be agents for change and that they can and do have a future pathways in STEM.

The Blue Devils are fifteen smart, funny, determined girls. Our namesake is the Blue Devil Eryngium ovinum, rugged, resilient and beautiful reminding us always of its prickly presence on The Common when we kneel down to look at things. 

What is The Common? A remnant Western Volcanic Plains Grassland reserve at the edge of our town, home to several endangered flora species.

Working together with naturalists and scientists from Ballarat Environment Network on a three year study of the endangered Spiny Rice Flower (Pimelea spinescens). The girls have learnt about the consequences of single species loss to biodiversity and are determined to address this in whatever way they can.

They have their own quadrant to monitor on a quarterly basis for the duration of the project. The students work through transects of The Common to locate, identify, measure, determine gender, count, tag, record and GPS locate individual Pimelea plants. 

As well the girls are building an augmented reality website, https://skiptonbluedevils.weebly.com/ that allows visitors to The Common to scan 3-D printed QR codes installed next to plants linking to photograph sets showing the lifecycle of that plant, information including facts, distribution, conservation status and indigenous usage of the plants.

What next, the girls have a list of ideas for future actions/projects they would like to implement on The Common including guided tours, harvest and propagation of seed for planting projects, an art show and exploring how indigenous people used The Common and the flora and fauna it contains.