Learning and Teaching
Isea icare Marine Ambassadors Workshop No. 3
The sun was shining on Thursday, 15th August when the isea icare Ambassadors met at Narambi Reserve for their third workshop. The focus of the workshop was LITTER and its impact on the environment.
Not only is litter unsightly, it has devastating impacts on the places where native animals live and it also pollutes the bays we visit.
The workshop took place in two locations. Firstly, we went to Narambi Wetlands in Mornington. Did you know that all new housing estates are required by law to build a wetland with a litter trap to help reduce the litter pollution that enters our ocean? We learnt about litter traps and observed how the council empties the litter trap each fortnight. At the wetlands we also did some ponding and observed some of the macro invertebrates that live in the ponds. Lastly, we did some water testing.
The second part of our workshop was at Mother’s Beach, near the Mornington pier. We did a litter collection and completed a litter survey.
Some of the most commonly found litter at Mornington beach is aluminium cans and plastic bottles.
We also learnt about nurdles, (these are very small pellets of plastic which serve as raw material in the manufacture of plastic products). The rising number of nurdles being found in our seas is a cause of great concern because nurdles soak up pollutants and become toxic. Nurdles never disappear from the ocean completely, they just get smaller and smaller. Marine animals and seabirds mistake nurdles for food, allowing them to enter the food chain. We can only reduce the amount of nurdles in the sand by reducing the amount of plastic in our oceans.
Overall, we all learnt a lot about litter and its impact on the environment.
As ambassadors we need to educate others about the importance of reducing the amount of rubbish we produce, so please think carefully every time you use single-use plastics, especially plastic drink bottles.
Green Team News
Last Friday afternoon was a busy day at St Brendan’s with many year levels involved in special activities. The Year 1/2 students were competing in the Potato Olympics and the students in Year 3/4 and 5/6 were in the church for the Kalma for Catholic Care presentation. This meant only the Foundation students were free to participate in Green Team activities. Unfortunately, the sunny weather had changed and drizzle was falling, so the students had to work under the shelter of the deck. The weather did not stop the enthusiasm of the foundation students when it came to potting up the germinated seeds sown four weeks ago. We look forward to planting the corn, carrots and pumpkin seedlings in Brendan’s Garden in springtime.
3/4's Ceres Excursion
BOOKWEEK
