Stage 4 Coastal Landscapes, Landforms and Water Field Trip
Either at Long Reef or North Narrabeen Beaches, students will learn to:
- GE4-2 Describe the processes that form and transform coastal environments.
- GE4-5 Discuss the management of environments for their sustainability.
- GE4-7 Select and use geographical tools to acquire geographic information.
Develop geography skills to observe, measure, record and interpret primary data.
Landscapes and Landforms Coastal Session
Meet your CEC Educators at ~ 10am at Long Reef Beach so they can direct your students to observe and describe the coastal processes currently transforming the beach. They will draw a field sketch and label the observed coastal landforms and apply “BOLTS”. In small teams, students will plan and undertake an enquiry based field study to discover the processes that form and transform the specific landform of a coastal dune. Each student will use field equipment to collect and interpret their own and their team’s primary data. Finally students will describe the different human impacts and values of a coastal landscape and suggest a sustainable management strategy for our beaches.
Coastal Lagoons – Water in our World Session
Near Dee Why or Narrabeen Lagoon, students will describe the geographic processes that have created the current entrance conditions and predict how heavy rainfall will influence the entrance. Using CEC aerial photos, students will describe the character and land-use within the lagoon catchment and infer how the lagoon has changed over time. Is it safe for small children to swim in the shallow lagoon? Students will suggest a range of criteria and simple water quality tests that could answer this question. In small teams, they will measure the water’s temperature, DO, salinity, Ammonia, pH among other investigations and give their assessment of the current water quality conditions. They will find out what roles Council and local residents have in sustainably managing our coastal lagoons.
East Coast Low Session - a coastal and hydrological natural hazard
After a lunch break, students may walk to Dee Why Beach or travel by bus to Collaroy. By interpreting a synoptic chart, students will investigate the causes and impacts of ECL’s, view recent storm damage and describe the community’s response. They will predict potential impacts on the coastal development at either Collaroy or Dee Why Beach and discuss adaptation and mitigation strategies to this frequent coastal hazard.
Choose any two sessions for the full day field trip. We will fit in with your bus requirements for a 4 - 6 hour ($22) field trip. Other field trip sessions are available such as investigating the unique geology of Long Reef Headland or a guided exploration of the biodiversity of an Aquatic Reserve when booked with a low tide. CEC Educators will lead each class and provide all field equipment.