Middle School News

Year 9 Science - Ricketts Point Snorkeling Excursion

WOW!! Today we saw some REAL Science!! Heading on down to Beaumaris’ Ricketts Point meant Year 9’s could “immerse” themselves… up to their necks… and more… in a really important example of an (local) ecosystem. 

Despite cloudy skies, we could touch, taste, hear, see and smell the biotic and non-living features of our Bayside Suburb…

We swam with the sharks (4 banjos) and crabs, algae –green, red and brown, sponges and string rays, puffer fish, trigger fish, long nose garfish and abalone. 

We saw thousands of fingerlings (juvenile fish) living here – all sorts– growing, with some safety, into “legal” sizes of whiting, flathead, snapper and globe fish.

Lunch was fun – some local “calamari” … and chips… a seafood pizza… and a “sea lettuce sandwich” possible.

While many humans don’t seem conscious of their impact on nature, and the importance of Ecosystems… here, we saw the direct effects, positive and negative, of humans living next to such a beautiful spot. Without direct urban planning, using the Science behind Ecology, this area could be a tragedy. We saw the need to protect our natural resources, and reduce pollution from people, roads and housing that runs off into storm water and into the bay. This ecosystem needs to be “diverse” to cope – the sand,sponges, some shell fish and sea grasses filter our mess; other shell fish, sea stars and urchins feed on these; fish compete to maintain populations within this space; sea birds – somefrom the other side of the world – have their pick of the available sustenance – all within this complex food web.

It was awesome learning! (OMG! Students said they had“fun”!) Well done to our Year 9 inquiring Environment Scientists, and big thanks to Bay Play, Science staff and Ms

Hoy.