4 minute read
Challenging Climate Change
Year 11 Environmental Science class visited the Barwon River at seven locations for water quality monitoring.
MELISSA BARNES, LEADER OF LEARNING YEARS 9-12
As the world watched the leaders of our nations gather and discuss the environmental issues facing our planet at the UN Climate Change Conference, The Geelong College students undertook their research into Australian ecosystems on the brink of collapse.
We offer numerous opportunities for students to explore local, Australian and global environmental issues and solutions.
Year 9 Science students learned the fundamental basis of ecology with knowledge of energy transfer through an ecosystem, food webs and food chains, Indigenous seasons and bushfires. Students engaged in exploring biomes under threat and ways to mitigate damage. The stimulus for their research was the Australian Geographic identification of 19 Australian ecosystems at a tipping point. Students selected one of the systems to explore in-depth, including, for example, the Great Barrier and Ningaloo Reefs, wet tropics, mangrove forests, tropical savannahs, great southern kelp forests or Antarctica. The Year 11 Environmental Science class undertook a hands-on investigative project visiting the Barwon River at seven locations from Winchelsea downstream to Barwon Heads for water quality monitoring. They tested physical and chemical bio-indicators, including turbidity, pH, conductivity (measuring dissolved salts), depth and flow rates, phosphate levels (reflecting what enters the water and organisms using it) and dissolved oxygen. The students grew cultures back at school to identify E. coli from faecal contaminants from farmland. They analysed and graphed data identifying trends of decreased water quality at each point downstream. While limited to online visits due to upgrading facilities, our Year 12 Environmental Science students enjoyed a virtual tour of the Western Treatment Plant for a sustainability project exploring the environmental benefits of careful waste management. Relying on virtual drone tours, students considered four aspects of the facility: water treatment, wetland management, methane generation, and recycling. They noted the diversity of birdlife in the wetlands and the value of methane production and recycled water for Werribee market farmers from what
Senior School students with Libby Coker, Federal Minister for Corangamite, during the Corangamite Climate Challenge
would have previously been considered waste.
The Art department also helps students explore and appreciate the fragile beauty of our natural environment. In the Year 9 Art Printmaking elective, students made beautiful linocut prints of seabirds with the aim of creating awareness of the harm caused to seabirds by plastic in the oceans.
The Geography students also studied environmental issues in the classroom then related the theory to the real world, embracing numerous opportunities for fieldwork essential to understanding the discipline. They enjoyed field trips identifying features, processes, and management issues (such as bluegreen algae blooms, erosion and weed species) along the Barwon River. Year 12 Geographers enjoyed visiting Cape Bridgewater and collecting primary data, which they used in their Fieldwork Report SAC. Highlights included seeing the largest mainland seal colony in Australia and an extinct volcano. They considered the positive environmental impacts of wind power, visiting Cape Bridgewater and Codrington wind farms and a beef quarantine farm with wind turbines. Students also explored the Budj Bim World Heritage Area, exploring Indigenous sustainable food systems that worked for thousands of years. They heard from a range of people, including farmers, tourist operators, and Indigenous elders, about the environmental impacts of the region. All Senior School students had the opportunity to mitigate their impact on the environment by participating in the Corangamite Climate Challenge, initiated by Libby Coker, the Federal Minister for Corangamite and led by School prefect Dominic Bongiorno who holds the Environment and Community portfolio. All eight houses accepted a four-week challenge to reduce carbon emissions in three ways: nude food, walking to school, and a meat-free day. Dom used an online calculator to determine the impact and then put it all in a spreadsheet and calculated the results. The most popular choices were walking to school, followed by nude food. Supported by the House Captains, the response of students was positive. While Dominic noted the reduction might not be significant quantitatively, it might change the mindset of students surrounding sustainability. He hopes future prefects will follow up on this challenge. Dom enjoyed learning about climate change noting memorable Physics lessons exploring the impact of greenhouse gases. He is considering studying Engineering next year, which may allow him to support the environment further. We are proud of the efforts of our future scientists, environmentalists, geographers, leaders, artists, and change-makers who are creating a vision for our future. As they increase their knowledge of the local and global environmental challenges, and consider their choices in the short term, they have a solid foundation to inspire future studies to develop knowledge and skills to save our planet.
Printmaking
Students created prints of seabirds. These were combined into a book which aimed to create awareness of the harm caused to seabirds by plastic in the oceans.
The students had planned an exhibition and sale of framed prints to raise money for the cause, however, this was unable to proceed due to COVID-19
