education

Senior 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 new 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
  • Transportation options (we provide quotes to utilise our own buses for every excursion and can purchase all relevant flights relating to your program where applicable)
  • 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

Senior School (Yr 11-12) Programs

Our “Coastal Processes” programs for years 11-12 have been specifically developed for units of study in Geography, Biology, Marine Science, Tourism, and Earth and Environmental 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 PPP 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 11 Responding to Risk and Vulnerability in Hazard Zones (QLD)
  • Year 11 Hazards and Disasters (VIC)
  • Year 11 Tourism (VIC)
  • Year 11 Biophysical Interactions (NSW)
  • Year 11 Planning Sustainable Places (QLD)
  • Year 12 Responding to Land Cover Transformations (QLD) or Changing the Land (VIC)
  • Year 12 Ecosystems at Risk (NSW)
  • Year 12 People and Economic Activity (NSW)

Biology

  • Year 11 Biodiversity and the Interconnectedness of Life (QLD) or Biological Diversity (NSW)
  • Year 11 How do Living Things Stay Alive? (VIC)
  • Year 11 Ecosystem Dynamics (NSW)

Earth and Environmental Science

  • Year 11 Living on Earth (QLD)
  • Year 11 Earth’s Resources (NSW) and Human Impacts (NSW)
  • Year 12 How can Biodiversity and Development be Sustained (VIC)

Marine Science (QLD)

  • Year 11 and/or 12 Marine Biology
  • Year 11 and/or 12 Oceanography
  • Year 11 and/or 12 Conservation and Sustainability

Tourism (QLD)

  • Year 11 The Travel Experience
  • Year 12 Sustainable Tourism
  • Tourist Destinations and Attractions (elective)
  • Tourism Marketing (elective)
  • Types of Tourism (elective)
  • Tourism Client Groups (elective)

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

  • Exploring sand dunes and other beach landforms
  • Looking for evidence of life in the littoral zone (e.g. crab burrows and bivalve shells)
  • Seeing beach management in action!
  • Sketching
  • Map-reading/comprehension
  • Biodiversity surveys
  • Equipment use (anemometers/barometers/thermometers 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!
  • Guided beach walk/s
  • Coastal plant identification activity
  • Field sketch of study site
  • Passing around of items found in the littoral zone with discussion
  • Presentation on human impacts and management (observable in the natural environment)
  • Field work (quadrat or transect studies)

Incursions

  • An age-appropriate interactive PowerPoint presentation
  • Investigation of coastal plant adaptations using samples taken from a living ecosystem
  • Sea bird and coastal plant identification activities
  • Passing around of items found in the littoral zone
  • Game: “Observing the beach” (learn about how to spot rips/currents, constructive/destructive waves, etc.).
  • Quiz (with prizes!) to assess comprehension
Educational Outcomes
  • Awareness and knowledge of beach ecosystems
  • Appreciation for the diversity of coastal organisms
  • A basic understanding of how dynamic beach ecosystems work including knowledge of food chains/webs, habitats and propagules.
  • 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, overharvesting, invasive species, habitat fragmentation 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 excursions 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, soil temperature, 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, soil temperature, 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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