“The entries were phenomenal,” Jess Fedorow education project officer of the department said. Schools were asked to learn about and teach others the dangers of red imported fire ants. She said Bundarra’s theatrical performance stood out for its creativity, parodying well known television show, Border Security.

The play followed Frederick the fire ant as he tried to sneak through border security to wreak havoc in the area. Bundarra Border Security were not easily fooled, and while Bella the black house ant, Whitney the white footed ant, Heidi honey pot and Kylie the coastal brown were all waved through, Frederick was stopped in his tracks. Admitting that “upsetting native environments” was his specialty, Frederick was denied entry to to Bundarra.

Inspired by a talk from ant expert, Dr Kirsti Abbott from the University of New England, teacher Pam Doak said it was great to see the students use their technical and creative skills to get the message across. Jess was also impressed by the accuracy of their information.

“It was all about communicating what they’ve learnt to their local community and their schools, so they did that really well,” she said. 

Inverell Public took their message to the radio waves, with Sophie Draycott and Kiralee Dines interviewed on GemFM. The girls talked about the dangers fire ants present to the Australian environment, how to spot one, and what to do if you’re bitten.

“We learnt heaps and we were surprised how much we knew about it and how much we learnt,” Sophie said. 

“Theirs was fantastic and they obviously got it out to a huge number of people really quickly, so that was really important,” Jess said. She said that although fire ants were believed to be eradicated from NSW, they remained a topical biosecurity threat.