Marine Camp
A group of twenty-seven Year 10 students went to the Woodbridge Marine Centre recently to spend a week learning about the Marine life living in the D’entrecasteaux Channel. This is a part of the Animal Husbandry and Marine Studies elective.
Students stayed at the West
Winds Community Centre and
participated in a comprehensive four-day
program incorporating marine and foreshore ecology. Students went
out on the marine vessel RV Penghana to sites in and around the
Channel and collected and analysed data, using a variety of sampling
and measuring techniques. They learnt about the impact of
introduced pest species and the means of addressing these impacts.
They did some long line and recreational fishing, for some students this was the first time on a boat or fishing.
Students utilised robotic technology to design, build, test, and evaluate an underwater remote vehicle. Some students studied and sat for
their boat licenses. In the
evenings despite the bad weather, the group went to
the Woodbridge Jetty and fished for salmon and squid.
Here are some of the comments from students:
• ‘I enjoyed spending time with
friends while having fun on the boat.’
• ‘I really liked that I got a chance to
go fishing, even though I didn’t catch
anything it was fun to spend time
with friends laughing and freaking
out a bit if we got some nibbles on
the line.’
• ‘I really enjoyed the touch tank,
and it helped me learn about other
types of sea creatures I’d never
handled before or seen.’
• ‘I enjoyed going out on the boat
with my friends and talking to them about how interesting the
impact of humans is on the Marine Life in the Channel.’
• ‘The Marine Camp was really enjoyable because it was a great
time to learn about Marine Life.’
• ‘I enjoyed that we had the chance to go fishing and learn about Marine Life and that we got to spend time with friends.’
• ‘Sharing study time with my friends and teachers in the evening
brought us closer as a group.’
• ‘The food was just amazing – the best ever.’
• ‘Great time to get to know my friends and teachers better.’
Ms Jane Myers - Director of Science K-10
A Catholic School in the Salesian Tradition
