education

7-10 Coastal Processes

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Second Nature Education offers an amazing variety of educational and experiential programs to a variety of coastal environments in: Queensland and New South Wales; throughout Australia; and overseas.

All our programs are either tailored to support relevant units within the Australian curriculum, or as specifically requested by our clients.

What we provide

  • Award-winning educators/ facilitators
  • Itineraries and flyers
  • Curriculum-based work-booklets
  • All relevant equipment (supplying up to 150x students per session)
  • Example assessment tasks
  • Pre/Post excursion activities (usually a PPP)
  • Risk Assessment (location specific)
  • Variety of field-work locations (where available)
  • Accommodation options (we provide quotes to utilise the most affordable and most appropriate accommodation to suit your needs)
  • Catering options (we provide quotes to utilise our own in-house catering service for every excursion (where available) and/or catering through a third-party provider

Secondary School (Yr 7-10) Programs)

Our “Coastal Processes” programs for years 7-10 have been specifically developed for units of study in Geography and Science. Each can however be tailored to a school’s needs. The programs are great fun and involve the exploration of a natural environment (excursions), or an exciting interactive presentation with classroom activities (incursions). A detailed understanding and awareness of the importance of beach ecosystems and a new-found appreciation for this amazing habitat are key outcomes. These programs are delivered by passionate facilitators with specialist knowledge on coastal geography. The experiences can be delivered to complement the following units or modules:

Geography

  • Year 7
    • Water in the World
    • Place and Liveability
  • Year 8
    • Landforms and Landscapes
  • Year 9
    • Geographies of Interconnections (QLD/VIC) or Interconnections (NSW)
    • Sustainable Biomes (NSW)
    • Changing Places (NSW)
  • Year 10
    • Environmental Change and Management
    • Geographies of Human Wellbeing (QLD/VIC) or Human Wellbeing (NSW)

Science

  • Year 7
    • Biological Sciences (QLD/VIC)
    • Living World (NSW)
  • Year 8
    • Earth and Space Sciences (QLD/VIC)
    • Earth and Space (NSW)
  • Year 9
    • Biological Sciences (QLD/VIC)
    • Living World (NSW)
  • Year 10
    • Earth and Space Sciences (QLD/VIC)
    • Biological Sciences (QLD)

Trip Overview

Australia is famous for its beaches! On this adventure, you will learn about the importance of beaches as well as their function in providing economic benefits to humans. You will also use a variety of fieldwork techniques to investigate a beach ecosystem. If you are seeking a different approach to your coastal study, we can design a program that is suitable for you.

Highlights

  • Learning how major beach landforms are formed and how they change over time
  • Seeing beach management in action
  • Field work on the beach (measuring the dune profile, wind velocity, longshore transport, etc.)
  • Identification of common coastal plants
  • Identifying adaptations of coastal plants (roots/salt/reproduction etc.)
  • Talk from a National Park Ranger!

More Information

Inclusions

Excursions

  • 1-5 site visits/beaches!
  • Interpretative coastal walk/s
  • Field work (comparison of foredune and back dune environments)
  • Coastal plant identification activity
  • “Magic spot” quiet reflection and field sketch
  • Presentation on human impacts and management (observable in the natural environment)

Incursions

Educational Outcomes
  • Awareness and knowledge of beach ecosystems
  • A basic understanding of how dynamic beach ecosystems work including how they originate and change
  • Appreciation for the diversity of coastal organisms
  • Awareness of the impacts of human activities on beaches (and other coastal environments) both locally and globally
  • Knowledge of local and largescale environmental issues affecting beaches including habitat destruction, erosion, invasive species and pollution
  • Learning of sustainable behaviours that minimise these issues
  • A sense of connection to and feeling of stewardship towards Australia’s beaches
  • An understanding of the complex processes involved in managing our beaches in a sustainable manner.
Itinerary

Below is an example itinerary for a 1-day “Coastal Processes” excursion. All excursion packages include the necessary work booklets and equipment.

08:15 Tour group pick- Second Nature have a fleet of vehicles available to cater for any number of passengers (within reason). We can provide transport to and from schools and airports
09:00 Arrive at Beach 1 for Field Work Session 1 This site will be severely affected by erosion. Students will use the provided equipment to measure physical properties affecting the beach environment (e.g. wind velocity, longshore transport, etc.). This data will be compared with data from at least one other site before the conclusion of the field trip. There will also be a discussion of natural and human factors contributing to the local erosion issue.
10:30 Morning tea enjoyed on the beach
11:00 Depart Beach 1 for Beach 2
11:15 Arrive at Beach 2 for Information Session 1 Here, we will see beach management in action. Our guides will do their best to find an appropriate site that is subject to beach nourishment, the construction of an artificial reef, protection from a sea wall, etc. Students will receive some information about the history of the relevant project.
11:30 Depart Beach 2 for Beach 3
11:45 Arrive at Beach 3 for Information Session 2 Here, students will pause for a moment to reflect on the efficiency of visible infrastructure in protecting the beach from erosion. They will compare their observations to those made at Beach 1.
12:15 Lunch at Beach 3. Students will have options to swim or use play equipment (at teacher’s discretion)
13:00 Depart Beach 3 for Beach 4
13:15 Arrive at Beach 4 for Information Session 3 Beach 4 will be another site where active beach management will be observable for the students’ documentation. There will again be signs of beach nourishment, the construction of an artificial reef, protection from a sea wall or other infrastructure preventing erosion.
13:45 Depart Beach 4 for Beach 5
14:00 Arrive at Beach 5 for Field Work Session 2 This site will be unaffected by erosion relative to Beach 1. Students will again use the provided equipment to measure physical properties affecting the beach environment (e.g. wind velocity, longshore transport, etc.). There will be a discussion of how the local erosion issue is managed more effectively at this site than at Beach 1.
15:00 Depart Beach 5, back to school or airport
15:45 Arrive back at school or airport when required

 

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