Marine Biologist for a Day
On Friday March 9th 2018, 7 lucky year 9 Marine Biologists were invited to attend a special event on board the SV Pelican, a 63 foot catamaran purpose built for marine research. The day was organised by the marine research team of the EPA and was made available to three Melbourne High schools (MGC, Albert Park SC and Cheltenham SC). The day was an amazing experience where the students got to work with other like-minded students and to learn from experts in their field. Below are some reflections from our lucky MGC participants, each of whom were selected based on the quality of their applications which detailed their knowledge and passion about marine issues.
On the 9th of March I went with 6 other girls from my marine bio class on the Pelican 1. We went with 14 other students from two other school. The pelican one is a sailing catamaran. We left off from St Kilda Pier and then we stopped at Hobson’s bay. We learnt about Plankton and how we can reduce our rubbish and plastics. Going on the Pelican 1 was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I really enjoyed. -Jemima
'Being a marine biologist for a day was interesting and insightful, teaching me lots about the different plankton around the bay and how some can be poisonous and also about the impacts of micro plastics on the bay. The day was fun and enjoyable, I had great time.'
-Aoibheann
On the Pelican 1, two bays excursion we were given an insight on how much rubbish ends up in the ocean and how the smallest amounts of plastic can impact marine organisms. We looked at water samples from Port Phillip Bay under a microscope to see the amount of tiny organisms that were contained in one drop of ocean water, and examine what these organisms (phytoplankton) look like and how they move/behave. – Lily
We went on the two bays excursion around Port Philip Bay. We learnt about the work the EPA does to monitor the health of the bay and the importance of this work. We learnt about the effects of micro plastics on the bay, phytoplankton species and what we can do reduce our consumption of plastic. Thank you EPA for an interesting the informative day. –Romy
On Friday, 6 students and I were invited to go on an all day trip upon a research vessel called the pelican 1. We spent the day sailing around port Melbourne and collecting samples of sea water we found in the ocean. After sorting through these samples we found multiple species of plankton, such as phytoplankton and unfortunately, microplastics. We spent the majority of the day learning about different ways to sample rubbish found in the ocean and ways to determine the different types of plankton found within the samples. Although we spent the day learning about how bad all the rubbish in the ocean was for the environment, we also came up with better ways for less rubbish to find its way into the oceans. We learnt about better ways to recycle and reuse the things we already have at home once there first “life” is over, such as how plastic bags can be made into park benches and how common house hold items can be transformed into reusable products. -Beyonce
