Environmental Science Whitsundays Camp

The Year 12 Environmental Science Class spent Week 6 of Term 2 at the Whitsundays on a study tour. This study tour allowed students to experience the concepts that learn about in class first-hand.  

Using the Big4 Adventure Camp in Airlie Beach as our base, the students took part in various activities, including a Sea Kayaking turtle tour of the inner islands and a Crocodile Safari and Wetlands tour of the Proserpine River ecosystem. The absolute highlight of the camp was taking part in the ‘Eye on the Reef’ program with Ocean Rafting. This involved taking a boat out to a fringing reef and carrying out an underwater snorkel transect survey where students had to identify and count keystone species. The results of our survey go towards the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority monitoring program! 

Lunch was spent on Whitehaven Beach and the day was topped off with the class singing Happy Birthday to Elliot and Olivia, who both turned 18 on the trip. Despite our busy itinerary, the students even managed to complete SACS and homework between activities. Everywhere we went, both tour operators and members of the public, complemented our students on their exemplary behaviour and resilience. We couldn't be prouder of this group of young people. 

Marnie Sparrow (Year 12 Environmental Science teacher)