Travelling to Moyjil, Point Ritchie, John explained that indigenous people had camped at the mouth of the Hopkins River on old sand dunes as evidenced by middens and emphasized that it was one of Australia’s most precious sites due to an incredible dynamic of culture and natural history with it’s sequences of environmental, climatic, sea level and seismic changes, shifting coastline, volcano activity and cultural connection to country. Evidence from the middens suggests that this may be the site of Australia's earliest indigenous occupation with middens dating back almost 100,000 years. To capture the seismic changes, erosion and layers of sand and soil, John challenged the students to draw the cliff face as a record of the story of Moyjil. At the Hopkins River mouth, Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority (GHCMA) Waterways Officer, Jarred Obst, described his role in protecting estuaries, where the river meets the sea, by managing the health and ecology of regional waterways for fish and vegetation. He explained that the estuary was over 6,000 years old and this meeting place of river and sea was constantly changing with various species evolving to thrive in this mobile environment. Students used Jarred’s equipment to record the turbidity, pH, water quality, salinity and temperature as a way of recording the health of this vital waterway. What a wonderful way to learn, thanks John, Emma and Jarred.
After Parks Victoria Ranger, Emma Drake, acknowledged the traditional owners, our Year 8 science students were welcomed into an amazing and dynamic, ever evolving coastal environment at Murnane’s Bay, Childers Cove to learn about our region’s geology. Retired Deakin lecturer and environmental scientist, Dr John Sherwood, challenged the students to become geologists and to use their senses to study the differences in rocks and sediment to investigate the fossil rich layers of the Port Campbell limestone that was an old sea floor, originally stretching inland as far as Hamilton. Students leant that we were walking on a Miocene seabed that was formed 5-15 million years ago and that the browner layers of cliff were old sand dunes that had solidified. John explained that the beach sand was biogenic, meaning that had a living origin and used hydrochloric acid to produce carbon dioxide gas to determine that the parts of the cliff were made of limestone, a rock made of calcium carbonate. Emma described the role of a Ranger; managing the coastal reserve, monitoring wildlife and the environment, protecting and repairing the park’s assets and educating visitors in what was an ever changing, fragile coastline. Students were surprised that the 12 Apostles site received over 3 million visitors a year and that sometimes the ranger’s role involved managing 16,000 people a day during the peak periods through our coastal reserve. Emma encouraged students, as locals, to respect the park and lead by example so that everyone can enjoy our region safely. Travelling to Moyjil, Point Ritchie, John explained that indigenous people had camped at the mouth of the Hopkins River on old sand dunes as evidenced by middens and emphasized that it was one of Australia’s most precious sites due to an incredible dynamic of culture and natural history with it’s sequences of environmental, climatic, sea level and seismic changes, shifting coastline, volcano activity and cultural connection to country. Evidence from the middens suggests that this may be the site of Australia's earliest indigenous occupation with middens dating back almost 100,000 years. To capture the seismic changes, erosion and layers of sand and soil, John challenged the students to draw the cliff face as a record of the story of Moyjil. At the Hopkins River mouth, Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority (GHCMA) Waterways Officer, Jarred Obst, described his role in protecting estuaries, where the river meets the sea, by managing the health and ecology of regional waterways for fish and vegetation. He explained that the estuary was over 6,000 years old and this meeting place of river and sea was constantly changing with various species evolving to thrive in this mobile environment. Students used Jarred’s equipment to record the turbidity, pH, water quality, salinity and temperature as a way of recording the health of this vital waterway. What a wonderful way to learn, thanks John, Emma and Jarred. Comments are closed.
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April 2024
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