Following our recent River Detectives PD, our Year 10 Geography class took their investigation of the Curdies estuary outdoors to learn more about the health of waterways in our region. During their field trip to the Curdies River at the trestle bridge near Timboon, Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CCMA) River Detectives Project Officer, Deirdre Murphy, and Debbie Dalziel, from the Curdies Valley Landcare Network asked students about their knowledge of the Curdies catchment and the impact of land use on water quality. Breaking into groups, the students then tested a water sample from the Curdies and compared this with a sample from the upper Curdies catchment near Cobden. Students compared water temperature, turbidity, pH, salinity, and reactive phosphorus (nutrient content) of the water and discussed their findings. Ensuing discussions included the impacts of change in nutrient levels in the Curdies catchment that can result in blue green algae blooms, poor water quality and fish deaths. Another group sorted and identified water bugs from the trestle bridge site and considered what happens to biodiversity when there is loss of habitat and what can be done to restore and improve waterway condition. This field trip enabled students to understand the ecological impacts of land use changes and it’s impact on potential water quality in our region. Thanks Deirdre and Debbie. Comments are closed.
|
Archives
April 2024
|