education

Tertiary Seagrass Meadows

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Second Nature Education offers an amazing variety of educational and experiential programs to a variety of seagrass meadows 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
  • 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

Tertiary (TAFE/University) Programs

Our Tertiary Education programs have been developed for specific units of study within a variety of courses (e.g. Botany, Ecology, Vertebrate Biology, Environmental Science, Marine Biology, Environmental Education etc.). We can also tailor programs upon request. By participating in a “Seagrass Meadows” program, students gain a comprehensive understanding and awareness of the importance of seagrass ecosystems through direct interaction with the natural environment (excursions) or through a virtual “Seagrass Meadows” investigation (incursions).

Trip Overview

All Tertiary in-class presentations and field trips to seagrass environments come with complimentary assessable work-booklets, which are tailored to the requirements of an institution. Our field trips allow for an in-depth, methodical and structured investigation of seagrass environments. Alternatively, virtual “Seagrass Meadows” investigations allow students who are unable to participate in a field trip to gain a basic understanding of seagrass ecosystems through a well-designed in-class presentation.

Highlights

  • Exploring the marsh land at low tide!
  • Snorkeling (optional)
  • Identification of plants and animals dominating a seagrass habitat
  • Looking for other evidence of wildlife (e.g. stingray feeding pits etc.)
  • Sketching
  • Map-reading/comprehension
  • Biodiversity surveys
  • Equipment use (anemometers/barometers/thermometers etc.)
  • Identifying adaptations of coastal plants (roots/salt/reproduction etc.)

More Information

Inclusions

Excursions

  • Guided walk through living seagrass meadows
  • Coastal plant identification activity
  • “Magic spot” quiet reflection and field sketch
  • Talk from a marine biologist about the importance of seagrass and any monitoring programs in place.
  • 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
  • Plant and animal identification activities
  • Virtual seagrass meadow exploration
  • Active “Protect the Coastline” game (necessitates an awareness of the importance of seagrass, mangrove and beach ecosystems)
  • Quiz (with prizes!) to assess comprehension
Educational Outcomes
  • Awareness and knowledge of seagrass ecosystems
  • Appreciation for the diversity of coastal organisms
  • A basic understanding of how seagrass ecosystems work including knowledge of food chains/webs, habitats and propagules.
  • Awareness of the impacts of human activities on seagrass meadows (and other coastal environments) both locally and globally
  • Knowledge of local and largescale environmental issues affecting seagrass meadows 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 seagrass meadows
  • An understanding of the complex processes involved in managing our coastal environments in a sustainable manner.
Itinerary

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

09:00 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 learning institutions and airports
09:45 Arrive at destination and walk to study site
10:00 Activity session 1 Seagrass meadows hide juvenile fish on wide open mud flats. They also provide food to exciting marine fauna such as turtles and dugongs. During this activity, you will identify plants and animals inhabiting a seagrass meadow. You will then learn about how they interact with each other and their environment (for example, through food webs or nutrient cycling).
10:30 Morning tea
11:00 Field Work Session 1 Line transects and quadrat surveys are frequently utilised by field scientists to monitor how an area changes over time. During this activity, students will be divided into groups to assess an undisturbed section of seagrass using techniques explained by our guides. The activity will involve taking measurements of physical factors using supplied equipment and recording results in a data collection table. This is excellent hands on experience in the field!
12:00 Lunch at destination Great areas to take a break and enjoy the scenery
13:00 Field Work Session 2 Students will conduct a contrasting line transect and or quadrat survey at a second study site. This site will have been disturbed by natural processes (e.g. storm damage) or human activity (e.g. nutrient enrichment due to urban runoff) depending on the objective of your study. The comparison of undisturbed and disturbed sites will later form the basis of the students’ summative field reports.
14:00 Walk back to the bus from the study site
14:15 Depart destination, back to institution or airport
15:00 Arrive back at institution or airport when required
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