X-ray spectromicroscopy is a powerful tool for addressing key questions in the environmental sciences due to its high spectral and spatial resolution. It has been used successfully for material research, biology and environmental studies, e.g. in the form of μ-X-ray fluorescence and spectromicroscopy with a spatial resolution of <100 nm. With the combination of high-resolution microscopy and spectroscopy it is possible to determine elemental composition as well as chemical speciation, and also identify trace elements to nm-resolution. Samples from soils and groundwater aquifers have been imaged to visualize the appearance of structures on the nm- and μm-scale. The effectof changing chemical conditions in an aqueous environment on the appearance of these structures has been imaged and evaluated. Clay dispersions, microhabitats and morphological effects of biologically-induced redox changes of humic substances have been imaged tomographically, conveying a detailed threedimensional presentation of the specimen structure. Using the spectromicroscopy potential, the distribution of organic and inorganic components, as well as different inorganic components, has been studied. Spectra were analysed for major chemical constituents and were used, for example, to assess differentsulphur species in an entire soil profile.

This article presents an evaluation of a new upper secondary Earth and Environmental Science (EES) course in Western Australia. Twenty-seven EES teachers were interviewed and 243 students were surveyed about the degree of difficulty, relevance and interest of EES topics in the course. The impact of the course on students’ views about EES topics was also explored. It was found that more than two thirds of the students chose to study EES because of personal interest. However, students perceived that some Earth science topics were difficult, boring or irrelevant. A lack of content knowledge from lower secondary science contributed to these perceptions. Nevertheless, teachers and students perceived that their understanding and attitudes towards environmental science topics such as climate change was improved. With the advent of a new Australian senior secondary science curriculum that includes EES, the implications of the findings for curriculum development and teacher professional development are discussed.

Operation Magpie was a citizen science project that involved the community in collecting data about magpies. This article describes one aspect of the project from an education perspective. The study began with a collaboration of teacher educators, environmental scientists and a local radio station. After an initial workshop with 75 teachers, three teacher educators met regularly with 13 primary teachers who each volunteered to plan and teach a unit of work on birds. Meeting regularly in focus groups, the teachers shared their pedagogical strategies that supported students to connect with their local environment. Findings include the importance of focused professional learning for teachers through ongoing, needs-based support during the planning and teaching of the unit, and the innovative ways that teachers approached the unit. One unexpected finding was that teachers tended to identify student learning in terms of the English curriculum rather than the science curriculum.